Dogs must be the smarter pet; after all, they can do tricks and obey commands. Cats could, too, cat lovers argue-if they wanted to.
Comparisons have always been a challenge, as dogs plied with treats are eager to cooperate and cats are notoriously persnickety. But some evidence suggests that dogs outdo cats in basic tests of learning.
ANIMAl ODD COUPLES
Researchers at CanCog Technologies, a private institution in Toronto that studies behavior and aging in companion animals, have tested dogs and cats on the same tasks, using cats that show the same level of interest in food rewards as the dogs. They found that cats make more errors than dogs and require more trials to learn the same tasks.
One exercise involves two food wells covered with different objects; the animal must learn which object corresponds to food. Another test requires remembering which well of two or which of three contains food.
Cats could learn to do the memory test with two options, but couldn't with three, while dogs could. (Sense of smell wasn't a factor, since all objects carried a food odor.)
MORE NEURONS
On the other hand, the physiology of dog and cat brains seems to suggest that cats have the advantage. While brain size isn't a good indicator of intelligence, the number of neurons could be, experts say. Cats have 300 million neurons to dogs' mere 160 million. By comparison, humans have 11.5 billion.
Both species appear to have an aptitude for getting along with (and manipulating) their human companions. Dogs can follow a pointing finger to get to a treat, and they look at the left side of people's faces-the side that tends to more clearly express emotion-just as people do.
They know that looking at a toy or treat will often send a person in its direction. Using a high-pitched "solicitation purr" reminiscent of a baby's cry, cats tap into a person’s primal urge to take care. Moreover, a study using video data shows that cats and their female owners constantly respond to each other's subtle oral and body cues for attention.
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