Are Cats Smarter Than Dogs

It has been a longtime debate: Are cats smarter than dogs? Owners of each have been arguing this for generations. Scientists have studied it, and the funny thing is, they can’t really come up with a definitive answer.

There have been tests that showed that dogs are smarter, and you might hear your canine-loving friends quote these studies when they proclaim that dogs are smarter. However, there is also evidence that cats could be smarter, or at least equally smart, and there’s a very interesting reason why we don’t know it.

Are Cats Smarter Than Dogs?

Basically, scientists found that on one level – the neural construction of the brain – dogs were coming up smarter. However, this isn’t the only way to judge intelligence. Cats are at a disadvantaged because when it comes to taking the tests the scientists would give them – like counting or making logical deductions – they will get distracted.

They do what cats do – they get bored. They’re obstinate. Cats don’t want to do what you tell them to do. It doesn’t mean they can’t, or that they don’t know how. It just means they don’t want to. You can’t make a cat do anything they don’t want to do.

Just because an animal is capable of doing something, doesn’t mean it’s going to do it. This is even more true when you test it in a laboratory setting. Cats have a lot of free will so trying to test them isn’t always the best way to judge.

Dogs are very loyal. This is a fact we can all agree on. They have a strong desire to please and they really want to make their owners happy. Because of this, they are easily trainable and they work well with behavior modification. You can easily train a dog to do things by giving them praise, treats, and more. Cats, on the other hand, are a bit different.

Once you have a bond with a cat, they can be the same as dogs. They are trainable, especially if you earn a cat’s trust. But not every cat is willing to just do what you want. Cats are the rebels of the animal world. So they may be capable of learning as much or more than dogs, but they won’t do anything if they don’t truly want to themselves.

So, are cats smarter than dogs? As a cat owner, I say absolutely. They certainly have the capability to be. From a scientific standpoint, getting a cat to cooperate with testing is the issue. Any loyal cat owner can see why!

You may be able to train your cat even better than people train their dogs. Or, you might get a cat who doesn’t even want to come when called. Again, it doesn’t mean your cat isn’t smart. It just means he is ridiculously awesome and beats to his own drum.

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