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Miklósi himself tried to change that in 2005. In the first study to directly compare how cats and dogs communicate with people, he and colleagues conducted the pointing test at pet owners’ homes. The cats performed as well as the dogs. But, foreshadowing a headache that would plague the field of feline social cognition, several cats “dropped out” of the study, according to the research paper. Some stopped paying attention. Others simply walked away from the testing siteWhat should have been the beginning of a revolution in feline social cognition turned out to be a dead end. No one followed up on Miklósi’s study, including Miklósi himself, who vowed never to work with cats again. “I think everybody tried, and almost everybody gave up,” he says, laughing. It would be nearly a decade before almost anyone tried again.The feline revolutionBack at Oregon State, a heavy-set calico named Lyla has entered the white lab room along with her owner, Clara. As we watch on a video feed, Lyla slinks low to the ground and suddenly freezes—eyes dilated—when a door slams in the adjoining hallway. Then things get worse: Clara leaves. Lyla begins to circle, seemingly in a panic, and then creeps toward the door where Clara exited. Then Lyla meows. And meows. And meows.

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“Our record is 61 cries in 2 minutes,” says Vitale, who runs the cat research program here. After 2 minutes, Clara returns to the room and sits cross-legged on the floor. Lyla immediately walks over and rubs against her owner’s legs and face while Clara strokes her. Then, calmer than she’s been since she arrived, Lyla walks away from Clara and begins to explore the room, sniffing its corners and batting a feather toy.”People think that’s a sign the cat doesn’t care about the owner,” Vitale says. “But it’s actually the opposite.” Lyla, she says, is showing that she trusts Clara so much that she feels comfortable going off on her own as long as Clara is around. In essence, Clara is her security blanket.How socially smart is your cat?To find out whether your cat can pass some common tests of social intelligence, try these simplified experiments at home. Make sure your cat is calm and relaxed before you start.