It’s hard to deny that animals can easily manipulate humans. Whether it’s a pet or a random squirrel in the park, they can remember what behavior works to their advantage. This article is all about animals getting what they want or using their wits to the max.

In any unclear situation, act smartly.

• A friend of mine has a talking parrot and 7 cats. They let the bird out of the cage when the cats are in another room. But one day something went wrong.
  The friend let the parrot out of the cage and the cats came into the room. They started to surround the bird, but the parrot didn’t lose heart, he flapped his wings and yelled, “Did you feed the cats?!” © SHAME / VK

“I fed this female box tortoise some raspberries at the beginning of the summer. Now, she follows me all over the garden, and visits me almost daily looking for handouts.”

Who says that only dogs can protect the home?

• Our bathroom is being renovated, so I went to my daughter’s place to do laundry. There was no one there, except for their cat. He had this look on his face that said, “What are you doing here, woman?”
  For 3 hours, the cat followed me around like I was a thief! I couldn’t stand it and told him, “I promise I won’t take anything of yours.” But he just sat down at the entrance door and stayed there until I left. © Mamdarinka / VK

“My 6-year-old got out of the car one day, and this little guy ran up her leg. He knocks on my window daily now, as if to ask if she can come out to play.”

You need to think strategically.

• We have a dog, a small bulldog, named Sol. He is a very well-mannered boy, never runs after cats, always obeys and loves people.
  We often go to visit relatives and friends, and we always take Sol with us. Some people have cats. So our dog quickly learned one thing: if you come to visit a cat, you should not chase it. You should run to its bowl — there is always food there! © Chamber 6 / VK

“My mother works in a butcher shop, this is one of her most recurrent customers.”

Only a cat can whine in this house.

• I broke up with my boyfriend, got lonely, and got a cat. I thought that she’ll become my shoulder to cry on, the one with whom I’ll be sharing my problems. But it didn’t work out that way.
  The cat turned out to be quite a talkative lady. She walks around my apartment and “tells” me about her life. And when I start whining about my ex, she comes up to me and puts her paw on my lips. She shuts my mouth with the look, “Oh, shut up, give me some food.” © Caramel / VK

“The face you make when your owners didn’t speak to one another and you get fed 2 dinners.”

It’s good to have someone to pass the buck to.

• My cat, being pregnant, has been waiting for me to come back from holiday to deliver her babies. Well, it happened today. She’s been nagging me all day, wouldn’t let me have a proper lunch. Just ran into the kitchen with dazed eyes, grabbed my sock and led me to the box.
  Now she’s lying there with 3 little furry lumps, but she’s still demanding something from me. I don’t get it: do I have to raise them now? © Mamdarinka / VK

“My air conditioner broke. We’re in a heatwave of 100°F for the next week. She keeps taking all the air.”

Cats can make money, too.

• When I was a kid, I was friends with the girl next door. Her parents gave her a cat. He didn’t like her, so he came to see me every day. He’d break out screaming when they tried to take him back.
  My dad decided to buy this cat for me. It cost a lot of money. And when the deal was finalized, it turned out the cat had lost all interest in me. He went back to my friend and never came to our apartment again. The neighbors refused to return the money. © Caramel / VK

“Alpine found out that he can get fed earlier if he concentrates the light from the sunrise right into his owners’ eyes.”

It’s nice when a cat can sort things out on its own.

• Not so long ago, my boyfriend moved to my place. But they didn’t get along with my cat at once. After 3 weeks, the guy started saying, “Choose: either the cat or me!” And I felt a little bit offended, because I love them both!
  Reconciliation came by accident. The cat made a smart move and appeased my boyfriend. He stopped pooping in his slippers and hissing, and even began to bring him fish. Somehow they made up. © Mamdarinka / VK

“This is Matilda. Matilda is a liar. She made that noise that cats make when they’re in severe pain to tell me she can see the bottom of her food bowl.”

Who keeps company with the wolf, will learn to howl.

• Our dog has learned to play dead in all unpleasant situations. If he is scolded for something, he will fall down with his belly up, if he is not given his favorite treats, he will do the same. My husband and I couldn’t stop laughing at this actor, until our 3-year-old daughter took an example from him. Now, if she doesn’t want to go to daycare, she also lies down on the floor and pretends to be a breathless doll. © Mamdarinka / VK

“Me and my girlfriend had a fight, and this is how her cat was looking at me the whole time.”

Be afraid. Leave at once.

Sometimes animals also have a love of convenience.

• My wife made more money than me. She had a cat who appeared in her life before me. He disliked me, it was mutual, but for my wife’s sake I had to put up with it.
  And now I’m doing well at work, I got a promotion, I started earning more than my wife. Now the cat won’t leave my side. My wife thinks he’s cheating on her. She says that the cat is with me only because of money, and they love each other. © Caramel / VK

“Nova turned the bedroom light on while I was sleeping because she wanted her food dish filled right now!”

1; what's that takeout container doing over a cat bowl? 2; what is that black stuff/thing in the cat's bowl?

Study your enemy first, then act.

• Ever since we welcomed our dog in our home, we have been trying to find a solution to all the dog hair she was shedding. Finally, we bought one of the cheaper robot vacuum cleaners. It would run every day and pick up all the hair and our home was much cleaner. So everyone was happy with it.
  Well, except Laila. She hates it. It always disturbs her play time or nap time.
  At first, she used to just go and sit in her crate waiting for the vacuum cleaner to stop. But last week she’d had enough. She waited until it got closer to her bed. Then, when the time was right, she pull her whole bed and dropped it on top of the vacuum. Once it was trapped, she climbed on top of the bed and started jumping on it. This was her first attempt at the solving the problem.
  Well, that didn’t work. The vacuum would still turn on every day and annoy Laila. It was time for a different strategy. She had to be smart and patient. She observed it daily, she waited and finally came up with this genius solution.
  She has another thinner bed that’s always inside her crate. A few minutes before the daily vacuum run, she pulled it out of her crate along with one of her toys. As soon as the vacuum cleaner played its startup tune, she quickly got up, pushed her bed toward the vacuum cleaner and pushed her rubber toy against the bed, trapping the vacuum cleaner at the base. And that’s it.
  The vacuum cleaner complained that it couldn’t move away from the base for a minute and then gave up. Problem solved! She climbed up the couch and went to sleep, knowing she’d won the battle. The evil had been defeated! Her world was safe again. © Paiyyaaj Tekker / Quora

And here are pets who can’t live without their best furry friends.

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