Everyone thinks they have the smartest pets  in the world and I will admit that my cats don’t jump though fiery hoops or anything like that. Still my babies are pretty smart.

You’ve all met Rocky, our editor  in chief.

Editor in Chief

 In addition to “editing” he also types and points where the cursor should go on the screen. He opens doors and cupboards and linen closets. He even  figured out how to open the “trifold” doors on the closets. He also likes to watch TV, especially sci-fi and nature programs. He comes when called and will play “fetch” when he feels like it.

He even helps me pack for my trips!

 All in all he’s pretty entertaining.

Smokey is a bit more laid back but I don’t think he should be short-changed in the smarts department. Smokey knows his name and comes when called. He is a natural alarm clock and starts poking me in the face with his paw about 5 minutes before the alarm goes off.

Smokey will play a little but would much rather cuddle up on the couch. He’s not as interested in watching the computer screen or the TV but he’ll sit and try to type all day if I let him. Those little keys really fascinate him.

Now I want to take a trip back in time to when Rocky was a kitten and Smokey was a newcomer to my household. I lived in an apartment in Randolph and the fire alarm was always going off. We even had fires. When that alarm would go off the cats would disappear to parts unknown and my fear was that if we really had to escape, I’d never find them. I did not want Smokey living up to his name or Rocky turning into a “crispy critter”.

So I practiced (with lots of chicken and turkey bits) to get them to run to their carriers when the alarm went off. Rocky, being a kitten, learned the quickest.

 Smokey , in his rebellious teenage cat years, still preferred the far corner under the bed but sometimes he’d cooperate. They got pretty good at it too. Then I moved to Taunton and life went on but I never got back into the “fire drill” mode.

So we’ve been living in Taunton now for around 6 years and I’ve never  once practiced those old skills. In fact, as long as I’ve lived  in this condo the building fire alarm has never gone off …at least not when I’ve been around…until Saturday night!

The alarm went off about 11:30 pm. The cats jumped and I jumped and then both cats just looked at me. I said “Fire” and pointed toward the bedroom where I keep their carriers. They started in that way  with me right on their heels. I put both carriers on the bed and they hopped right in.

I zipped them up, pulled on my shoes and jacket and we were out of the place in less than 5 minutes. When the fire department gave the all clear and we were back inside, I gave them some treats because I was so impressed!

Well it wasn’t over. About 1:30 am the alarm went off again. Once again as soon as I put the carriers down, pointed and said fire they were in them! Once again we bundled up and headed out into the cold. Once again the fire department declared a false alarm and once again we returned to the warmth of our little beds. But I can’t get over how, amid all the noise of the alarm bells and the sirens, my little kitty cats followed my instructions and hopped right into those carriers. They didn’t bolt for a closet  or under the bed even though they looked scared enough.

They say cats have the memory of a 3 year old and sometimes I think it’s even shorter but in this case when the chips were down they not only remembered that long ago training, they responded  right away. I am so proud of them 🙂 ( Can’t you tell?)

Oh the night wasn’t over. About 3-3:30 am the alarm went off one last time. I stuck my nose out the door. No smoke so went back to bed. The cats looked at me as if to say  “What? No carriers?” then they curled up and went back to sleep too. I heard the Firemen come in and give the a”all clear”. So glad we didn’t pack up and go out again.