12 cats pulling a sled? Case closed.
Cats rock, LOL
Dreams have been described as dress rehearsals for real life, opportunities to gratify wishes, and a form of nocturnal therapy. A new theory aims to make sense of it all.
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I recently asked a 5-year old why she liked cats. "They are cute," she replied. "But I like dogs, too. They are smart," she added. I nodded, thinking to myself that that was a smart answer.
Dogs carry out amazing tasks. When I went to live in Australia in 2007, I had my first encounter with a food detector dog. On the plane they had us fill out various forms with explicit warnings against importing food and drugs. As I was traveling with my daughter, who was three at the time, I had bags full of apple sauce, cheerios and raisins. I carefully disposed of these items prior to entering the line for immigration. As I was standing in line with my daughter in a stroller, a police dog dragged a police officer closer and closer to the stroller. The dog started sniffing.
"Are you importing any food?" The police officer asked.
"No, Officer, I got rid of everything," I replied in compliance.
The dog kept sniffing the hand luggage hanging from the stroller's handles. It finally settled on one particular bag.
"Would you please open your bag?" The police officer sent me a mean look.
I placed the bag on the floor and opened it. The dog dove his head into the bag and a few minutes later he presented a tiny ziplog bag with an old banana peel to the police officer. I got off with a warning.
We don't use cats as food detectors. We don't use them for very many purposes. Dogs get their paws dirty. They serve as police dogs, military dogs, drug detector dogs, fire dogs, seeing-eye dogs, therapy dogs, and cancer detector dogs.
A U.S. Navy dog was a member of the SEAL Team Six, the elite military operatives that killed Osama bin Laden. Military dogs are trained to jump out of airplanes and helicopters, and they are better bomb detectors than the fanciest bomb detection technology today. Even elephants, mules, dolphins and sea lions have served in the military. But police cats, military cats and seeing-eye cats are rare.
But cats certainly aren't dumb. Their brains may be small compared to ours, occupying only about 0.9 percent of their body mass compared to about 2 percent in an average human and about 1.2 percent in an average dog. But size doesn't always matter. Neanderthals, the hominids that went extinct more than 20,000 years ago, had bigger brains than Homo sapiens, but they probably weren't smarter than the Homo sapiens that beat them in the survival game.
Surface folding and brain structure matter more than brain size. Unlike the brains of dogs, the brains of cats have an amazing surface folding and a structure that is about 90 percent similar to ours. The cerebral cortex of cats is greater and more complex compared to that of dogs. The cerebral cortex is the part of the brain responsible for cognitive information processing. A cat's cerebral cortex contains about twice as many neurons as that of dogs. Cats have 300 million neurons, whereas dogs have about 160 million. In fact, cats have more nerve cells in the visual areas of their brain, a part of cerebral cortex, than humans and most other mammals.
Like brain size, number of neurons in the cerebral cortex may not be a good indicator of intelligence. But it's a better indicator than brain size. The cerebral cortex is the seat of rational decision making and complex problem solving. It also interprets inputs from the senses and from emotional processing that occurs subcortically. It is involved in the planning of action, the interpretation of language (or other forms of communication), and it is responsible for the storage of short-term and long-term memory. Cats have longer-lasting memories than dogs, especially when they learn by doing rather than seeing.
If cats are so smart, why don't we use them as police cats, military cats and seeing-eye cats? Maybe because they are too smart to be enslaved by humans. As Huffington Post puts it, "dogs come when they're called; cats take a message and get back to you." Dogs have been domesticated for thousands of years to excel at social tasks, whereas cats have not. There is a reason for that: Cats are more impulsive than dogs and have far less patience. They don't easily tolerate frustrating situations for long periods of time. If an activity isn't obviously rewarding to them, they would rather do something else. Dogs will do almost anything for a treat or a smile on their owner's face. Dogs clearly have a higher social IQ than cats but cats can solve harder cognitive problems, if indeed they feel like it.
12 cats pulling a sled? Case closed.
Cats rock, LOL
you're right. the verdict came out last year around november. the missing sources in the article failed to point out that it's dogs with double the neurons over cats - even raccoons score higher.
the demands of a social creature that works in a pack and has been in a symbiotic relationship with another species are far higher than a simple solitary carnivore.
I really appreciate the article and loved all the comments.
But did anyone realized that humans, even the top of the food-chain, can not judge the brain and ability of any animals?
Any scientific prove is based on findings of humans alone...
This is not cats vs dogs or any other animals. Brain can be small or large, and neurons can be more or less on anyone of beings...
I believe this is how anyone can use what they have got.
As much as I know we humans can use around 10 percent of the brain we have. (as well based on human findings)
Take anyone animal not corrupt as us humans, and we have no means to know how much of their brain they can use.
The only way we can study them is from our human perspective, but we don't know theirs.
I have 7 cats and I respect them, no matter if they love me more or less than my dog, or who is more clever.
I don't care who is more clever, as long as I realize that they can be more clever then me, I personally don't think myself being better or more advanced in any way than my animals.
I try to be receptive to all of them, and grateful to what they have shown me so far. I experienced that, and I hope that some more humans will not undermined the animals they are lucky to be with.
The other beings can show us so very much more from what we are capable of even seeing or comprehending...
No offence to anyone...
This is meant as a general comment on the article that regardless of number of neurons, dogs are clearly more intelligent in terms of empathy and train-ability? That sounds a little strange. But seriously. And don’t forget, if you die at home alone, your cat will start eating you in about a day, even if there is food available. your dog will wait about 3 days as a last resort. At least that is what i’ve heard/ read. Thoughts?
Cats must have fresh meat. Dogs can handle spoiled meat as long as it isn't TOO rotten.
Not true, police reports have shown that far more dogs have taken to eating their owners than cats. Don't believe the myth.
Anonymous wrote:This is meant as a general comment on the article that regardless of number of neurons, dogs are clearly more intelligent in terms of empathy and train-ability? That sounds a little strange. But seriously. And don’t forget, if you die at home alone, your cat will start eating you in about a day, even if there is food available. your dog will wait about 3 days as a last resort. At least that is what i’ve heard/ read. Thoughts?
Not at all true!!! Evidence proves that dogs will eat dead owners more often than cats. It’s DOGS that start eating their owners within 24 hours, not cats. Paramedics will confirm this as they find this a lot. Cats are fussier eaters being hunters. Dogs are scavengers. But can you really blame any animal, it needs to live?
Did you see that the dog people are struck back. The latest “study” which can barely even be called a study as it was so limited. Even the scientist running it, Herculano-Houzel admitted she was a dog person and the test was tiny. Now it’s all over the internet and it’s great to find something that remembers it’s not about neurones but where they are. I don’t know why but I think cats are just as smart as dogs even if there’re not cooperative.
and a stray chicken. It took the chicken two days to figure out I was feeding it. It took the stray cat a YEAR to figure out I was feeding it. I think the chicken may be smarter than that cat.
:-)
One thing is certain, if cats are smarter, they tolerate boredom better. Smarter dogs such as border collies tolerate boredom very poorly.
What do you mean it took your cat a year to figure out you were feeding it? It didn't eat for a year?
So I don't tolerate boredom well either. Are you saying that everybody with ADHD is a more intelligent human a because people with ADHD have short attention spans? I like your logic. That would be pretty awesome because studying things and paying attention can get pretty boring after a few minutes. It is nice to know that I don't need to do that anymore because having a short attention span is good enough. Why would a cat need to, "figure out you were feeding it?" Did it ever cross your mind that some animals do not need to depend solely on people feeding them for survival? I think it would be a bit tougher for a chicken to to fend for itself in the wild than a cat and it probably needs more help finding food than the cat. Oh but who cares? You think I am a genius. I am flattered.
I said Border Collies are smart. Then again, if you're a Border Collie and you're typing on the net, that's a pretty impressive display of intelligence, or perhaps of boredom. :-)
If the cat didn't need the food, he wouldn't keep coming and looking for it. He has figured out the food "appears" there, he has not figured out I'm putting it there for him. The previous stray cat figured it out in a week.
You sound like the stupid one. How do you know the cat doesn't know you're supplying him the food? Do you expect the cat to thank you? The cat, if its a stray, is probably wild and doesn't want anything to do with you besides take the food and get back to doing its own thing. What makes you so sure the cat "doesn't know you're feeding it".. That doesn't even make sense. The cat doesn't care who's feeding it, it found a supply of food and goes back to it because it is there ...not because a new human friend put it there. What are you thinking?
You clearly know NOTHING of animals. And apparently aren't too bright besides. Animals have all kinds of ways of indicating awareness of their surroundings. His behavior indicated that he knew food appears here, but not that he was being fed. He has since learned that he IS being fed, and now has a little ritual for obtaining that food. It took him considerably longer to work that out than it took *any* of the other animals in the area, including squirrels; probably because he's feral and may be used to being chased off. Now he knows, and he sticks around more.
And why does the cat need to figure out he's being fed? Or care? The food is there. Where it came from is irrelevant to kitty. Clearly you're the one that isn't too aware of your surroundings
Please explain ONE thing to me, so I can be clear on your comment. What did the chicken do to acknowledge he "was being fed" that the cat did not do? I don't know what you mean when say that the cat took longer to figure it out... couldn't that be because he did not want to go near you? You also said he was likely feral. Wouldn't this all mean the cat was just conscious of your whereabouts and keeping a safe enough distance away? Why do you think it just means the cat "couldn't figure it out"? Maybe the chicken couldn't figure out that you are a massive predator and could chop his head off and eat him at any moment you'd like. Maybe wild cat was much more aware of how dangerous a person can be to smaller animals and that is why he wouldn't trust you.
I'm not the animal whisperer, I don't actually want to argue about it... I'm just saying.
Also, you would not get a feral dog to come near you for a long, long time either. However, you probably won't see a feral dog around where you live
When the chicken realized she was being fed, she would watch for movement through the kitchen window, and when she saw me, she'd run for the door. The chicken was cautious at first, but figured it out pretty quick. She eventually got ate by coyotes and another stray chicken showed up. Same scenario, except chicken number two remained more cautious.
The cat has since figured out that the food does not just appear by magic. I have to put it there, and I only do that if I see him out there. So now he sits very visibly by the food bowl instead of hiding. When I open the door, he runs for cover, waits until I put the food out, and go back inside. Then he runs for the food bowl. He'll never be a pet because he's feral, but he has caught on that the food is for him, and I only put it there if I can see him. He won't be so skinny this winter.
Ferals tend to know where the food is coming from and that they are being fed. Perhaps he was watching you from a hiding spot while you put the food down and came out to eat once he deemed it to be "safe". It most likely took a year for the him to trust that you were not going to harm him and felt that it was safe enough to wait out in the open.
Either way, like all living creatures, cats are not all the same. Some are smarter than others.
I thought that this point was universally known.
Cats are very intelligent. & I highly doubt the cat ever assumed the food was appearing by magic the cat knows the must hunt for food to eat & nothing just falls out of the air. Its most likely realized that by now. & i assume it figured out someone left this food here
Yeah if anything, that should be evidence of the cats intelligence. The cat finds a convenient stash of good food. He didn't even have to hunt for it. When he returns, the food is there.. Of course he'll go back for some free meals! What, the cat is dumb because he doesn't stick around for small talk?! The food is what he wants, so he takes it but is probably stand-offish or feral around any person because he doesn't trust them!!! He just takes what he wants, and doesn't risk being hurt or captured by an unpredictable human ... Smart!
And a bored cat will shred the shit out of your curtains, couches, carpet, bed, house in general..... so don't underestimate a cats tolerance for boredom. Honestly.
Anyways.. Where the hell does a stray chicken come from
This anonymous person who kept responding is probably a crazy cat lady that tries to defend a cat in any situation instead of actually understanding animal behavior. Not to mention a very abrasive and argumentative person for no reason. Sort of like a feral cat.
You're the one attacking them for no reason. They show a good understanding of animal behaviour. The fact that you're comparing them to cats in a way meant to insult both shows it's you who's the hater.
And saying 'person' when being nasty and insulting is just toxic fake-respect.
Feral cats are notoriously suspicious of humans, and for good reason. If the cat is not socialized with humans within the first 12 weeks of his/her life, then it will by very difficult to get that cat's trust.
But ferals are also wary of humans because some humans are jerks, and are abusive to them.
So it sounds like this feral was watching the house, waiting for the food to appear, but was extremely cautious about keeping his distance and remaining out of sight.
It may be easy for us to forget that cats have no way of knowing if a human will be kind to them, or will try to kill them. There are sickos out there who will kill cats because they think they're a "nuisance," there are people who abuse animals, and then there are jerks who do things like place small animal traps and poison flower beds to stop cats from coming through.
So ferals develop a healthy trust for people, which is essential to their survival. This is why a feral is not going to simply stroll up for food with a human standing there -- and if a cat does do that, then he/she is probably a lost or abandoned pet.
He turns on the lights and my music before I come home, pours a drink and relaxes in my recliner.
:)
You're a fucking liar, Alice
Geez Robb, don't sugar coat it. Why don't you tell us what you REALLY think? (Eye roll over unnecessary rudeness)
Why it's almost as though I understood that and my "earnest" expression of incredulity constituted a joke in of itself. You tone deaf buffoon.
The cat really only cares that it is getting food. Really, it doesn't matter who. My cat is normally fed by my house mate but will still come to me for food. Yes, she recognizes a human will bring her food, but what she doesn't care about is who. In saying this, dogs can recognizance WHO brings their food. So cats can think more on their own, and do their own thing, but dogs are more social and will do anything their owner asks. So dogs and cats are both smart, just in different areas. It's the judging of fish climbing trees things. Just because the monkey can climb the tree, or the dog can be more social/loyal, the fish can not climb the tree, and the cat isn't as social.
I have to disagree with you on this. I have a 14 year old Persian/tabby cat who can clearly recognize who actually distributes the food. My roommate generally feeds her, morning and night. She has always had some kind of eating disorder, where she has no off-switch, so we have to dish out her meals at certain times, and she KNOWS these times. Somehow every single day between 7-8 she will find my roommate and pester her consistently until SHE feeds her. She also knows to scratch on the cabinet where we keep the food. She shows the same behaviour at night, only approaching my roommate when she is hungry. Which is odd, because she sleeps with me every single night, and generally seems more affectionate towards me. She bothers me all the time (not complaining:)) for affection. She sits on my lap for hours while I work at my computer, and literally sleeps either on my chest, or in my arms. And when I don't give her the affection she wants, she will ignore me, and possibly not sleep with me. (That seems like some kind of social intelligence to me.)
It seems my cat has determined that my roommate distributes the food, and I distribute the attention. She never pesters me specifically for food, even though I do feed her on occasion.
I guess it really depends from cat to cat, I don't think you would ever be correct saying, this is how dogs are smart, and this is how cats are smart.
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When my cats were just brought home as baby kittens they knew who supplied the food. Cats aren't oblivious to where their food is coming from, they just don't care as long as they have it. My cats beg me to restore the food bowl when it's half low(because to them it's the end of the world) . Besides the fact that one of my three cats tries to drink bath water, I believe cats are pretty intelligent and can solve problems. Usually when I shut my door, my cat tries to turn the door knob , he's also known to get into cabinet doors as well. If the cat wants something bad enough, they'll find a way to get it.
My cat is smarter than me sometimes! I set up a gate to keep him in one room and he always escapes. It doesn't matter what I've tried. To make matters worse, he also opens doorknobs. Wish me luck in fixing his behavior!
That does sound smart! Does he also eat your pussy to climax in the night hours?
No, but he changes her tires and gives her breakfast in bed.
Imagine if you were in the back of a class, and you could hear the buzzing of every fly, feel the pounding of footsteps on the ground from 30 meters away, smell 15 different scents at once, some of death, some of another animal, some strange, some tasty, etc..
That is a cat.
They hear and see and smell more than the best dogs.
Of course they are harder to train. But they don't ignore you. You'll see there ears listening to you, focused on your voice, or at least one of them, while the other one points elsewhere. They smell something, and see something, and feel something.
They aren't stupid. If you want to train a cat, and you really want to know how intelligent it is- you need to hold your cat's attention. Make it want to pay attention to you. Be interesting to your cat. Be so loving it can't stand to be away from you. And you'll have yourself a cat that's just as loving, loyal and smart as a dog.
But you need to be smart enough to know how to hold it's attention, and part of that is making it feel safe.
I read once that while their hearing is definitely better than a dog's dogs have a better sense of smell.
You're right about the rest, though.
A lot of people think dogs are smarter than cats because they're trainable. Maybe cats are smarter because they refuse to be pushed around by a mere human being. We train dogs but cats train us to do their.bidding and before long they have us wrapped around their paws. How smart is that!??
Actually, while it takes more effort, cats ARE trainable too. In fact, of all the animals in the US, only cats and dogs are both legally able to be trained and licensed as therapy animals.
I had a cat I'd leash-trained and took on walks in public, including in the pet store. Though, admittedly, she was too stubborn to learn fetch - she wanted me to get that stuffed mouse and throw it again without having to bring it back, thank you very much!
However, the article did have one thing wrong. Historically, there HAVE been cats in the military. Egyptians used them, Siamese cats were originally bred as warrior-guardian cats for the royal house and the military, and so on. No one uses them NOW, but historically, it has happened.
They can still be good guardians, too though - less than ten years ago, a cat was honored for saving its master's life during a break-in/robbery. The robber had a gun but was still chased off with many bloody wounds by the pissed off Siamese protecting its wounded master. Shot, the cat still chased the robber, jumping on him and clawing his face. Cops found him from following the blood trail, and had to pull the cat off him.
Cats are every bit as smart as dogs, and every bit as loyal protectors. Its people that are too stupid to look beyond labels and assumptions to see their equal, if different, natures.
My cat figures things out remarkably quickly.
When he got bored he brought a toy to me and figured out fetch in about three minutes.
He can easily open most doors in the house, and understands how the front door opens; he's just not strong enough to pull it open. We have a tear in our window screen (from the other cat, a fat one, leaning on it all the time) so we stack coffee cans in front of it when the window is open so the cats won't get out. Lo and behold he scoots the coffee cans out of the way and pushes the window open a particular way to get out. Which sucks because he got fleas from getting out. :(
During the school year he knows when we come home and waits at the window accordingly. He also loves on the other cat, the fat girl, and comes to get us when he thinks she's cold or is being dumb. (We let them on the balcony for fresh air and to watch the birds. If it's cold or windy he'll come yell at us until we take his wife inside.)
He makes a game out of his meow. He changes it every week to make it wierder and sits and tries to see if I'll mimic him right. Sometimes I'll meow at him funny and he'll mimic me. :)
He knows that if I put a backpack on that I'm leaving and he throws a fit. He knows the moment I get a cereal box down that the milk is coming out and he can mooch off me. He recently figured out that cookies often means milk too.
He's kind of a pain in the ass. He's always figuring out new things. And it's hard to stimulate him or play with him right because he's very picky about his toys and he isn't motivated by food very much. He passes up cat treats in favor of giving then to his wife and would rather lick milk off my finger, and only meows for food when she's hungry. He's a lot more entertained by manipulating his humans than by playing with toys.
Wow my cats have all been fucking retards compared to yours
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Love this article.
I own three cats (or do they own me?)
One decided to drag 3 of 4 cat beds downstairs. 2 were by the window and one was under the coffee table. I wasn't sure which kitty it was but I suspected one. It took several weeks to catch him with his teeth in the bed, about to move it.
At times, a bed was moved under the futon but none of the cats used it so I'd put the bed back out. The next day I'd find it turned upside down or moved in the corner.
Several times, the bed was right next to the food dishes!
Once, my little decorator moved his favorite bed next to a secondary water dish.
The whole group is entertaining. They all do a decent job of mimicking words, especially associated with their comfort or affection. They know what "chomps" and "treats" mean even if no bag is in sight.
2 of the 3 will say "hi" quite distinctly, upon my return. One says "worm" when he is not warm enough and wants to cuddle. He more than likely learned that from me - on hot summer days when he wants attention, I would say "It's too warm!" Eventually, he jumped on my lap and meowed "Worm!" My husband laughed and knew what our kitty meant.
They all play fetch. I could write chapters of all their quirks and smart behavior. They all have a great sense of humor, too.
I've owned dogs and I loved them, but it's just not the same. My cats sense my mood and will know if I need attention from them. 90% of the time, if I'm upset or not feeling well, all three will pause until they get the positive body language from me. I'm greeting with a soft "hi" and a head butt or two before they jump on or near me.
Some say cats are aloof, when, in fact they are careful and choosy about their companions. The human has to earn the trust of a cat. Now that's smart.
I can't believe how some of the comments are so aggressive and mean spirited.
What's wrong with you people?
I couldn't agree more Sara. Some of these comments are just horrendous. In typical fashion these comments are generally being made by men who are no doubt single. If they actually do have a spouse or significant other then I truly feel sorry for anyone who is involved with them. Robb sounds like a complete bitch coward who hides behind a screen typing gross obsentites while he pets his 15 cats, lol!
Sweet virtue signal Sam, you faggot cuck. The showboat self-righteousness, the hollow bid for moral high ground, the baseless ad hominem, it's all so impressive and endearing! Your kind are always the biggest assholes, it's no secret. Classic lady doth protest too much sitch
Sounds like someone hides under politically incorrect insults because he's ashamed of his behavior. How disappointing. Oh, wait. "Disappointment" would imply that I actually had good expectations before.
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