So who needs thumbs? (Riktor story)

Weather's been nasty cold here; below zero, and that's without the windchill.
Time for All Good People (or at least, those with the ability to do so!) to plug their cars in so that they won't freeze up.

I don't have an outlet on the outside of me house, so I have to run a cord inside through a window. Fortunately, it's on the south side- the sheltered side. The cord only needs about one square inch and I can block off the rest of the crack with a towel or something.

THEORETICALLY.

The cats, smelling the cold fresh air (and knowing the benefits thereof) very kindly remove the towel in order to facilitate in airing the house out. :banghead:
I can sorta see their point; even though I scoop the boxes daily and keep up with other stuff that can get odiferous, Nag Champa incense only covers so much...and 'paying the heating bill' is not a concept they're equipped to understand.

So...
Last year I replaced the screen that Riktor had shredded with one that was supposed to be 'pet-proof'...which meant that it was a stronger material that cats can't claw through.

Riktor could (and did) still punch it out the bottom though; spline (the rubber stuff that holds the screen in place) doesn't have a chance against the determination of Riktor Pye when he has decided he wants OUT.
I've left the screen fluttering in place; it does keep the majority of the bugs from flying in the window.

So, last night, Riktor decided he wanted OUT. It was a lovely night, (30 degrees, some snow on the ground). Me being the unreasonable being that I am, told him "NO. It's 11:30 at night, you can stay inside.
It won't kill you."

Cats are known for their stubborn pigheadedness independance, right?
After I'd gone into the computer room I heard Riktor give up on the scratch-scratch-scratch at the window which was his usual method of getting it open (i.e., annoying ME into opening it for him). Then I heard some noises I couldn't identify, having not heard them before. This is something you ALWAYS want to check out with cats...they can do the darndest things.

Riktor had pulled some of the screen inside the house. He'd grabbed it in his teeth and was using it as a sling to pull the window sash upward.

THIS IS TOOL-USING BEHAVIOR.:wow:

I don't know if he came across this by accident, or he reasoned it out, but the net result was that he USED the screen as a sort of sling or handle to open the window and get out.

What else is he...(and the other cats!) doing that I haven't caught onto yet? :hide::yoiks:

I know I joke about Wimsey 'helping' the neighbor fix his car (because he comes home with his white coat all greasy)...but they DO hang out there a lot.
Do you suppose they learned about tools from my mechanic neighbor?

I know they're smart...but this is beginning to worry me. :tinfoilhat:

Seriously, that's pretty interesting. Do you know any animal behaviorists you could talk to about this? I will have to watch mine a little more closely to see if they ever use tools -- mostly they just destroy stuff.

Edit: I just found this article about a tool-using cat: http://cats.about.com/od/behaviortraining/a/cattools.htm