One of my cats has the IQ to play Tetris, for sure. I know what will happen if I connect a brain/computer interface to him and let him at it. The other cat is fucking retarded though.
my current cat is what I would consider above average, understands over 100 words, is very emotionally intelligent, and can communicate fairly well. she seems to have about 20-30 different vocalizations that we have agreed on, and is able to communicate that way; though not in the way of the other cat that could communicate ideas.
of course, I've also had cats that were either on the dumb side, or didn't care enough about dealing with the humans to make themselves appear as smart.
unfortunately, until we can define "consciousness" and measure it well, it will still be our own ideas on what is intelligent or conscious that we either observe with bias or make an emotional "guess" about.
It's almost exclusively carnivores/omnivores who fit this description, not herbivores....
Do you even comprehend how carnivores eat?