Britain's cleverest cats!

Carol Hack, 54, runs a scuba-diving centre and lives with her husband Dave, a 57-year-old scientist, in Middleton, Cumbria. She says:

Within a few weeks of getting Pinky as a kitten two years ago, I knew she was special. I’ve had Somali cats (a long-haired breed) for 15 years — I owned eight at one time but now I’m down to six — and she’s by far the most intelligent.

For one thing, she can open zips. I have a zipped washbag where I keep cotton buds, which Pinky loves to play with. Sure enough, she learned to open it. At first she could only do it when I’d left the zip slightly open — she’d put her nose in the hole and push the zipper along. But then she started biting the zipper and pulling it along. She’s incredible.

We first learned about her clever ways one night when I heard a crinkling sound in the kitchen. I investigated and found Pinky wolfing down a packet of cat treats.

I was confused — the packet had been in a biscuit barrel on a high shelf — but figured I must have left the top off accidentally. But after it had happened a few times I kept an eye out and saw Pinky, who’s small but incredibly athletic, leaping onto the rubbish bin and bouncing off it to get on to the shelf, which is about 5ft high. From there she nudged the lid off with her nose before tucking into the spoils.



We got a new container, with a seal around the neck which makes it hard to get open. She simply pushed it over and hit it against the wall with her nose and paws until the top popped off.

She’s the smartest cat I’ve ever known. I did some of the IQ tests from E.M. Bard’s book with her — such as covering her food to see if she could find it — and she passed with flying colours. Other than that, like all Somalis, she’s very vocal and loves to follow you round, but she’s also very affectionate and loves tummy rubs.