Question:
In Parade magazine, the supplement in the Sunday newspaper, I saw an article recently that compared cats to dogs. This article said dogs are smarter than cats, but I don't think so.
I've owned dogs all my life, and now I own a cat. My cat is every bit as smart as the dogs I've owned -- maybe smarter. In fact, my cat, Rose (named after Kate Winslet's character in the movie "Titanic"), is a lot smarter than some voters, and she is a lot more intelligent than a lot of drivers I see on the road.
But tell me, Dr. Fox, which is, in fact, "smarter"? Dogs or cats? Or is there no way to actually know whether the cat or the dog is smarter? Perhaps it's a matter of opinion.
R.P., Hendersonville, NC Nov 28, 2011
Answer:
When I was a regular guest of Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show
," he would often pop your question of whether dogs are smarter than cats. I would respond by saying that pigs are probably smarter than both and that because pigs are the most intelligent of farm animals, we should think twice about eating them. Then I would emphasize that each species has particular skills and that while one might perform better than another on a particular IQ test or learning aptitude assessment, many factors come into play. These include motivation, attention span/distractibility and emotional stability.
I conclude such "specist" questions and debates by stating that there is no creature more intelligent at being a cat than a cat. (For feline IQ tests, see my book "Supercat
.") Some breeds of dogs have suffered selective breeding that can affect their attention span and learning abilities.
Humans, apes, elephants, dolphins, orcas and magpies respond when they see that their familiar image in a mirror has changed when a mark is put on their heads or bodies. This is supposedly a measure of self-awareness. But if dogs and cats don't respond, does that mean they lack self-awareness? I think not -- they're less narcissistic, perhaps!
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