I'm not sure the test tests 'cause and effect' as much as the study seems to think it does, because the cats obviously got that pulling the string would lead to getting a treat. I'd say it's more along the lines of the cat not being able to figure out to which string the treat was attached. If anything, I'd say it's not a lack of ability to understand cause and effect, but the lack of ability of this particular test to measure how cats process information.

Which is why cats leave doing mazes to the mice. Have you ever seen a cat try to do the fun mazes that come on kids' menus? They get so frustrated that they usually just give up and eat the paper menu. And the toilet paper. And the paper towels. Oh wait, that's not every cat. That's just Oliver-the-mega-glutton.

... *waits for all the journalfenners to show up so we can share cat stories*