Your thoughts on not-so-bright kitten

So, we got Roxie at the Wal-mart on a HOT (98 degree, full sun) kind of day. She was the last left, there was another sibling there getting taken home.

WAY too young to be taken from mom, 4 weeks old. Skinny and PANTING. No water in sight.

I took her because I was appauled that someone would have such a young kitten away from mom, and in the hot sun like that. I felt so bad for her.

She has been a WONDERFUL addition to our home. The biggest love bug you have EVER met! Her and Polly are inseparable. Polly is a very quiet kitty, hardly a word out of her. Roxie, on the other hand WHEW! Such a WHINEY BUTT!! So, whenever Roxie gets a bath, toes clipped, ears flushed out etc, she whines and whines and Polly comes running to her aid, just to make sure she is ok!

ANYWAY


My point to the post.

We

I am not sure that Roxie is the brightest star in the bunch. She has yet to learn that certian things she does result in us getting after her. NOR has she responded well to Positive reinforcement.

She claws incessently at anything smooth. It is funny to watch her, but she has such an OCD about the way she does it, you wonder if everything is okay upstairs.

The ONLY things she has "learned" is that when I call "Kitty, kitty, Kitty" She is rewarded with wonderful Scratches when she comes running, which she does every time.

She's learned the sound of the wet food opening.

And she has even comes to the sound of my nails scratching against fabric, IE: My comforter, or the couch arm. She comes running as she realizes it's time to cuddle.

Like I said, she is such a little lover! But I wonder if there might be some slowness or other learning dissabilities that we don't know about due to her being exposed to such high heat at such a young age. Jordan teases her, that her father is also her brother.

Can cats be not-so-intelligent? I thought all cats could pass the Bar if they were given the chance. I know that dogs, with inbreading, can be not so bright.


Thoughts?

(I will never love her any less regardless! She is my cuddle monster. I am just curious)

We used to have a huge orange tabby named Zeebo who was dumb as a doorknob. The only things he was interested were food and pets, and that was fine. He was THE most loving cat we ever had, so his lack of smarts didn't matter

Several yrs ago I rescued a siamese looking mix breed from SIL barn. He (the Dude) was in pretty bad shape and as this was Thanskgiving my SIL said this cat would not be strong enough to survive the winter in the barn.
Besides being tiny and scrawny, he had pneumonia, herpes, URI to made a few!!!
But he bonded with one of my other kits really well!!
I too thought he wasn't the brightest star in the sky but brought must joy to me during his life.
So don't give up they will make you laugh and smile!!!

I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. However if you wanted to -your vet can do a nuerological exam on her to give you some answers (personally I wouldn't bother- if she's healthy and happy- just leave it at that... ....different cats just like different people have different intelligence levels. She may not be the brightest thing- but maybe she is the most affectionate?? I'm sure she makes up for it in other areas. Also- keep in mind too- cats do a great job at paying attention to things when its only to their benifit- and ignoring their humans when they want too lol.

Cats, like people, have different personalities and intelligence levels. My Ellie is definitely not very bright, but she is incredibly loving both to me and to the other cats. She is also very agile, so loves to jump to the highest point in any room, but often can't figure out how to get down again! After leaving her for an hour at times, I have had to go rescue her. But she never learns. She knows her name though and comes running immediately - she is much more obedient than the others, except where stealing food and jumping on the table are concerned. I love her for her quirks.

Sometimes I'm not sure if Rocky isn't that bright, or if it's because he doesn't see as well. But again sometimes he surprises me with what he sees. He too had herpes URI really bad as a youngster, which also damaged his eyes. He was so skinny when we got him we thought he was younger but he quickly fattened up... and got fatter..

He loves to bite and chew stuff.. I don't know why.. He is very needy and loves to claw my leg while mewing pitifully. He understands come but weirdly doesn't care that much about food time or treats.. But does tend to gorge when he eats. He doesn't eat a treat right away.. sniffs it really good first. He tends to be kinda clumsy.. is known to roll around the couch until he falls off! But on the other hand he can spot little buggys flying around that I don't notice. Also he is the sweetest most affectionate kitty.. He really does act more like a dog.. Follows you around, plays fetch, needs love pets. But he often just doesn't have the alertness and athletism that my other cats have.

Cats can be dingy too...our Arthur is a sweet cat, a good cat and Althetic cat..but well hes about as smart as a box of rocks..
his momma is a little smarter than him, but not much. lOL

Loki bless his big fluffy heart..love him but hes not so bright either lol

Roxie sounds purrfectly precious to me!

You got Roxie when she was four weeks old. She's just an infant. I'd say she's doing remarkably well. You'll find her intelligence probably improving as she is older.

My dear Fred was not the sharpest knife in the drawer to begin with, then he had a head injury when he was about 7. He was a really goofy boy then. He was the most loving kitty ever, and completely devoted to me. Sometimes I had to sit with him while he ate his wet food, because he did not want to leave my side. I had to run him out of my car sometimes, because he didn't want me to leave for work. I found him sleeping in my huge purse after I got to work one day, and had to take him home.

Yes they can. I think its due to the 4 weeks old, away from mom too soon (so no social/cat skills), the fact she was in that high heat, panting, and who knows what else!

Anyway I had a rex litter with a little bluecream female who was "the dumbest rex I've seen". But she was sooooo sweet. She had everything wrong with her (breed wise, not health wise) - no curly coat, almost a "fluffy" coat, too round head, too short ears, etc.

My son was about 1 yr old at the time. He was at the crawling stages. Well the other kittens had enough sense to run if he got near but this little girl would just sit there and look at my son. My son was taught at a very young age about being nice to kitties so he would not grab or hurt them.

Anyway she was sold to a pet home (obviously) and the owner told me later that Tinkerbell (cause she was so little too) would worship and follow her cat around, even to the litter pan - she would sit there in front of the closed litter pan and wait for him to finish, then follow him whereever.

Hee. I've known some dumb cats, but they're usually a joy to be around. The few that weren't tended to be unsocialized strays, sadly.

I'm apparantly the only one who doesn't think that my baby Tonks is brain damaged and slow. I attribute his oddness to the fact that he was also without a mother too early (at the very oldest, six weeks) and doesn't know what a proper cat should be. My fiance and mother like to blame it on possible brain damage. But, I think he's getting better about things with love and attention.

Ok, I am starting to feel better about thinking Roxie might not be all that smart! I was feeling very guilty before. Now I can just giggle at her spacy-ness and revel in the fact that it just makes her that much more endearing.

She is very similar to some of your silly not-the-sharpest-crayon-in-the-box-kittys that you have posted about.

She is clumsy, rolls right off whatever it is she seems to be sitting on. She will fall right off the bathroom counter while she is rubbing my hand to get me to pet her.

She steals EVERYTHING. EVERY object she comes across is batted and made into a toy. She never learns, maybe she just doesn't care to learn.

Jordan put her in a time out on top of the kitchen cabinet one time. (they can reach the one set of kitch cabs just fine, the counter and fridge give them the steps they need, the other set of cabs, no steps to get up or down) So he puts her in a time out, it worked for polly. But not this little one! She jumped straight to the floor. I thought I was going to die, and told him NEVER, EVER do that again!

She is SOOOOOOOOOO loving, and I am so greatful for that. Her little vocalizations are so stinking precious too. She purrs like a harley, and has these sweet little purr/squeeking closed mouth meows that just melt your heart. (She does it when she wants something or just to say hi)

I am so in love with this cat it's sad!!

Originally Posted by krazy kat2

I found him sleeping in my huge purse after I got to work one day, and had to take him home.

Click to expand...

Awww, Rebecca, that's so adorable!

I think she sounds cute.. I also forgot to mention that my baby too seems to have no fear of children. This weekend my neighbors grandchildren were around a lot more.. The oldest age 9 has been here before but her brother and sister age 4 and 2 were here. He came right up to them and was very patient.. Whereas Zakk would watch from a distance and even kinda kept real close to hubby, and the other two were NOWHERE to be found.