How smart is an octopus anyhow?

[Catherine]

Animals are living a totally different agenda. They have no interest is much of our nonsense. When we go to test their intelligence we are using a different language and we get poor results. The lack of intelligence is ours.

Misty was too intelligent to bother with the kind of tests they use to measure dog's intelligence.

We have no idea what we are doing when we test whales. They are way more intelligent than we even guess at. They quite possibly have language. 

Definitely dogs understand human language. Cats know lots of words, when it suits them to know them. The guinea pigs know a lot of words. I have to use special names for their meals so they don't start calling for food every time I cook my own food.