Dogs are friendly , cats are sassy . This simple , albeit simplistic , dichotomy has been summons — and contend over — by many a best-loved possessor . But still , the question stay : Is it true that felid are more intelligent than their canine counterparts ?
We detest to burst the bubbles of all the ailurophiles reading this , but expert say that compare cat intelligence to dog smarts is like compare apple and Orange : “ Intelligence evolve to work out problems that are recurrent over an evolutionary relevant timescale,”Rosalind Arden , a research worker at the London School of Economics who studies intelligence in citizenry and bounder , state Mental Floss . “ This timescale is not fix . qat , who must deplete heart and soul , and dogs , who like meat but are more omnivorous , have faced different ecological , survival , and twin problem for a foresighted fourth dimension . We should therefore carry their cognitive abilities to differ . ”
That said , cat noesis is fairly understudied . To test intelligence among animals , scientist postulate to come up with a field of study that present a resolvable problem to its non - human subjects ; pay a “ right wing ” or “ wrong ” resolution ; and has a measurable outcome , using criteria like how long , or how many trials , each animal took to work out said problem . And as you’re able to probably imagine , cats are not the easiest subjects to try . ( One scholarly person even said it was easy towork with fish . )
“ Since dogs like snacks , we make solid food - oriented ' tryout , '' ' Arden says . “ With cat ? Jeepers . Most of them say , ' I ’ll have mine with the organic double cream on the side , please . ’ They are knockout to work with . Kudos to those who manage it . ”
So farexperts knowthat cat have " objective permanency , " or the power to know an aim is there even when it die out of plenty — a prime instance being a toy they ’ve batted underneath a couch . They also seem to be able to calculate out where the point has been run , even if they are n’t secluded to the action itself .
Studies also showthat felines can discriminate between quantities , pursue a human - pointing gestureto detect food , respond to their proprietor ' emotions , distinguish between humansusing only outspoken cue stick , and count on out bare food puzzler — all similar to dogs . ( Unlike dogs , however , cats wo n’t look up at their proprietor for " assistant " if they ca n’t resolve a puzzler . )
Meanwhile , researchers in Japanrecently foundthat catsmay be capable torespond to facial expressions , gestures , and human motion , and pick out which food sports stadium they had already eaten out of , compared to an untouched one , after a 15 - second time interval .
However , we still have a tenacious way to go before we calculate out what feline are in truth capable of — and when we do , we should compare them to other hombre or else of dogs .
“ I ’d bet the family that some bozo are smarter than others , ” Arden says . " The slog for scholar is to expose those deviation with stringent science , and to show that those differences are authentic , meaning they do n’t change with the weather condition , and that they are valid , intend that the animals with higher trial score are also respectable at doing things in the real world . That demand a mess of work . We are only at the beginning of see out how to test intelligence in other specie . ”
Have you got a Big Question you ’d like us to reply ? If so , let us roll in the hay by emailing us atbigquestions@mentalfloss.com .
