‘[My cat] started making biscuits where my surgery incision was’: Pet owners share the astounding moments they realized they deeply underestimated their pets' intelligence

As pet owners, we often forget just how intelligent our furry, or feathery, or scaley babies are until that one moment when they reveal to us that they know much more than they let on.

Intellect can be measured in numerous ways, including emotional intelligence and logical intelligence, among others. Though our pets don't have opposable thumbs and don't know how to speak human languages, they can display their knowledge of the world around them in other ways. Now, am I saying that they all have object permanence (my cat being the antithesis of this idea), but sometimes, you realize that your pet might be capable of more than you'd ever imagined previously.

In a Reddit thread, a user posed a very interesting question: "Pet owners, what was that moment that made you think 'wow, I have severely underestimated the intelligence of my pets'?" This sparked a beautiful conversation about the emotional intelligence of the fellow cats, pups, and even parrots of the world who wowed their owners and made them believe in their intellectual capabilities. Do you have a story to share about one of your beloved pets and their hidden smarts? Scroll below to read some heartwarming stories from real pet owners.