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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / February 2004Which are smarter ?
Well, here we go again ;-) We know they're not as obedient, but are cats as smart or smarter than dogs? Surely, you folks who own both must have some insights about this. And which of the cat breeds are the smartest? Shouldn't the nonbreeds generally be smarter? Knack <zok9NOSPAM@hotmail.com> wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav: > Well, here we go again ;-) We know they're not as obedient, but > are cats as smart or smarter than dogs? Surely, you folks who own > both must have some insights about this. > > And which of the cat breeds are the smartest? Shouldn't the > nonbreeds generally be smarter? I like what this guy has to say: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_005.html > Knack <zok9NOSPAM@hotmail.com> wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav: > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_005.html Then we have to look at the pets' problem solving capabilities. Don't cats and dogs both like to catch mice? So how do cats and dogs compare when a caged mouse is placed at the center of a maze? Which pet finds the mouse first, and/or which pet best remembers how to find it repeatedly? I think it probably depends on the breeds weather they are smarter or not. Personally my dog a boston terriet is alot more stupid then my two cats who are just mixed breeds. I would say that my boy cat is very smart yet my girl cat isnt the brightest in the bunch but she's alot better then my dog:) > Well, here we go again ;-) We know they're not as obedient, but are cats as > smart or smarter than dogs? Surely, you folks who own both must have some > insights about this. > > And which of the cat breeds are the smartest? Shouldn't the nonbreeds > generally be smarter? Cats are definitely smarter. I grew up with a dog & I now have two cats. This might just be the particular dogs & cats I'm familiar with, though. Dogs won't try to get around obstacles or figure out work-arounds for everything you do to keep them away from something. With cats you have to think ahead and constantly try to outsmart them if you want to keep them safe and keep some things safe from them. Cats will figure anything out, like opening cabinets & drawers. Dogs won't bother, they'll just accept that something is out of their reach.  Signaturemike3k <at> suespammers <dot> org You can blow out a candle, but you can't blow out a fire. Once the flame begins to catch, the wind will blow it higher. - Peter Gabriel, "Biko" >From: Mike C news0815.8.macguy@spamgourmet.com >Cats will figure anything out, like opening cabinets & drawers. Dogs >won't bother, they'll just accept that something is out of their reach. Very true! ________ See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm > > Well, here we go again ;-) We know they're not as obedient, but are cats as > > smart or smarter than dogs? Surely, you folks who own both must have some [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > Cats will figure anything out, like opening cabinets & drawers. Dogs > won't bother, they'll just accept that something is out of their reach. I've never owned a dog. That's why I ask. However, I've heard of one work-around typical of dogs: tunnelling under a yard fence (g) Cats can be very persistent about getting to things other than food. Relentless at times, if that's what you mean. > Cats can be very persistent about getting to things other than food. > Relentless at times, if that's what you mean. Funny thing about Cody, he never tries to get into the cabinet where I store his food, but he always tries to get into the cabinet (with a cat-proof latch) where I keep all of the toxic cleaning stuff, detergents, etc. Signaturemike3k <at> suespammers <dot> org You can blow out a candle, but you can't blow out a fire. Once the flame begins to catch, the wind will blow it higher. - Peter Gabriel, "Biko" Cats are more intelligent than humans or dogs. They are also a lot more beautiful as well. SignaturePanther TEK: Staying On Top Of All Your Computer Needs! www.members.cox.net/catprotector/panthertek Cat Galaxy: All Cats, All The Time! www.catgalaxymedia.com > Well, here we go again ;-) We know they're not as obedient, but are cats as > smart or smarter than dogs? Surely, you folks who own both must have some > insights about this. > > And which of the cat breeds are the smartest? Shouldn't the nonbreeds > generally be smarter? > Cats are more intelligent than humans or dogs. They are also a lot more > beautiful as well. I don't agree, but... interesting. CP, I get the impression from your comment and your name that you're a bit defensive when it comes to cats. Perhaps there are some ugly people who happen to hate cats in your neighborhood? You can have all the impressions you want. That doesn't make it true. I can say I do love cats and I'd rather hang out with cat people than dog people. SignaturePanther TEK: Staying On Top Of All Your Computer Needs! www.members.cox.net/catprotector/panthertek Cat Galaxy: All Cats, All The Time! www.catgalaxymedia.com "Knack" <zok9NOSPAM@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:0U_Tb.12377 > CP, I get the impression from your comment and your name that you're a bit > defensive when it comes to cats. Perhaps there are some ugly people who > happen to hate cats in your neighborhood? > You can have all the impressions you want. That doesn't make it true. I can > say I do love cats and I'd rather hang out with cat people than dog people. What about when the cat and dog people don't have their pets with them? Still have a preference as to whom you prefer to be with? > Well, here we go again ;-) We know they're not as obedient, but are cats as > smart or smarter than dogs? Surely, you folks who own both must have some > insights about this. Well, let´s look at people. Do the smartest people take orders or give orders? ;) Cats seem smarter than we are. They sure know how to control us. LOL > And which of the cat breeds are the smartest? Shouldn't the nonbreeds > generally be smarter? They probably should but I don´t know if they are. > > Well, here we go again ;-) We know they're not as obedient, but are cats as > > smart or smarter than dogs? Surely, you folks who own both must have some [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > They probably should but I don?t know if they are. Ha. Good one ;-) But what about the one who gives supreme orders in the USA ? ;-) circa Wed, 04 Feb 2004 05:04:21 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Knack (zok9NOSPAM@hotmail.com) said, > > > Well, here we go again ;-) We know they're not as obedient, but are cats > as [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > But what about the one who gives supreme orders in the USA ? ;-) What, you mean the interloper in the White House? He wasn't elected president. Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. > circa Wed, 04 Feb 2004 05:04:21 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, > Knack (zok9NOSPAM@hotmail.com) said, [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > What, you mean the interloper in the White House? He wasn't elected > president. Well, I'll bust on him (or anyone), but... yeah, he sure was elected according to the regulations that existed before the elections began. Essentially, Democrats tried their darndest to change the rules of the game *while the game was still in progress*. They failed. Imagine if the baseball World Series was tied 3 games each and in the final inning of the deciding game the trailing team is batting with bases loaded and with 2 outs... but they strike out on a high pitch that the umpire said the batter swung at and missed, for the 3rd out (game over; series over). But then the losing team protests about that swing and demands another pitch. The umpires have a discussion and they agree to make an *unprecedented exception to the rules of baseball* and allow the batter of the losing team an additional pitch... and again he strikes out. Then the losing team again protests and demands that every call made by the umpires in the last half-inning be scrutinized via inspection of video tape images. The umpires again have a discussion and say "OK, but it will take at least a couple weeks to resolve that inning." How absurd would that be? So the major league baseball comission intervenes and says "The game-7 umpires have no right to change the rules of the game while the game is in progress." The winning team's celebration is tainted by the stink made by the losers; so much publicity being made by the news media's support for the losing team. Months later the losing team still whines about how "unfair" the final inning of game-7 was. They would never have been satisfied until their batters were allowed an *indefinite* number of pitches needed to result in a game winning hit in the final inning of game-7. And their fans are consumed with hate for the star player of the winning team. >> > But what about the one who gives supreme orders in the USA ? ;-) >> > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >Essentially, Democrats tried their darndest to change the rules of the game >*while the game was still in progress*. They failed. Actually the Republican government of Florida knowingly purged over 70,000 voters from the rolls. Mostly, by some coincidence, black voters. The ones likely to vote Democratic. Also, did you ever wonder why black voters (the ones not purged) were 7 times more likely to have their votes discarded as defective that whites? Is it because blacks are stupider than whites? If you believe that, then you are a racist and don't bother reading any further. No, the reason is because machines set up in predominately white precincts were set to reject invalid votes and the whites got another chance. The same machines, set up in predominately black areas, were set up to simply discard invalid votes. No second change. We heard so much about how the exit polls were so wrong that the networks are being forced not to use them. But the logic is never carried to the next step. The exit polls, showing that Gore won, were correct. It was the vote that was wrong. The exit polling is all that we have to make sure that the vote is not being tampered with. So yes, by the rules that Florida played by, Bush won. But those rules were stacked to distort the will of the people. Gore won. > >> > But what about the one who gives supreme orders in the USA ? ;-) > >> > [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > So yes, by the rules that Florida played by, Bush won. But those rules > were stacked to distort the will of the people. Gore won. What a tired old worn out left-wing tactic; to play the race card for whatever guilt reaction you think you can conjure up. Nice try. And actually, FYI it was Democrats, not Republicans who were in charge of *all* the polls in Florida. And that's a wacky conspiracy theory that you're trying to propagate. And about those exit polls... who runs them? Angry radicals like you? Small wonder why they're unbelievable. circa Wed, 04 Feb 2004 22:57:24 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Knack (zok9NOSPAM@hotmail.com) said, > What a tired old worn out left-wing tactic; to play the race card for > whatever guilt reaction you think you can conjure up. Nice try. And > actually, FYI it was Democrats, not Republicans who were in charge of *all* > the polls in Florida. And that's a wacky conspiracy theory that you're > trying to propagate. And about those exit polls... who runs them? Angry > radicals like you? Small wonder why they're unbelievable. Look, I'm not trying to start a political argument here. However, what dgk said regarding the 70,000 excluded voters is true. Want to know how Governor Bush excluded them? Do a little digging. You'll see. This is fact, not left-wing propaganda. And it's not just Democrats who are saying it. Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. circa Wed, 04 Feb 2004 20:05:44 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Knack (zok9NOSPAM@hotmail.com) said, > > > But what about the one who gives supreme orders in the USA ? ;-) > > > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Essentially, Democrats tried their darndest to change the rules of the game > *while the game was still in progress*. They failed. Actually, that's not true. Do a little research on the voters that were _illegally_ barred from voting in Florida *before* the election. Incidentally, they weren't Republicans. Then research exactly what happened during the counting process. Check out the number of overseas voters who submitted multiple votes for Bush, and for whom all of the votes were counted, even though we have a very clear "one man, one vote" election process. The whole "dimpled chad" fiasco was the *least* of what occurred to put Shrub in the White House. George Bush did *not* win the election. Popular vote or otherwise. His fine, upstanding brother helped him steal it. I've looked into this a little deeper than what we heard in the press during the whole recount thing. There's more to it than you realize. Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. > Ha. Good one ;-) > > But what about the one who gives supreme orders in the USA ? ;-) ROFLMAO Marketing! ;) The same can be said about the one who gives supreme orders in Brazil. circa Tue, 03 Feb 2004 21:55:20 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Knack (zok9NOSPAM@hotmail.com) said, > X-Received-Date: Tue, 03 Feb 2004 16:55:20 EST (nwrddc02.gnilink.net) > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > And which of the cat breeds are the smartest? Shouldn't the nonbreeds > generally be smarter? I've known goofyass dumb dogs and whipsmart dogs. I have a cat that is usually about as smart as a box of rocks, or else he's so damned intelligent that he operates on an entirely different plane that is beyond my comprehension. I have another cat whose intelligence is remarkably obvious and who still does things that amaze me after sixteen years of having him. My third cat is related to the box of rocks cat, so she's not really the swiftest, either. I do think it depends on the individual animal, but I do also tend to lean towards cats being the more cognitive species, all in all. Regardless, I love 'em all. :-) Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. > circa Tue, 03 Feb 2004 21:55:20 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, > Knack (zok9NOSPAM@hotmail.com) said, [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > cats being the more cognitive species, all in all. Regardless, I love > 'em all. :-) Can you recall for us some of the more unusually smart things that your dogs/cats have either figured out or "sensed" ? Yes my cats managed to train me, something no human could manage in 50 years, took the cats only 4. Signature-- ---- > > > circa Tue, 03 Feb 2004 21:55:20 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > Can you recall for us some of the more unusually smart things that your > dogs/cats have either figured out or "sensed" ? circa Wed, 04 Feb 2004 05:42:36 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Knack (zok9NOSPAM@hotmail.com) said, > > > And which of the cat breeds are the smartest? Shouldn't the nonbreeds > > > generally be smarter? [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Can you recall for us some of the more unusually smart things that your > dogs/cats have either figured out or "sensed" ? Well, Jacob learned how to turn on the water faucets in the bathroom after watching me turn on the water. The place where I lived at the time had faucets that were mounted vertically on the back of the sink, so if he put his weight on them, they'd turn and he'd get a nice, fresh stream of water. He once ran all the hot water out of the whole house by choosing the wrong faucet, but hey, maybe he likes a nice hot drink occasionally. ;-) That's the first thing that comes to mind when I've not had my coffee yet. :-) Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. circa Wed, 04 Feb 2004 16:10:47 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Laura R. (usefirstinitialandlastname@technologist.com) said, > > Can you recall for us some of the more unusually smart things that your > > dogs/cats have either figured out or "sensed" ? [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > nice hot drink occasionally. ;-) That's the first thing that comes to > mind when I've not had my coffee yet. :-) BTW, he still does the faucet thing to this day- he knows that the faucets that are lever-shaped instead of bulbous are easier to turn by placing his weight on them, so he always does it to the sink in my master bath. It's really very cute. :-) Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. > circa Wed, 04 Feb 2004 16:10:47 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, > Laura R. (usefirstinitialandlastname@technologist.com) said, [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > by placing his weight on them, so he always does it to the sink in my > master bath. It's really very cute. :-) Usually when we're busy we don't realize that we're being watched (by our cats). They're not day dreamers; they're observant. They sometimes watch how we do those things that they're interested in. Jacob is amazing :-) circa Wed, 04 Feb 2004 20:35:35 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Knack (zok9NOSPAM@hotmail.com) said, > > > Well, Jacob learned how to turn on the water faucets in the bathroom > > > after watching me turn on the water. The place where I lived at the [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > cats). They're not day dreamers; they're observant. They sometimes watch how > we do those things that they're interested in. Oh, no doubt about it. I had to start keeping catnip in the refrigerator because the cats would watch which cupboard I put it in and drag it out (and all over the house) when I would leave. The fridge door is too heavy for them to open. :-) > Jacob is amazing :-) He really is. You should see him with his fluids (he's a CRF cat). He knows when he is supposed to get them, and if I haven't given them yet, he jumps up on the little pad where he lies during the sub-qs and stares pointedly at me until I go get the needle and his snack. He also knows that when I put the bag on the heater to warm it that he's going to get his fluids soon and jumps up there to wait. He loves to sleep under the covers next to me with his head on the pillow, his front paws around my neck and his rear paws scrunched up against my midsection. If I'm in bed and he comes up and I don't immediately lift the covers so he can crawl under, he sits on my pillow and stares at me for a minute or so. If that doesn't work, he pats me on the face with his paw until I lift the covers. Clearly, he has me trained well. :-) Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. > circa Wed, 04 Feb 2004 20:35:35 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, > Knack (zok9NOSPAM@hotmail.com) said, [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > pats me on the face with his paw until I lift the covers. Clearly, he > has me trained well. :-) Sorry to hear about his CRF :-( How old is he and how long has he had that disease? I hope he has some years ahead of him, although it's regretable about the bills. One of mine, Rumpus (4 yo; about 17 lbs), has just begun to start pulling open the fridge door. The other day he did it 3 times. At night if I sleep on my side he sleeps mostly parallel to me with his chin on my forearm and front paws wedged beneath my neck. He'll first try to sleep with his chin resting on the side of my face (purring) before settling down as I described before. His sister, Ruckus, knows which oak filing cabinet drawer contains the cat toys. She gets atop the cabinet and with some determination somehow pushes open that top drawer. Takes a while, but she can do it if the drawer is already open a crack. She must check up on the disposition of that drawer quite often because if I should leave it cracked open just a smidgeon, its contents will be strewn about the room within a few hours. Although she never became an outdoor cat until just past age 4, such a mouser she became almost immediately afterward. When standing, she does slow 360s whenever I stroke her side (purring); like she doesn't know what's come over her. Fracas and Kiss are not yet a year old. I think they're full grown now, although Fracas still has a kitten voice. And Kiss (face looks like a member of the band), he never meows but instead makes that high pitch "mmm-mmmm" sound of a puppy. Those two are insane little packets of energy. Their rumbles and chases have gone on for an hour at a time with half-hour rests between the commotions. These are all distinctly different looking "tigers"; all with ringtails, M-heads, spots, stripes, bracelets and black toes. Ruckus being the most interesting looking, has a lot of tan in her coat. If there's such a thing as western prairie cat, that would be her. Her camouflage works equally well in the tall dry grassy meadows as in the trees and brush. She's been able to evade the marauding coyote packs here repeatedly. > Oh, no doubt about it. I had to start keeping catnip in the > refrigerator because the cats would watch which cupboard I put it in > and drag it out (and all over the house) when I would leave. The > fridge door is too heavy for them to open. :-) That's nothing. My kids are still trying to figure out how to open the refrigerator so they can get those pieces of stew beef I periodically give them. It's only a matter of time, they think.... SignatureDennis Carr - ke6isf@spamcop.net | I may be out of my mind, http://www.dennis.furtopia.org | But I have more fun that way. ------------------------------------+------------------------------- > Well, here we go again ;-) We know they're not as obedient, but are cats as > smart or smarter than dogs? Surely, you folks who own both must have some > insights about this. > > And which of the cat breeds are the smartest? Shouldn't the nonbreeds > generally be smarter? Dogs and Cats are both smart in different ways. Dumbest cat created: Ragdoll. Cute, but dumber than a box of rocks. -L. Hehe....I have a simple answer for you: The smarter species is......cat! The smartest of all is....my XENA!!!!!!!! (of course!~) Common down, Miss Xena...here is an anchovy for you:) LOL! <Grin> Andr0 & >^^< > Well, here we go again ;-) We know they're not as obedient, but are cats as > smart or smarter than dogs? Surely, you folks who own both must have some > insights about this. > > And which of the cat breeds are the smartest? Shouldn't the nonbreeds > generally be smarter? > Well, here we go again ;-) We know they're not as obedient, but are cats as > smart or smarter than dogs? Surely, you folks who own both must have some > insights about this. > > And which of the cat breeds are the smartest? Shouldn't the nonbreeds > generally be smarter? I don't think you can generalize, honestly, any more than you can generalize about people. Some people are really smart, some are smart at some things, but stupid at others, and some people are just not that bright at all. I think it's the same for animals. I've had a really smart dog and a rather dense dog. I've had dense cats and smart cats. Plus, you have to decide what you mean by "smart". Following a command isn't necessarily indicitive of intelligence, merely compliance and willingness to be submissive to a human. Some really smart dogs are horrible at obedience because they consider themselves smarter than their trainers. IMO, pretty much every cat on earth considers itself smarter than its human. ;) Signature-- ~kaeli~ User: The word computer professionals use when they mean 'idiot'. http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace > > Well, here we go again ;-) We know they're not as obedient, but are cats as > > smart or smarter than dogs? Surely, you folks who own both must have some [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > smarter than their trainers. IMO, pretty much every cat on earth > considers itself smarter than its human. ;) If anyone knows of or recalls a specific dog that could do special things on its own, but was disobedient, then that would prove one of your points. Many years ago an acquaintance had a little dog that had the funniest way of retrieving tennis balls. She would chase the ball indoors with an inverted Frisbee in her mouth, scooping the ball onto the Frisbee with the help of an interior wall or piece of furniture, and serving it back to the thrower like a waitress with a tray :-) Didn't pay much attention to her obedience; don't recall anything about that. Never gave it much thought before, but just recently my gal was the first to point out to me the difference between smarts and intelligence (regarding humans). Smarts is a knowledge/awareness of facts and procedures remembered. Intelligence is more complex; part of it is the ability to solve new problems. >If anyone knows of or recalls a specific dog that could do special things on >its own, but was disobedient, then that would prove one of your points. Spitz-type dogs (malamutes, huskies, akitas, etc) are extremely intelligent but....shall we say.....challenging to obedience train. So are terriers. Part of the reason behind this is that both of these groups of dogs were bred to be fairly self-sufficient workers -- terriers went down into burrows after vermin (terra=earth, terriers=earth dogs) and most of the spitzes were used as either draft dogs or solo hunters (akitas were bear hunters). A better example are border collies. These dogs are almost too smart, and they get bored very easily. If you don't make training sufficiently challenging, they simply turn off. Those of us in the professional training business don't ever talk about a dog or breed being 'smart' There's biddability and intelligence, and the ideal dog is one who is both biddable and intelligent. Border Collies are somewhat biddable and exceedingly intelligent, so they're great herding dogs and sort of okay obedience dogs. Labrador Retrievers are exceedingly biddable, but somewhat intelligent, so they make great retrieving dogs, and decent obedience dogs. Papillons are very biddable and very intelligent, and they make great obedience dogs. Orchid See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage Want a Purebred Cat? Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid > >If anyone knows of or recalls a specific dog that could do special things on > >its own, but was disobedient, then that would prove one of your points. [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > dogs. Papillons are very biddable and very intelligent, and they make > great obedience dogs. I forgot that many of the dog breeds were originally bred for function, not appearance. Until modern times, the physical appearance of those (functional) breeds was of little importance. I get the impression that at least an ordinary cat doesn't stack up against a Papillon. You seem very knowledgeable about this subject, yet reserved about making any general comparisons between the species. >I forgot that many of the dog breeds were originally bred for function, not >appearance. Until modern times, the physical appearance of those [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >You seem very knowledgeable about this subject, yet reserved about making >any general comparisons between the species. Sorry -- didn't see the OP, and commented on what I did see. As for species comparison, using the correct methods (classical operant conditioning) cats are very trainable. I am a private trainer, and I have two Bengals. They both have ~20 behaviours -- classic obedience (sit, down, come, sit-stay, down-stay), a few stupid tricks (sit up, speak, jump through hoops) and ICAT agility behaviours (over a hurdle, along a catwalk, through a tunnel, up an A-frame, weave poles). Kefka has a formal retrieve, and Temujin has a wave. They both walk on their leashes nicely. This is comparable to most dogs -- hell, it's better than a lot of dogs. And it's not limited to just Bengals -- there are hundreds of people across the country doing clicker training with their cats (purebred and moggy) and getting similar results. What you have to remember when training a cat is that you cannot 'correct' a cat like you can a dog. You will be a successful trainer if you reward behaviours you want instead of trying to punish behaviours you don't want. Cats have no concept of 'punishment for the good of the pack' because they are solitary hunters. As for 'which is smarter', I don't think they can be compared. Apples and oranges. Each species has been bred for or evolved different mental needs -- cats will always be more successful solitary hunters than dogs, whereas dogs will always be better herders than cats. Both have the 'smarts' they need to be successful in their roles. Orchid See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage Want a Purebred Cat? Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid > I don't think you can generalize, honestly, any more than you can > generalize about people. Yep. My old Gnarly girl was stump stupid, much as I loved her, and mean as a snake from the minute I met her, bless her heart. All she had to do was be a house cat, but she found some things challenging. She was a pregnant stray when I found her, maybe 6 months old, live to be 20. Cheeks, another stray that the shelter found pregnant, is smart as she can be. Cagey, sociable, expressive, hilarious to watch as she thinks things through. >Well, here we go again ;-) We know they're not as obedient, but are cats as >smart or smarter than dogs? Surely, you folks who own both must have some >insights about this. There are all sorts of ways of measuring intelligence, and IMO, there are also more forms of intelligence than what we human beings consider to be intelligent. If, however, you consider the ability to remember an important component of intelligence, cats have been shown to have the longest memories of any animal other than the chimpanzee. In the study, cats remembered which compartments held food far longer than dogs did. >And which of the cat breeds are the smartest? Shouldn't the nonbreeds >generally be smarter? How do you figure that? Some breeds of cat are known for their intelligence, some aren't. I'd say it largely depends on the breed, so I don't think it would be accurate to assume that mixed breed cats are generally smarter. I've come across all kinds. > >Well, here we go again ;-) We know they're not as obedient, but are cats as > >smart or smarter than dogs? Surely, you folks who own both must have some [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > be accurate to assume that mixed breed cats are generally smarter. I've come > across all kinds. I figure that purebreeds are bred primarily for appearance. A mixed breed would not have such a constraint. >I figure that purebreeds are bred primarily for appearance. A mixed breed >would not have such a constraint. No, intelligence is a characteristic of some breeds, so the breeder would take that into consideration. Also, purebred mother cats are more likely to enjoy good nutrition and health care during pregnancy than many a feral or stray. > Well, here we go again ;-) We know they're not as obedient, but are cats as > smart or smarter than dogs? Surely, you folks who own both must have some > insights about this. > > And which of the cat breeds are the smartest? Shouldn't the nonbreeds > generally be smarter? Dang, nobody's mentioned the obvious yet; that cats are generally more inquisitive than dogs. Pet owners can be like defensive parents. Aren't dogs-only owners defensive about qualities of dogs, and vice versa being true of cats-only owners? Similarly purebreed owners are not only defensive about the specific breed of their pet, but they're more proud. A purepreed owners is not necessarilly a snob, but is a snob more likely to be a purebreed owner? ;-) (brace for the fireworks) > Well, here we go again ;-) We know they're not as obedient, but are cats as > smart or smarter than dogs? Surely, you folks who own both must have some > insights about this. Evidently smarter. A dog will fetch. A cat will fetch, and then decide the object they fetched is more fun than playing fetch. =^^= Seriously, I think they're both as intelligent, but cats seem to me to tend toward curiousity, which causes them to learn. I'm sure people have heard all the stories about how cats figure out how to flush the toilet, open the door, do the dishes, write Linux... what? Didn't you know Linus Torvalds is a cat? =^_^= > And which of the cat breeds are the smartest? Shouldn't the nonbreeds > generally be smarter? I'm kinda biased, but I've noted that bengals are pretty clever cats. SignatureDennis Carr - ke6isf@spamcop.net | I may be out of my mind, http://www.dennis.furtopia.org | But I have more fun that way. ------------------------------------+------------------------------- > Seriously, I think they're both as intelligent, but cats seem to me to > tend toward curiousity, which causes them to learn. I'm sure people have > heard all the stories about how cats figure out how to flush the toilet, > open the door, do the dishes, write Linux... what? Didn't you know Linus > Torvalds is a cat? =^_^= Cody used to turn on my computer when I had a mac that could be powered on from the keyboard. Cats definitely learn. Dogs don't seem to figure out how to do complex tasks like cats do. Signaturemike3k <at> suespammers <dot> org You can blow out a candle, but you can't blow out a fire. Once the flame begins to catch, the wind will blow it higher. - Peter Gabriel, "Biko" > Cody used to turn on my computer when I had a mac that could be powered > on from the keyboard. Some of our cats, when we were breeding, would stomp on the "reset" button on the front of my computer. SignatureDennis Carr - ke6isf@spamcop.net | I may be out of my mind, http://www.dennis.furtopia.org | But I have more fun that way. ------------------------------------+-------------------------------
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