Cats are definitely smart – and they’re smarter than you think. They can learn tricks, solve puzzles, and deal with somewhat-difficult tasks. Don’t let the small size of their brain fool you, cats have their fair share of neurons ready to fire up when they need to figure something out.
The problem with determining how smart a cat is lays in their willingness to participate in scientific experiments. Unlike dogs, birds, and other mammals, cats don’t like to follow orders just as much as the others – but when they do, watch out, because they will ace the test!
The bottom line is, cats are clever but unwilling to show it.
Are cats smarter than dogs?
Neither cats are smarter than dogs nor the other way around. They are simply bred for different purposes – and because of that, they show their intelligence in different ways. There are puzzles that only dogs will solve, and other tests that only cats can handle.
For a long time, scientists believed dogs were smarter than cats. Not barely smarter, but way smarter than their feline counterpart. Quite recently, a realization brushed the scientific community: dogs aren’t smarter, they are more cooperative.
Dogs were bred to follow instructions. Throughout history, they were rewarded for doing what they were told. Cats tended to be a little bit more antisocial – but that doesn’t mean less smart.
Now we know cats are as smart as dogs – but the question remains: who is smarter? We’re yet to find out!
How smart are cats compared to humans?
An adult cat has a similar intelligence to that of a two-year-old toddler. Then again, it’s hard to compare the intelligence between different species – but when it comes to behavioral intelligence, cats are up there with toddlers.
Comparing a cat to a toddler is not the same as calling cats dumb, quite the opposite. Few animals can perform the same tasks a human toddler can do. This shouldn’t be taken in any other way than a compliment!
What’s the smartest cat breed?
Most scientists believe the Siamese cat is the smartest of their kind. They are among the most inquisitive, clever, and social of all cats. Other top contenders are the Abyssinian cat, the Bengal cat, and the Burmese cat. Rankings aside, all breeds are all smart in their own way!
Don’t let popularity or intelligence rankings fool you, though. Humans evaluate animal intelligence by how well they fare in tests and experiments. The cat breeds who are the most social are the ones who come on top – but that’s only because they are more likely to participate in tests than others.