Trainability in cats is a funny thing.

My cats understand and will obey a number of verbal commands, one of which is “go away”. I don’t use it often, but if they’re bugging me and I’m trying to work or doing something that could be dangerous for cats, I can tell them to go away, and off they go - they’ll only keep pestering me if there’s a serious problem they need me to look at.

That said, their idea of a serious problem that requires my attention is somewhat eccentric. Previous instances have included:

• There was an unfamiliar car parked across the street
• Their water bowl was four inches to the left of its usual position
• One of them had puked on the stairs and they didn’t want to walk past it
  
• It was raining
• One of them saw a weird bug