Who is smarter than a cat or a dog and why

In this article we will look at cats and dogs: who is better, who to choose and how to find certain qualities in your animals.

Quite often, various disputes arise between owners of different animals, for example, who is smarter than cats or dogs, who is better among pets, who is better to have, etc. Each owner protects his pet and tries to present it in the best possible light, while it is worth remembering that dogs and cats are very different animals, and each has both advantages and disadvantages. Let's look at the differences between these animals in the article.

Are dogs smarter than cats?

For many centuries, there has been an ongoing debate between cat and dog lovers around the world about which of these animals is smarter.

For a very long time, the main evidence that dogs are smarter than cats was their ability to train. To analyze human speech, dogs, like humans, use different areas of the brain.

So, in the left hemisphere of the dog’s brain, the meaning of words heard is processed. The right hemisphere evaluates the intonation with which the words addressed to the pet were spoken. Dogs have the ability to recognize newly heard words and associate them with a specific object or action.

However, scientists from Japan conducted studies of cats and came to the conclusion that they can also remember the words, voice and intonation of their owners. Later, similar studies were carried out by scientists from the USA. They confirmed the findings of their Japanese colleagues.

In addition, they conducted a number of experiments aimed at studying cat abilities. For example, they decided to determine whether cats would remember after some time which bowl still had food left and which did not.

The results surprised them! It turned out that cats remember everything that happens to them!

Interesting Facts

Human friendship with dogs and cats is measured not in years, but in millennia. The former were domesticated more than 30 thousand years ago, the latter - 10 thousand years ago.

Over the many years of their devotion to people, dogs have mastered many professions well: hunter, shepherd and watchman. Over the years, these horizons have expanded. Dogs began to be used as driving force. And these days they may well be police officers, rescuers, guides, sappers and even postmen.

Cats, according to most dog lovers, are practically useless, but this is not true. In ancient Egypt, they were tamed to fight mice that stole grain reserves. Today, some “purrs” have forgotten a little about their purpose, and prefer reclining on a comfortable sofa to hunting.

How to determine the level of intelligence?

When it was proven that the level of intelligence development of both dogs and cats is quite high, scientists from a private research university in Nashville (USA) conducted a series of experiments aimed at studying the size and characteristics of the brains of cats and dogs.

It turned out that the size of the brain in dogs is approximately 1.2% of the total weight. Cats have a slightly smaller brain: about 0.9% of their total body weight.

In addition, it was found that the level of intelligence depends not only on the size of the animal’s brain, but also on the number of cortical neurons present in the cerebral cortex and responsible for processing, storing and transmitting data.

Scientists believe that animals with more of these neurons have better developed abilities to think, analyze and plan further actions. It turned out that the cerebral cortex of cats contains half as many cortical neurons as that of dogs: 250 million versus 530.

How are cats different from dogs?

Cats are completely different from dogs. Here are just the main differences:

Cats prefer a more solitary lifestyle. Of course, they do not avoid human society. But unlike “social” dogs, which adapt well to the company of people and are ready to be in it around the clock, cats need rest on their own.
Cats are excellent manipulators. The dog will wait for approval from the owner in any situation. This is completely unusual for cats. They will demand, and not ask for, what they need, and for this they are ready to go to any lengths.
Cats behave more attentively and cautiously. Without exception, all cats who find themselves in an unfamiliar place will first look around and make sure that they are not in danger, and only then will find a place to rest. Unlike dogs, cats will never approach a person or object that is unfamiliar to them.
Cats are more selective than dogs in choosing information. Thus, cats usually pay attention only to what interests them, and are indifferent to what is completely uninteresting to them.
Cats have excellent sensorimotor intelligence. Their movements are more precise and graceful than those of dogs. In addition, even domestic cats still have a strong hunting instinct. In addition, they are able to hunt prey many times larger than themselves.

Teaching is light!

Often the argument for a dog's intelligence is how well they can be trained. In addition to working dogs, which are also trained to carry out specific commands, there are sports dogs. International canine sports associations hold annual competitions, dog Olympics, where four-legged athletes tug of war, carry weights, run relay races... And hard workers also compete with each other: there are shepherd dog competitions and dog sled races.

The dog is one of the most common furry circus performers. Let us recall, at least, Chekhov's Kashtanka and her teacher, whose prototype was the famous trainer Vladimir Durov.

Cats are certainly less trainable. But the reason is not so much stupidity as lack of interest in what is happening. The cat needs to be interested and motivated to perform some task. One experiment showed that cats that were given alternating simple and complex tasks solved complex problems faster than cats that were given only complex tasks. If a task turns out to be difficult to complete, the cat easily loses interest in it. Therefore, experienced trainers, when inventing tricks for them, take advantage of the natural abilities of cats. In such cases, animals show amazing results. It has been proven that cats retain information for a longer time than dogs. During another experiment, it was discovered that cats have visual memory comparable to that of monkeys.

See also: You look just like your dog! Portraits from photographer Gerard Gethings

Mental abilities of cats

Most people who do not have knowledge of felinology consider cats to be selfish, vindictive, not very smart animals that are attached not to the owner, but to the house.

Feline scientists have proven that this is a myth. Among the mental abilities of cats that distinguish them from other animals are the following:

Cats usually perform certain actions in a certain order.
According to its mental abilities, a cat can be equated to a 3-year-old child.
Cats are very attentive and cautious, so they do not like all kinds of moving, noisy companies and unfamiliar places.
Cats quickly learn what they really need and simply ignore what does not interest them.

Rats

In Chinese culture, the rat is respected for its cunning and resourcefulness. And laboratory experiments confirm these qualities: rodents easily find a way out of the most intricate labyrinths and solve complex logic puzzles to get to the coveted piece of food.

Some researchers are so impressed by the talents of bare-tailed animals that they directly state Rats Can Be Smarter Than People: rats are sometimes smarter than people. For example, tests were carried out where it was necessary to generalize previously received information and, based on this, draw a conclusion whether a new object was “bad” or “good”. In them, rodents showed better More complex brains are not always better: rats outperform humans in implicit category-based generalization by implementing a similarity-based strategy result than student volunteers.

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Rats also know how to express emotions Facial Indicators of Positive Emotions in Rats and recognize The Emotional Lives of Rats: Rats Read Pain in Others' Faces in their relatives, and show sympathy. And if necessary, they can easily learn Rats respond where it counts math skills.

What dogs can do

People have never doubted the mental abilities of dogs. True, they differ among representatives of different breeds.

This is interesting! Service breeds and mixed breeds are recognized as the most highly intelligent. The least intelligent are chow chows or hounds.

Dogs have the following abilities:

Dogs can remember about 250 words and even gestures, can learn to count to 5 and solve the simplest mathematical problems.
Dogs have an excellent memory and some rudiments of logic.
Dogs quickly adapt to life with a specific person and try to imitate him, repeating some of his habits.
Dogs have an extremely low level of sense of danger - they are brave, and in unexpected situations they are very enterprising.

Difference Between Species

Dogs are more social animals than cats. Their ancestors lived in packs, in which there was a rigid hierarchy. They had to obey the leader in order to survive. This feature has been preserved in domestic dogs.

Cats are able to live and get food on their own. They have an independent disposition. These animals do not obey anyone and they do not have the innate ability to carry out commands.

In addition, dogs were domesticated about 15,000 years ago, and cats about 4,000 years ago. These animals have different experiences living near people. The dogs had more time to get used to humans and learn social rules.

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Who is smarter - cats or dogs?

Various studies by cynologists and felinologists have not helped determine who is smarter. Despite the fact that dogs' brains are larger and contain more cortical neurons that influence mental abilities, dogs still cannot be considered smarter.

Most scientists from different countries agreed that it is almost impossible to objectively assess the intelligence of dogs and cats using these indicators:

they belong to completely different species, so they think and behave differently;
cats are more difficult to study;
All cats are capable of developing and learning new things on their own.

Impact of domestication

For a long time, researchers have propagated the theory that the domestication of pets led to a deterioration in their intelligence and brain activity.
Allegedly, due to gentle living conditions (soft bed, daily feeding, affection from the owner), cats and dogs have lost part of their minds. The theory suggested that animals no longer needed to constantly search for food, shelter, and a safe place to sleep and rest. Although pets no longer need the skills to survive in their current environment, they use their ability to think for other purposes: exploring the world around them, remembering commands, and pleasing their owner.

The next video will go into more detail about the characteristics of animal intelligence.

Comparison of intelligences

Probably every owner wants to know what the level of intelligence of his cat or dog is. To do this, you can compare the individual skills of both.

Skill	Ability to perform skill
In cats	In dogs
Ability to remember nickname	They remember quickly, they use their noses to decide when to respond or ignore	They remember quickly and always respond to it
Attachment	They become attached to their owners, but try not to show it	They become attached to their owners and always try to show them their love.
Memory	Very well developed
Motor skills	More developed sensitivity and precision of movements	More clumsy
Schedule	Gradually get used to a certain mode of feeding, walking or going to the tray
Curiosity and caution	More careful: first make sure the safety of an unfamiliar object or person	More curious: when encountering an unknown object or person, they quickly forget about caution
Understanding and support	They perfectly sense the owner’s mood and will try to support him with affection at the right moment.
Performing tricks	Capable of learning to perform tricks, but due to their independent nature the owner will need to be patient while learning	They try to quickly understand what is required of them in order to please the owner. For encouragement we are ready to repeat the trick several times

Who will you go with...

The saying “they live like a cat and a dog” should have been replaced long ago with “they live like a cat lady and a dog lover.” Psychologists believe that there are two “pure” types of people: those who have cats and those who have dogs. We usually imagine the owner of a cat as an elderly, lonely woman; the owner of a dog (especially a large one) is a young, brutal man. Of course, this is not always the case.

See also: How an ugly dog made its owner rich

However, there are traits that are more common to cat owners and traits that are more common to dog people. Maybe the owners subconsciously borrow them from their pets, maybe, on the contrary, they get a certain animal that better suits their character traits.

Cat owners are usually more independent. As a rule, they are individualists, standing somewhat apart from those around them. They rarely go into open conflict; when faced with aggression, they will offer passive resistance, waiting for the moment to counterattack.

Dog owners are more dependent on the opinions of others. In general, they need people and communication like air. They often act straightforwardly and meet problems head-on. At the same time, dog owners can show aggression if they feel that their rights are being violated.

The debate between cat people and dog people can go on forever. But it seems to us that Konrad Lorenz summed it up many years ago. “Those who love dogs often can’t stand cats, and those who love cats can’t stand dogs. For both of them, in my opinion, this indicates a certain pettiness of character - I believe that only the person who truly loves and understands animals is inspired by these two animals closest to us with equal sympathy. He who loves nature with a true love is most delighted and awed by the endless variety of living beings and the countless ways in which nature creates perfect harmonies.”

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BraveRobot found more articles on this topic:

Is it true that dogs don't get along with cats?
What is a bloodhound? How she was brought out
Methods of protection from angry dogs
Meeting in the park: the smallest and largest dogs in the world
20 rare wild cats that few people know about
Want to understand your cat's mood? Watch her tail
25 funny photos about the touching relationship between independent cats and good-natured dogs
How our dogs talk to us: what animal signals mean
The role of a cat in your daily life: the well-being of people depends on it!
Secrets of pets: 20 interesting facts about cats

Everything is relative

According to Frans Carlsen, chief zoologist at the University of Copenhagen, intelligence is a manifestation of how well an animal can adapt to new situations. A dog has a richer set of behaviors and food is more varied, says the expert, but this does not mean that it is smarter than a cat. For example, actions performed by chimpanzees can speak of developed intelligence, but only from a human point of view. On the other hand, primates are superior even to fish when it comes to adapting to the environment in which they live. Conclusion: everything is relative.

Elephants

These giants have the largest brain and, accordingly, the largest number of neurons among land animals. That is, if we assume that intelligence is related to brain size (in fact, it is not), elephants would be the clear champions in intelligence.

Additionally, elephants have impressive cognitive abilities Fact or Fiction?: Elephants Never Forget. For example, these giants confidently and in great detail remember fellow tribesmen, human faces and events even decades later. They can also track the location of several relatives at the same time.

Elephants are also one of those rare animals that are able to recognize themselves in the mirror. That is, they have self-awareness - an understanding of who I am and what I look like (by the way, babies under a year and a half are deprived of this quality). These mammals know how to cooperate with each other, that is, jointly solve life problems. And they love to play, which also indicates high intelligence.

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