Although, the more I look into this, the more skeptical I am... Oh well.

On cats painting:

You'd be surprised. Apparently there's a link between the feline marking/scratching instinct and painting. Cats are, in fact, able to paint.

Animals certainly can be reasonably intelligent. It's rumored, for instance, that if pigs had hands, they could perform small manual labor (like assembling clothespins and such). Painting, though? It that even possible? Gotta say I doubt it. It requires quite a high level of abstraction to paint what you see onto canvas (or, conversely, to recognize reality from a photo or television). Not to mention the staggering amount of abstraction it takes to create art.

I agree with you completely on the fact that animals have a baseline intelligence of a toddler. I live with three very observant cats and a dog that not only knows how to open doors but will quietly open the door with her paw on the handle, push it open slightly, look around to make sure no one is watching, and then finally when the coast is clear exit the house (and when she's caught she'll promptly go back inside and lay down on her bed like she had no desire to leave whatsoever).

I'm almost wondering if I could. There's lots of interesting stories about cat painters, kind of a rare talent, I'd be interested to see whether she can cultivate it. And she's the first cat I've ever had who actually seemed to express an interest in it.

Companiable, that's what YOU think! Haha. That's why curiosity is specifically attached to cats. :) Paint all over the house?

My aunt's dog does this. We joke she's really a cat. Watches when you wash dishes, watches when you fold laundry. Watches when workmen lay tile. Every. Single. One, her nose about two inches from the poor guy. Luckily he loves dogs, but it is a little unnerving having a dog that watches you hand sew, which happened to me. As if she was learning it, as if she'd look up and say "you dropped a stitch there." Or "wait, wait, that's backwards." Don't plan to try painting round her, as you have so clearly illustrated. Let the kitty do one. :)