A video of a "clever" cat that's figured out how to operate an automatic food dispenser has amazed users on TikTok.
The video was posted by @therealdres and has received 2.4 million views since it was shared on February 24. A message overlaid on the clip says: "The moment you realize your cat is a hacker." The footage shows two "tuxedo" cats with black and white coats sitting around a food dispenser.
One of the cats is shown pawing at the dispenser as a few beeps are heard in the background, while a voice in the clip says, "Way too many buttons." The other cat remains still, sitting patiently in front of the machine.
The feline continues to paw at the side of the dispenser before another beep is heard as the machine says, "It's meal time, it's meal time." The food is then dispensed into one of the bowls at the bottom of the device, and the other cat is shown tucking into the food.
The voice in the clip says "cheeky" before the video ends.
The hacking abilities of the seemingly smart cat in the post may not be surprising to some because cats have a brain structure that resembles that of the most intelligent animals in the ecosystem.
A cat has 250 million neurons in its cerebral cortex, which is the part of the brain that manages rational decision-making and complex problem-solving, according to a December 2017 study in Frontiers in Neuroanatomy.
The use of their paws may be linked to cats' problem-solving abilities.
An August 2020 study in Behavioural Brain Research looked at the relationship between laterality (the preference for one side of the body over another) and problem-solving ability in cats that needed to open a lid to reach a food reward. The study found that "cats that showed a clear preference for one paw were able to open more lids successfully than ambilateral animals."
"Moreover, cats that preferred to interact with the test apparatus with their paw from the beginning opened more lids than cats [that] first tried to interact with the test apparatus using their heads," the study said.
'A Genius'
In a later comment, the video's poster said that the cats "never touched those buttons" on the dispenser, so the cat was "never shown" how to press anything.
"They figured that part out on their own," the poster said.
The poster also said that only one of the cats has figured this out, "hence why the other just waits."
TikTok users were impressed and amused by the cat's abilities.
Shell wrote, "That's so clever. My cat learned how to open doors." Christopher Laraway said, "That's unreal..."
Sean San Miguel said, "I love cats so smart," while VS21 wrote, "That's crazy! I can only imagine how shocked u were when it happened!"
Lauren Layne wrote: "That would be my cat. He is way too smart..."
SirMeows101 said, "Tuxedos are geniuses! They will always find a life hack lol," and @mintatalks wrote, "My tuxedo cat is a genius..."
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in travel and health.
Soo ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
