Who is smarter: cats or dogs?

Cats and dogs play an important role in human life. They compete with each other over which of them is man's best friend. Dogs of some breeds serve for the benefit of mankind, saving the lives of drowning people or searching for drugs. Cats, in turn, have intuition, feel the mood of the owner, and in rare cases can even cure depression.

Despite the big differences, dogs and cats have a number of things in common: love for humans, a similar diet, and abundant hair. However, the question "Who is smarter: cats or dogs?" interests many people, so our article will answer it in detail.

Scientists have conducted a number of studies on the topic of animal intelligence, during which the following conclusion was made: a dog's brain contains more than 525 million neurons, while that of a cat is 250 million. This gives an unambiguous answer to the question posed from the point of view of scientific facts. It was also found that the brain of a raccoon is equal in number of neurons to a canine, so that raccoons can think on a par with these four-legged pets.

Dogs also compare favorably with cats in that they can learn from the experience of their relatives. The dog accumulates it, learns survival skills, and in the process of breeding transfers genes to its offspring. Cats are not prone to such heredity, and kittens are born without the knowledge of their parents.

The conclusion that dogs are twice as smart as cats can be interpreted from different points of view. Some scientists agree that cats are simply less amenable to study and analysis, which is why it is too early to draw conclusions about the rationality of pets. It is known that cats often lead an isolated lifestyle and are capricious in nature. At the same time, the dog gets along better in the collective of congeners and can learn from other dogs' experience, learning from other people's mistakes.

In order to get a complete picture of the intellectual abilities of cats and dogs, it is necessary to make a number of signs for each species: how do cats differ from dogs for the better and vice versa. Cats differ from dogs in the following ways.

• Manipulation of a person. Humor aside, it's safe to say that cats have the ability to manipulate their owner. This happens because cats intuitively understand what actions the owner reacts to especially sharply. Everyone remembers the famous ginger cat in boots, who captivated the characters of the cartoon "Shrek" with a glance? This is a prime example of the simplest manipulation by a pet.

• Prioritization... The owner of the cat often observes the following picture: the cat deliberately walks past a new toy and prefers another occupation, but after a month he may suddenly become interested in this object. This once again confirms the fact that cats are able to focus attention specifically on those things that are of interest to the pet in a given period of time. Such discrimination in hobbies affirms cats as creatures with an individual, sometimes capricious character.

• Coldness or iron calmness of cats... Cats are quite difficult to endure new acquaintances, and each new object in their habitat is subjected to a leisurely, careful study. If a dog cannot hold back curiosity and rushes to an unidentified object (ball, toy), then any cat cautiously examines the object: sniffs, walks around and looks closely. This approach has helped cats to avoid environmental problems more than once.

Dogs also possess some characteristics that distinguish their intellectual abilities favorably from felines.

• Mastering new skills. Dogs are much more responsive to command training, while cats quickly lose interest in training. The dog tries to please the owner and get approval. This determines two qualities in dogs: loyalty and quick memorization of information.

• Awkward movements... The dog does not strive for elegant movement or quiet movement: the animal, rather, will quickly run towards the goal, rather than move gracefully. Felines strive for smooth and quiet movement.

• Poor tolerance for loneliness. A cat can stay for a day without the presence of a person, without experiencing discomfort. The dog will worry about where the owner has disappeared, and why there is no one in the room. This does not mean that dogs are smarter than cats, but characterizes dogs as sociable and friendly creatures.

• Collective mind. Dogs use all relatives in the process of hunting for prey: they unite in a flock, and each individual has a clear task. There are no such examples among the representatives of the feline, because cats prefer to lead the chase alone.

For a long time, researchers have spread the theory that the domestication of pets led to a deterioration in their intelligence and brain activity. Ostensibly because of the sparing conditions of life (soft bed, daily feeding, caress of the owner) cats and dogs have lost part of their mind. The theory suggested that animals no longer needed to constantly seek food, shelter, and a safe place to sleep and rest.

Although pets no longer need survival skills in their current environment, they use the ability to think for other purposes: exploring the world around you, memorizing commands and pleasing your own master.

The next video will dwell on the features of the intelligence of animals in more detail.