I have heard many tales of cats doing some really unusual things associated with intelligence of a very high level.

I even used to think that some of these stories were highly exaggerated.

Especially the ones which talk about cats entering certain premises undetected in spite of heavy security systems and burglar alarms being installed.

However, I am aware that there are some cats that are exceptionally clever and are almost able to sense the moods of humans around them.

There is one such cat in our neighborhood.

He simply appeared many months ago out of nowhere and was first discovered when found napping on my neighbor's doorstep.

The guy used to eventually hang around near our house and was somewhat attractive to look at.

It is his picture that adorns the right side of this page.

He has a relaxed look and always appears totally disinterested in the environment.

Even when I took his picture he knew that something unusual was up, but pretended to be disinterested.

You will notice that his eyes are almost shut.

Well, I did add the very same pictures to my earlier hubs as well just after snapping them, without making any special mention of this cat.

All of a sudden I realised that he deserves a special mention when I remembered his subtle yet dramatic entry into our lives!

It was during this period of time, we used to hear things toppling in the kitchen.

The sounds which followed indicated that a cat was around.

My sister suggested it could be him since these strange things started happening just after his arrival.

But I simply ruled him out saying that he is too lazy a cat to go around exploring.

Besides, he did not seem to have any worldly interests at all!

I used to even wonder what his reaction would be if a mouse springs up from somewhere and enters his line of vision!

I had my doubts as to whether he would even react!

Although we never got about offering him any food thinking that if he had wanted some he would have shown some kind of interest.

Had he done so, we would have been glad to respond.

However these events went on happening in our kitchen for a quite some time and we were not able to spot the culprit, as he scampers away pretty fast and had been able to avoid detection.

The pots and pans in the kitchen are not always around, but just about an hour before a meal for the food to thaw before going into the micro wave oven, or an hour after a meal for it to simmer down before going into the freezer.

There are other cats in the neighborhood as well, but almost all of them are timid and rarely come within communicating distance.

It took a lot of investigating to figure out how the guy used to get in.

Eventually, I did discover how he had defeated the security system of our home!

Clever dude indeed! He has been thinking like a human. He really has, if not even better!

Then one fine day, on a Saturday, just before noon, I heard a bit of a noise in the kitchen, which suggested that the "visitor" had entered.

The very first thing I did was to rush to block the passage which I was certain was used by the visitor to enter. You see, I am clever too!

I realized there was a sure indication that he had gotten in and was active in the kitchen.

Having blocked it, I rushed to the kitchen ... and there he was, the "visitor" ... this very same cat! ... My sister was right!

I would never in my wildest dreams have ever suspected him. But there he was, with a totally different expression on his face!

It was totally different from that lazy look he used to sport twenty four hours a day, with his eyes half closed!

There he was, the very same guy who used to pretend to be disinterested in everything around!

His pose indicated that he was about to spring onto something that would in turn cause some pans to topple and hopefully open!

Open his path to the delicacies that we so painstakingly marinated and baked! I understood he was targeting that particular pan!

For the first time I saw him with his eyes wide open, and he really and truly had a guilty look on his face!

For the very first time I saw his face like that! Full of vigor and totally alert, and mind you completely interested!

Disinterested in the surroundings? My foot!

For just a nano-second he thought of springing away and making a run for it, but ... I am dead certain that he was aware that the exit had been blocked by me!

So the clever cat just stood firmly there on the kitchen table, still with the same look on his face, knowing very well that I will definitely not harm him, and not altering his pose or expression, he looked up at me with his eyes still wide open. And now, trying hard not to look guilty, he looked up at me and very seriously said "ngyaew!"

I understood perfectly well what "ngyaew" meant.

He meant that he, all by himself, had made a big discovery, and although the rule says "finders keepers" he magnanimously is inviting me to join him.

Almost as if to say, come on lets both of us check out what's in that pan! Then we'll split it 50/50.

I understood him well! Very well indeed. But, I did not like the idea at all.

Then I could almost hear him say "hey dude! ... although it's finders keepers, my offer still holds good!" "Come on! What are you waiting for?"

Well, I said to him "ngyaeow to you too!"

Then I picked him up and took him downstairs, opened the door and then the gate, and then I placed him on the ground outside and gave him an encouraging push in a direction pointing away from my house.

He did not resist at all! He calmly went through the "pick up and drop" operation!

That was a Saturday, and that pan contained large slices of baked fish to which some extra spice had been added.

Then it had been heated in a slow fire for a certain period of time.

Some special herbs had also been added afterwords exactly as instructed.

The goodness of the herbs get absorbed gradually while the baked fish simmers!

"Ngyeaw!"

... concluded