Dogs Are Smarter Than Cats, Says Study

Researchers at Oxford University have conducted a study of mammal brain sizes and concluded dogs are smarter than cats because of their relative increase in brain size over the last 60 million years. They said dog brains grew more due to the demands of constant social interaction, whereas cat brains stayed about the same size due to being more solitary creatures.

Last year a study came to the same conclusion regarding dog intelligence, based on tests involving dogs and cats pulling strings to get rewards. The cats didn’t do well at all. We probably have all heard people tell humorous stories of cats completely ignoring humans, and shunning interaction with humans, so why would a research study assume they would be suddenly fully engaged by a test set up by scientists at a particular time and place?

Dogs, on the other hand, appear to be generally very interested in social interaction, playing with balls, playing/wrestling with each other, and so forth. If you don’t believe me, visit a dog park on any day and you will see a high level of social engagement, but is there such thing as a cat park? Perhaps one could say dogs are more task-oriented and since they are descended from wolves, which are very socially-oriented animals living in packs with complex interaction, a test set up by human masters involving simple tasks and rewards is nearly designed for them to excel on. Which is to say humans, being social creatures, made a research test biased towards other social creatures, dogs in this case. A test using sweet foods as rewards would not be indicative of cat intelligence because cats don’t taste sweetness due to their taste buds being different.

For this year’s study, the focus on physical brain measurements depends upon the assumption that an increase in brain size on a evolutionary time scale indicates dogs are smarter than cats. However, there is another assumption involved — that dogs and cats started off with equal intelligence, and dogs increased. Even if dogs and cats millions of years ago had the same size brains, that does mean they were of equal intelligence. It’s possible cats were smarter then, and still smarter now, but have smaller, more efficient brains. What is more likely given that evolution seems to reward creatures with adaptability and diverse skill sets, is that dog and cat intelligences are different, and comparing them is much more complex than simply measuring physical brain size.

Next year will researchers tackle the issue of whether humans are smarter than dogs and cats?

Image Credit: Tim Vickers

Read more: Cats, Do Good, Dogs, Pets, animal intelligence, brain size, intelligence, study

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John B.

10:04AM PDT on May 25, 2012

That's why I adopted a cat. I didn't want a pet that was smarter than me...LOL.

send a green star

Carole R.

11:52AM PDT on May 1, 2012

Recall ........ re-e-e-e-ecall!

Shawn A.

5:34AM PDT on May 1, 2012

Someday humans will realize that we have been conquered and we shall all bow down before our feline masters.

Cats are very intelligent, you just have to convince them that it is their idea to do anything. I have had the great luck to share my life with many wonderful cats over the years. They have been friendly and affectionate for the most part. But you always get the sense that it is all at their whim not yours.

Mari G.

6:40PM PDT on Mar 28, 2012

cats are too smart to be busy with such mindless tests :-P

Kaze N.

10:45PM PDT on Mar 24, 2012

cats have culture... dogs are only followers..

Judy A.

9:15AM PDT on Mar 21, 2012

I love all animals but right now I have a cat teaching a younger cat to close my bedroom door which I think is sooooo adorable, so I am believing my cats are smarter.

Elaine A.

5:45AM PDT on Mar 21, 2012

There's an old saying that states "You call a dog he comes running...Cal a cat and it takes a message and gets back to you" I say the cat out ranks the dog a hundred fold! I love all animals but CATS RULE!!!

Ceejay R.

5:44AM PDT on Mar 21, 2012

Winky says..........CATS! (tee hee)

Mara C.

9:41PM PDT on Mar 19, 2012

Dogs!

Cindy B.

7:25PM PDT on Mar 19, 2012

WELL.....Here's that old "apples vs. oranges" thing. Cats are just as smart as dogs (even smarter!) but they have a different kind of intelligence and certainly they have a different motivation to display it!

Cats can be vindictive. They remember slights and will get even with you for one. They can be sneaky as hell. They can be up on the counter licking the butter and -- at the first tiny creak of your chair, they're down on the floor grooming themselves -- and looking up at you with those big green eyes... "Who...me?" LOL