We almost had a riot at our house on Sunday. If our cats had been a little smarter, or a little more ill-tempered, it very well could have happened.

The issue is that our cats, like most people’s pets, have memories. They learn certain things, and they remember. For example, the cats have associated the sun being visible through our bedroom window as the time of morning when we are supposed to get up and feed them. They know that I feed each of them a scoop, and that my wife feeds them a second scoop when she comes downstairs. This can be an issue on the weekends when we are wanting to sleep in. Tyler, the male cat of the bunch, doesn’t have much tolerance for such lazy behavior (and this coming from a cat that sleeps 17 to 19 hours a day).

They’ve figured out other things, too. They know how to open doors simply by reaching up and twisting the doorknob until the latch clicks. They know where the food container is kept, and at one point Tyler figured out how to open it by pushing it hard enough to make the lid pop off. I think I may have written about that incident before, and how it led to us getting a new container with a twist-off lid he can’t open. As long as he doesn’t suddenly grow opposable thumbs, I think we will be fine with that one.

Not everything the cats have learned over the years has been a nuisance or a detriment. I like that they know where the litter boxes are. I like that they know where their scratching posts are (as opposed to just scratching on the furniture or the wooden window panes). I like that they know where each of their food bowls are, and don’t all run around confused about which bowl is which (though they do have a tendency to seek out the other cats’ bowls when their own is empty, but that is really a minor thing).

One of the things the cats have learned, the relevant event of this week’s column, is that paper plates mean a serving of canned tuna. Let me tell you, if you’ve ever wanted to see a cat just go completely nuts in excitement and anticipation of something, feed it a cat food can of tuna. (Alternatively, catnip and cat grass are big hits as well.)

My wife, every two to three months, will split a can of food between them. She always puts the servings on paper plates, and they absolutely love it. The moment Tyler sees that paper plate out, he is in the kitchen, shrieking at the top of his lungs as if to say, “Guys! Guys! We’re getting the canned stuff today! Get in here!”

He’ll paw at the kitchen cabinets, and more than once has tried to jump onto the counter. It’s funny to watch them circle around, joining in the chorus of shrieks as they await their plate to be placed on the floor. Watching them eat the stuff is another source of fascination for me. Tyler is smart enough to put his paw on the plate so it doesn’t slide around. Daisy, our oldest, has learned this late in life and will sometimes mimmick Tyler’s behavior. Gracie, our youngest, has discovered the solution is to just push the plate up against the cabinet until it stops moving.

On Sunday, we had a small get-together with friends, and my wife made lunch for everyone. Not thinking about the potential cats’ reaction, she got out a stack of paper plates on which to serve tacos. It only took about four seconds for Tyler to get into the routine. He was at her feet so fast I thought he must have been running at the speed of light. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any canned cat food in the house, and so all my wife could do was just smile at him, sadly, and apologize profusely for the misunderstanding.

At least he doesn’t hold a grudge. I have heard stories of cats that are vindictive and seek revenge against humans they either don’t like or whom have “wronged” them in some way, and some of the tales of reckoning are not the kind for dinner conversation. A woman I used to work with had to throw out her husband’s favorite pair of jeans once because the cat used them for a litter box after he left without feeding it that morning.

Maybe I should stop and get a can of food for the cats tonight, just as a precaution, now that I think about it.