I'd agree in general, except that of my two cats one could have been an engineer were she born with opposable thumbs, the other can't be persuaded not to drink the mopp water if left unattended for more than a minute.

Plenty of fresh water available, of course.

We have one that's truly stupid, but when we found him he had a URI, and a bad reaction to his vaccines. We thought he was going to die, but it just cooked his brain.

Agreed. I've trained my cats to come to a bell, because it's easier than finding them when it's vet time. I found a bell that's loud enough to be heard across the house, and I ring it before giving them breakfast/dinner and before any treats.

One of them doesn't come consistently, but that's because she only eats when she's hungry and doesn't really care about treats. She's also not the problem child, so it's not a big deal.

The problem child, however, has recognized the bell, and is trying to find other ways to make a bell sound when he's hungry.

Orange cats are the sneakiest, craftiest little bastards imaginable. They can also be incredibly dumbass. The two are not exclusive, look at every character Brendan Fraser has played