Amy, Yes, I think my cat can hear sound but not distinguish speech sounds from the general blur. I know she hears some because the one thing she recognizes is "Kitty, Kitty!" Her name is Colette, and sometimes she seems to recognize that. She certainly hears food being put in her bowl, and of course can openers. I'd try the spray bottle trick, but unfortunately she tends to be in places where everything around her would be damaged by water, such as on top of the TV or my desk. She probably knows that... She's not as clever as some cats I've had, but she has common sense and street smarts. She knows enough to back up if she gets her head stuck in something, which is more than I can say for some cats I've had. This cat is also very very sweet. The last time I had to go on a trip without her, I was packing my dufflebag and got distracted and had to do something else. When I came back I found Colette laying on the bag clutching one of her miniature stuffed animals. The sad part was, I still had to leave her. <frown> Kellie To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.