The smartest cat in the world? Kitty performs 26 tricks in one minute

8-year-old Alexis, a cat owned by Anika Moritz (Austria), has broken the record for the most tricks performed by a cat in one minute.

Following Anika’s clear instructions, Alexis achieved an unbelievable 26 tricks.

See her record-breaking attempt it action!

Anika has had Alexis since she was a kitten and started training her at just 12 weeks old. 

According to 20-year-old Anika, Alexis is trusting, loves to cuddle, but also appreciates her freedom.

Anika, who is self described as totally in love with cats, believes Alexis is her "once in a lifetime cat".

“We are doing tricks since she is a kitten and she loves trick time so much. I would say that it is our passion,” Anika said. 

Through their training, Anika realised that Alexis was paw-ticularly good at following instructions. 

“She learned so fast, that I knew, that she is a very special cat.”

• Read on to find out more about why Anika attempted the record, her training routine and her future plans with Alexis! 

Why did you attempt the record for the most tricks performed by a cat in one minute?

I always wanted to show how amazing cats are. It was my aim back in 2017 to try to break this record. 

I also wanted to change the view of cats most people have. Cats are not just a decoration for the living room. 

Cats are small tigers, who love to interact with other cats and a human being. They also love being kept busy with playing, food puzzles or/and trick training. 

No cat is 100% stubborn and literally every cat can do tricks with positive training. 

I also definitely got inspired by the previous record holder Robert and Didga and some awesome dog trainers here in Austria.

How do you train a cat to do tricks? 

I grew up training Alexis and my other cat(s), so it was normal to me. I think, that you can train every cat, if you put much love, patience and understanding into the training. 

You also should be able to read the cat language and know the basics of positive animal training techniques. 

Alexis is trained with positive reinforcement and a clicker and gets a treat and/or compliment after every single trick. 

We just train with positive reinforcement, so there are no negative feelings for the cat, which is important.

When did you discover that Alexis could potentially achieve this record?

In 2017 I heard of this amazing record and tried to perform some tricks within 60 seconds at home. At this time she was able to do 14 tricks in 1 minute. 

After that unofficial attempt I kind of forgot the record and kept training Alexis funny tricks, because it’s our passion. In 2019 I remembered the record and tried it again. 

I was actually pretty shocked how good and fast Alexis was. That was the time I thought that we could actually achieve this awesome record. 

So we kept (and keep) training and tried to do even more tricks in 60 seconds.

How did you train Alexis for this record attempt? 

I first wrote a list of tricks which Alexis loves to perform. 

I record my trainings very often, so that I can improve my training skills and watch the fluency of every trick. Thus, I know which tricks are faster than others. 

The training was then mostly just trying to figure out which tricks match perfectly in order to save some time.

How difficult did you/Alexis find the training?

The most difficult part was that Alexis did not get any reward (by hand due to the rules) for 60 seconds. 

Normally my cat gets a positive reward after every trick, because training should always be fun and worth it. 

However, Alexis managed it so good, because my attention and the interacting is a reward too and she knew that she would get a very special treat after the 60 seconds.

How do you feel about achieving the record title for the most tricks performed by a cat in one minute?

I am so freaking happy that Alexis (and me) got the record for this! 

We want to show that cats can learn more than just using the cat toilet. Cats are intelligent little creatures who deserve to be treated well. 

They need interaction and some sort of employment to be happy. Training enriches the cat’s life and prevent behaviour problems. 

Alexis and I continue to train trying to rebreak our own record, because we would like to accomplish the 30 tricks in one minute. 

That’s a big challenge for sure, but Alexis loves the positive training so much and it’s a new goal to reach.

If you want some inspiration for what trick to try with your feline friend, here are all the tricks that Alexis achieved in 60 seconds: 

1. Herum (go around the legs)
2. Durch (weave through legs)
3. Voran (go onto red carpet)
4. Turn (180 degree turn to the left)
5. Sitzen (sit)
6. Teppich ausrollen (roll out red carpet)
7. High five right
8. Winken (wave with right paw)
9. Shake (shake head)
10. High five left
11. Andere (left paw)
12. Winken links (wave left paw)
13. Muede (touch nose with left paw)
14. Schau links (look left)
15. Schau rechts (look right)
16. Hands up
17. Wave with hands up
18. High ten
19. Cross (cross left paw while sitting)
20. Glocke (ring/touch bell with paw)
21. Target touch (touch target with nose)
22. Nimm (pull on string to open box)
23. Zurueck (go back)
24. Stop
25. Komm (come)
26. Pfoten hoch (both paws up on arm)