Are Cats Smarter Than Dogs?
Are cats smarter than dogs?
Deciding which of the two is smarter, first requires an explanation of the methods used to measure intelligence. Many scientific studies exist seeking to base the measure of intelligence on characteristics of brain size, for example. However, little evidence exists to confirm this theory irrefutably.
Recent research comparing the number of neurons in the brains of dogs and cats now shows that dogs have twice the number of neurons in their cerebral cortex.
In both animals and humans, different parts of the brain respond to different stimuli, thereby collecting information for processing, but it is in the cerebral cortex where most of this processing takes place.
The study chose to focus on neurons within the cerebral cortex, as neurons are the parts of the brain that process information – the mini processors of the brain. The more processors found in the cerebral cortex, the greater the brain’s ability to process information. Brain size has little bearing on the number of neurons found in the cerebral cortex.
Thus, if we believe the ability to process information is a good measure for intelligence, it would appear that cats are in fact not smarter than dogs.
Cats may actually share the same intelligence as that of bears, while dogs are closer to lions and raccoons.