Intelligence

Most pets are so dumb—so we made them smarter. We engineered a few of them to integrate more ape-like genes. But then they kinda got released into the wild—really, they released themselves. Interbreeding happened pretty quickly after that, so now everything from bees to pigeons to snakes to cats seem smarter. They want stuff now—not just food, but jobs, art, housing, security, education, fulfillment. They can cooperate, they can sever our power lines, they’ve taken people hostage until we agree to their demands. Plus we have nothing to be pets anymore. It’s a real shame most pets were so dumb.