If you live with a cat, and if you’re paying attention, you’ll notice all sorts of interesting behavior throughout the day. Mostly it’s subtle and you find yourself wondering, “Did that cat actually say what I thought I heard?” “Did she sit on that page because she knows that’s what I was reading?” “She didn’t actually know that was the puzzle piece we were looking for did she?”
Maybe she did know. Maybe your cat is at least smarter 
than you realize. Think about some of the things your cat does throughout the day.
Here in our house of two cats, I’m pretty sure that 16-year-old Sophie uses mental telepathy to tell when I’m awake in the morning. At the first flutter of an eyelid, she 
comes from nowhere and starts greeting me. She also uses it to get me out of my seat so she can take my chair. Sophie watches TV, but only when it’s around dinner time. Could it be that she recognizes certain commercials or the voice of a certain TV judge or newscaster? Because I’ve seen Sophie stare at the TV for several minutes, then suddenly turn and meow for her supper. Other times, a commercial seems to catch her ear and she’ll watch, then go back to her lick-bath. Yes, I’m convinced that she figures out what time it is based on what’s on TV.
One of our former cats, Winfield, loved cantaloupe. As
an aside, cantaloupe is a favorite of some cats, but not all cats can handle it. Do not feed cantaloupe to a cat with fluffy pantaloons when it gives her diarrhea. My attempt to please Olivia with cantaloupe did not go well. Sorry, Olivia. (She did not enjoy the dip in the sink of warm water to clean the results of that cantaloupe treat off of her back end.)
But Winfield could handle cantaloupe. He loved it and he recognized a good cantaloupe. How do I know that? I always knew, when I got home from the grocery store, that the cantaloupe I’d picked was ripe by Winfield’s reaction. If he greeted me eagerly in the kitchen before I could even put the groceries away, I knew the cantaloupe was a good one. If he didn’t 
show up in the kitchen within at least a few minutes of my arrival home, I was pretty sure the cantaloupe I bought wasn’t quite ready.
Max used to greet me eagerly when I’d return from a walk—and only when I returned from a walk. It was the feather he was excited about. I’d almost always bring home a large feather for him. He loved the scent and would play with the feather until it was mangled.
What bright thing do your cats do that you’ve often wondered—“Did she actually do that or was it my imagination?”
Olivia also comes into my office when she’s bored and bugs me until I follow her into the hallway for a lively game of “Mom throws the ball for me while I wildly chase it up and down the hall.” This otherwise fairly quiet cat will meow and meow until I do as she says.
A couple of days ago I scolded Olivia in a sort of sing-song tone and I swear she repeated that exact same tone to me in her high-pitched, melodic mew. She’s such a sweet little sassy pants girl
My Marmalade knows exactly how far she can push the annoying behavior. She meows and paws at my son’s door for attention, ignoring my irritated yells, until I get to my limit. At that point (maybe a difference in tone?), she takes off until I calm down. She is not starved for attention, but apparently she is just a very needy cat. It is probably more annoying because Sylvester is so quiet in his manner. I am amazed by the ways they are different after being together for 11 years.
Isn’t it interesting how different cats can be? Sounds like you have cats at way different ends of the spectrum.