Thanks for pointing - ha - that out! It totally makes sense to use visual communication because of course no fingers! Made me chuckle because it seems obvious yet, no, gear shifting for cats makes sense.
Yeah they have much less brain volume devoted to their paws. This is why, even though they are incredibly agile animals, they always look a bit dorky trying to manipulate something with their paws. For survival purposes they can rely on sharp hooks, and don't need dexterity.