What great memories you must have - and you brought back memories of my 3 Meezers - Ming, Sam & Suki. There was never a dull moment when they got wound up, and their antics always kept us laughing. Ming & Suki were Seal Point, and Sam was a Blue Point. Bad boy Ming was the oldest, and he outlived them all, and was 20 when he departed for RB.
He too was a smart one. One day he taught himself to use the toilet (but only to pee - I think he liked the sound of the tinkle ), but he never learned to flush either! He never used the litter box again as long as the toilet seat was raised, and with a husband (EX) and 2 boys growing up in the house, you can guess how often that was!!
I too have a picture of him attending to business in this rather unusual way for a cat.