18 Pets Who Proved They Understand the World Much Better Than We Think

If you think you’re in control of things in your own home—just get a cat, parrot, or rat. These guys will quickly explain to you who those cookies really belong to, who will be sleeping on your pillow, and why the Christmas tree is destined to lie on the floor.

• Recently, a coworker came to my place. My cat gave him a murderous look and then started demonstratively pushing his clothes off the back of the sofa.
  No matter how much my coworker tried to stop her, nothing worked. I showed him out, and later my boss called, telling me that he expected me in his office early in the morning.
  It turned out this coworker tried to take credit for my ideas to get a promotion. And I thought we were friends. My cat seemed to sense this, even though she’s usually quite friendly with guests.
• A friend’s got a fancy rat, and he bragged that it was “trained” and knew some commands. Once, when I was visiting him, I asked him to show me the rat’s mental capabilities.
  My friend released it onto the table and said he’d show the “recall command.” He started making sounds, like clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, “Tick-tick.” The rat didn’t react and was just running around and sniffing pencils.
  More seriously now, “Tick-tick.” It stopped sniffing and just looked at us. “Tick-tick, dang it!” The rat ran to him, into his arms. It truly had a degree in learning. © Keksemus / Pikabu
• According to my uncle, his neighbor Serge, who lived a floor below, had a cockatoo parrot named Brody. The bird would always fly freely around the apartment and especially loved perching on the owner’s shoulder.
  Once, Serge decided to go out onto the balcony while Brody was sitting on his shoulder. He told the parrot, “Fly, you’re free.” The bird, understanding the command, made a victory lap around the balcony and returned to its owner’s shoulder.
  “Ah, you silly Brody,” said the neighbor and went back inside the apartment. After that, he would walk with the parrot around the building, knowing it wouldn’t fly away. © OrbitFrutini / Pikabu

• Our cat recently gave birth. There were complications, so we quickly took her to the vet clinic, where she stayed for 2 days until she was stabilized. The kittens stayed home.
  In the clinic, they explained how to take care of them and feed them with a syringe. My husband and I took turns watching over them all night. In the morning, the vet called and said our cat had disappeared—she had escaped!
  No one could figure out how she did it: she was barely breathing and still under anesthesia. But a couple of hours later, she jumped through our window. She had escaped to feed her kittens. © Mamdarinka / VK
• Our daughter was little and still used her potty. Her father took her to the country house, and I saw that the potty was full—so I emptied it.
  After a while, I noticed the potty was full again. Thought I forgot and emptied it again. After some more time—full again. Thought I was losing it. Emptied it.
  Then I saw our cat comfortably sitting on the child’s potty. I told the cat he had gone too far and removed the potty. The cat sighed and settled on the toilet. Since then, he only uses the toilet. © Overheard / Ideer
• We had a parrot who knew many words and could often say something spot on. Once, we had many guests over, and the parrot was with us. Upon seeing one lady, he dived at her head with a scream, “Alarm!” We barely managed to calm him down.
  The next day, my mom discovered that this lady, as it turns out, had her eye on my dad and was trying to lure him away from the family.
• We recently hit a rough patch financially. I was always hungry, and so was my cat. She’s not very timid, and because I live on the first floor, she sometimes goes out for walks. I woke up in the morning to find 3 mice at my feet and her content face staring back at me, inviting me to eat. Clever and caring creature! © Overheard / Ideer

• My former boss has been keeping pet rats and mice for about 30 years. They’re all girls, and he names them all Marys.
  About 10 years ago, one of the Marys moved into our workshop. One day, a neighborhood stray cat wandered into our workshop, and we had no clue about it because the cat hid from us for 2 days like a true ninja.
  So, Mary must have spotted him the very first day, because when we let her out for a walk, she immediately dashed behind sheets of materials stacked against the wall. Instantly, we started hearing cat screeches from there.
  We then saw a large ginger-colored cat break out from behind the sheets with Mary hanging onto it. The door was open, and the cat was out the door in a flash. Interestingly, as soon as the cat ran into the yard, Mary released him and calmly, even lazily, ambled back up the steps into the workshop.
  She was a funny little creature. She learned to open the cage herself. She was so thrilled by parsley that as soon as she smelled it, she began to chirp and wouldn’t stop until she got the cherished sprig, then she’d happily munch on it, sitting on her cage. © Y2k18 / Pikabu
• I remember when I was little, the neighbor next door had a parrot. This clever creature learned to perfectly mimic the doorbell, so she constantly had to open the door.
  Then they got a dog, and thanks to it, the neighbor figured out that when the real doorbell rang, the dog would bark. Happy with this new setup, the neighbor was relieved for just 2 weeks, because then the parrot started ringing the bell and barking afterward. © UspehSoMnoy / Pikabu
• My cat had a thing for climbing into our fake Christmas tree. He would climb up into the branches, and the metal spikes that held them there would break. Finally we got tired of it and put tin foil under the tree skirt; we heard it worked for some people and figured we’d try it.
  Turns out it did work; the cat refused to step foot into the tree skirt and subsequently climb the tree. So he did the next best thing. The little bastard climbed the cat tower and poised himself on the top, ready to pounce. We sat and watched from the sofa as he launched himself into the air and landed in the tree.
  The whole tree fell as one of the legs holding it up snapped. The whole thing came crashing to the ground. The cat crawled out of the wreckage, fur all in a mess, and looked back with a smirk as if to say, “Screw you, humans, I’m getting in that tree.” © kit25 / Reddit

• There was a couple we knew who had a bunch of pets. Local kids would always hang out at their place.
  One day, a little kid brought them a tiny basement rat in his hands. They had to nurse it back to health. They named it Alec. It would tease the cats: provoke them and then jump into the parrot's cage, skillfully latch the bolt with its paws. And—I swear!—it laughed at the cats.
  Then the owners got an offer to go work in Europe. They quickly sold off all their zoo. But Alec was left behind.
  At the last moment, the husband's mom took pity of the rat. It must be said, the father couldn't stand Alec. But there was nothing to be done. No other option. They dropped the rat off at the parents' place while Dad wasn't home.
  6 months later, the guys returned. They went to the parents' house. Mom opens the door and puts a finger to her lips—like, be quiet. She gestures for them to come into the living room.
  And there, a picture worthy of a painting: Dad is napping on the couch, with Alec sitting on his bare belly, munching on seeds and spitting the shells onto Dad's stomach.
  Alec won Dad over when once he asked, "Geez, where'd I leave my pen?" And Alec took it out from under the couch and brought it over. It placed it down and just sat there, looking straight into his eyes. Alec really knew dozens of words, fetched the lost keys, remote, or eyeglasses, and retrieved items from under furniture.
  He'd sit on the table during meals, snacking bits from Dad's food. With his small, nimble fingers, he’d take sugar cubes from the sugar bowl and toss them into tea or coffee. He’d unwrap Dad's candies. Bathed in the tub together with him. Dad wouldn't part with him. © ElenaDobrova / Pikabu
• While my husband was enthusiastically looking through car parts, I was browsing through displays out of boredom and suddenly saw padlocks. I have no idea what they were doing in an auto parts store, but okay. My eyes lit up, and I shouted to my husband:
  — Alex, they've got padlocks here! Let's get one for the cage!
  — Well, we could go with this one…
  — Are you kidding? He'll break it in 5 minutes! He’ll get out and eat the clock again!
  — Well, then let’s get this one… Or maybe a combination lock?
  — He’d just bend a combination one, and then we'd have to saw it off!
  My husband sighs, grabs a lock, and we turn around, locking eyes with a group of stunned men who were listening to our conversation. It was the first time in my life I saw such round eyes.
  But we just have a macaw parrot who has a beak like a pair of pliers, cracks walnuts like they were seeds, fondly grooms my hair, and who has learned to open the locking clasp on his gigantic cage with his feet. © Tanya.mozgowaya / Pikabu

• I have a Maine Coon cat, and as such, he’s incredibly fluffy. Well, this little rascal figured out that if he rolls around on his back, he gets static electricity buildup. And he also figured out that his cat-dad (me) does not enjoy being shocked.
  So, naturally, he does it whenever he thinks I’m not paying enough attention to him. © LuitenantDan / Reddit
• I had a really goofy Doberman-Lab cross who once snuck up behind a friend of mine, grabbed his sandwich, and took off with her butt low to the ground the way dogs do when they’re excited.
  Lettuce was flying everywhere. She tore down the hallway and reversed direction, returned to the living room, and adopted that play pose where she’s kind of half lying down. She shook her head back and forth, spraying chunks of sandwich everywhere.
  Meanwhile, my Cocker Spaniel was hoovering up all the pieces of food. My friend was pissed and said, “Dang!! She didn’t even want to eat it!” © Arminius80 / Reddit
• I once had a rat named Christina. Oh, let me tell you, she had quite the personality. She could bite if she was in a mood. If she didn’t feel like socializing, she’d crawl into her house, and you could call “Christy, Christy” all day, and she wouldn’t even twitch an ear.
  But she had one weak spot. The moment you’d say, “Where’s my beautiful girl?!” a little pointed snout would immediately appear in the window. © ankonRUS / Pikabu

• I was in the hospital. Another patient told me this story. She had a budgerigar who could talk and a cat.
  She comes home from work, and the parrot flies around her screaming, “Horror, horror!” She’s unpacking her bags, and he keeps up with his “horror.” And he flies into the bedroom from time to time.
  She goes into the bedroom—and there the cat has given birth on the bed. Well, it truly was a horror. © Larmak / Pikabu
• We bought a 2-bedroom, which required renovations. Got a cat. And the cat started acting strangely—he lay by the wall and wailed.
  At first, we thought he was just being silly. We called in electricians and plumbers. No one found anything. But the cat continued his concerts.
  Then my husband freaked out and dismantled a piece of the wall. And there... The ventilation pipe had been walled up, and because of that, condensation accumulated inside; everything was covered in rot and mold. A couple more months, and we would have had to tear down half the apartment!
  Now the cat sleeps wherever he wants and eats only expensive food. Because after this story, I believe the cat deserves everything. © Not Everyone Will Understand / VK
• I visit a pet shop from time to time. A special attraction of the shop is a big white cockatoo, Stan. He sits in his cage, meditatively preening his feathers.
  On my last visit, I caught Stan sitting on the cage, praising himself in a squeaky voice, “Good boy, good boy.” I came closer.
  The bird immediately noticed the ring on my finger—he reached for my fingers. But then the bracelet sparkled—the parrot hopped onto my arm instead. But what he liked the most were my earrings—Stan opened his beak and aimed at my ear.
  At that point, the owner intervened. “Now, back to your place! Don’t touch people!” The parrot erupted into demonic laughter, jumped back onto the cage, and laughed for about a minute.
  After that, he saw the string of my windbreaker with shiny details. With one tug, he bit the shiny stopper on the string, and with another “bite” snapped off the end bead and quickly scampered into the cage, heading for the far corner.
  The owner roared, “Staaaan!” To which Stan, without releasing the bead from his beak, clearly replied, “Take a hike, I’m rich!” © Akatcia / Pikabu

And these pets look like a comedy and a disaster all in one. Check them out!