They are actually pretty intellegent. Mine to develop plans, but they don't quite finish the development. Mine will see someplace they want to be, and will sit and examine the situation to find a way to get there, but they always forget to think about what to do once they are there (like how to get back down). Yes, I have had a cat even on top of a ceiling fan in my den with 14 foot cathedral ceilings (when the fan was off...lol). But I had to get a ladder to get him back down.