I think it's highly dependent on the cat's personality. We have two, a brother and sister pair. The male cat (Curry) will follow my snapped and pointed finger every time, and responds immediately to voice requests (I use "requests" instead of "commands" intentionally, as any cat owner can attest). If I say "jump down" he'll quickly leave whatever roost he's warming with his bum. His sister Sage, on the other hand, will offer a sassy mew if you snap your fingers at her, and otherwise ignore any requests. She is no less intelligent than her brother, she simply doesn't share his desire to cooperate with her human pets. Curry will also, if he's starved for attention (or out of food, or just bored) come up to me at my computer desk and gently tap-tap-tap on my elbow until I stop what I'm doing and attend to his needs.

Some other interesting activities they've displayed: At night we confine them to their own bedroom in the house, so they aren't constantly scratching at our bedroom door for attention or running up and down the hallway waking us up at 3am. They know when bedtime is, and while Curry is perfectly content to go to bed on his own or with minimal prompting, Sage will find a place to hide before we even realize what time it is. She absolutely refuses to go to bed of her own accord, and we must resort to trickery to get her to go in their room. We can only use the same trick once though; like a Jurassic Park velociraptor, she remembers.

The gourmet food trick worked for a few days but then she would lay her ears back and squint at us as if to say "I see what you're doing there", and run the other way. Next came the catnip-stuffed mouse toy, which she fell for exactly once and never again. Ditto the laser toy; chasing it into the bedroom only to have the door close behind her worked the first time but no more. It seems the only way she will come of her own accord anymore is if we start lavishing her brother with attention; she will come to see what the fuss is about and we'll shut the door behind her. Jealousy in a cat? Perhaps, or just feline curiosity and nothing more.