Who is smarter than cats or dogs? Depends on what is meant by this. The mind is a completely subjective concept: what seems to one person extremely rational for another is a manifestation of stupidity. In relation to domestic animals, each person, speaking of the mind, has in mind something of his own. For one person, the manifestation of the pet’s intelligence is in the habits of the animal, for another - in absolute obedience, brought to automatism, and for the third, it is enough for the pet to use the toilet and know where the bowl of water is.
Therefore, the answer to the question of who is smarter than a cat or dog, each person has his own. These pets are completely different, and for some people smarter than cats, and for others - dogs.
What do scientists say?
An interesting study for all pet owners was published in Frontiers in Neuroanatomy in 2017. Its essence is that scientists compared the brain of a cat and a dog as an organ, not taking into account the habits and other qualities that are components of intelligence.
Only the number of neurons was compared. And so it turned out: in the brain of a dog, there are about 530 million neurons, and in a feline’s, much less, only 250 million. If we compare with the human brain, then about 16 billion neuron cells function in it.
Accordingly, if we consider intelligence based on the qualities of the brain as an organ, we can conclude that dogs are smarter than cats.
What are neurons?
A neuron is a cell, thanks to which everyone living on earth is capable of complex mental actions: the thought process, analysis, thinking, learning, planning and others. That is, the presence of neural connections is a sign of the presence of intelligence, without them, thinking is impossible.
The less active neural cells in the brain, the weaker the mental abilities. With a very small volume of neurons, the activity of the central nervous system is reduced only to reflexes and the provision of internal processes in the body.
Does brain size matter?
It is not paradoxical, but the weight and volume of the brain as a whole does not affect the intellect. The big brain does not add mind. For example, the cortex of the lobes of the brain of such a basically non-intelligent animal as a brown bear is 10 times heavier and larger in volume than that of a cat. However, the number of active neural cells in cats is higher. Accordingly, cats are smarter, although their brain sizes are smaller.
The volume and weight of the brain does not play a role in the ability of the animal to perform complex actions, to show understanding and flexibility if necessary. That is, all the habits of the animal, its rationality, do not directly depend on the size of its head, but on how much active gray matter is in the brain.
Domestication affects the mind?
The same study, published in Frontiers in Neuroanatomy and proved that according to the number of neurons, dogs are more intelligent than cats, they also revealed such a curious fact - domestication in no way affects the activity of gray matter and its quantity.
The fact that a dog is smarter, from the point of view of scientists, is in no way connected with the fact that these animals were tamed much earlier than cats. People domesticated dogs about 30 thousand years ago, and cats live next to humans for only 10 thousand years.
Does a cat always attack?
There is no single answer to the question of why a cat attacks a dog. In each case, there will be own reasons for the manifestation of aggression. In order to understand them, you need to decide what to mean by the word "attack." If a cat sits in an ambush, then jumps out of its hiding place and clings to the dog for a couple of minutes and then runs away with its arched back and tail bent to the side, then this is a game, not an attack. Any large dog and cat with an active, moving character, often have fun in this way, and it is not worth worrying about such games of pets.
Dogs behave in exactly the same way. Only they do not jump out of an ambush, but simply grab the seal’s mouth where they find it. Then they begin to procrastinate, fumble, press with their paws.
How to understand that a cat is attacking?
The “battle” cat is different from the one playing. Real anger and hatred can be seen right away. If the cat experiences rage and is aggressive, it is impossible to confuse it with the game. As a rule, the dog feels it unmistakably and steps back immediately if it is alone. A flock of dogs can fight off an angry cat, but never a lonely animal.
The attack, that is, the aggression of cats towards dogs, people often confuse with protection. For example, if a dog has driven a cat into a corner or a place from which it is impossible to get out, then the animal does not always cling to the floor. The “fighting” cat will turn around, narrow its eyes, start screaming loudly, making sounds quite unlike meowing, and at the same time will not forget to put its claws in motion. Usually, after such an “experience”, the dog needs medical attention, since the scratches are quite deep.
The cat does not immediately rush at the dog; it always waits for a while, demonstrating its own intentions. This is expressed in such actions:
- tail wagging with an increase in rhythm, right up to their knocking;
- narrowing of eyes, squint;
- demonstration of fangs;
- hissing or uterine growl;
- squatting, pressing the chest to the floor or other surface, followed by pulling into the string an instant before the jump;
- pressing the ears to the head with a tap back;
- muscle tension.
The cat who was about to attack is truly incredibly similar to its large predatory relatives - panthers, tigers, lionesses.
How dangerous is a cat attack?
Many owners of animals, especially large and quite gambling dogs, worry about cats, which they begin to drive around the yard or along the street, if they are given such a chance. Actually, it’s worth worrying not for the cat, but for the dog, in the event that its “victim” decides to fight back or take revenge after some time.
It is not a question of who is stronger, a cat or a dog, but a method of attack and defense, which meowing animals use. No matter how large and terrible the dog may be from the point of view of its owner, she will not be able to do anything with the claws of two (and sometimes all four!) Paws clinging to the muzzle.
On the back of a dog, on the withers or scruff of a cat, cats rush extremely rarely. The exception is forest and wild reed cats. A domestic cat, like a city cat, living on the street, thus practically does not attack. However, this does not mean at all that they cannot do this. For example, a considerable number of cats prefer to jump onto a dog that offends them from a tree or from a fence. But such cases are typical for cats harboring a sense of revenge, that is, it is possible to consider such behavior a typical way of manifesting aggression.
Which cats attack more often?
Any cat attacks a dog if it gives her a reason. But there are cat breeds that are more prone to aggression. The most "evil" is considered to be a breed of Siamese. Moreover, they are not only evil, but also extremely cunning.
However, the Siamese do not rush into battle just like that. If the Siamese cat attacked the dog, then there was a reason. And the reason for aggression can be anything. Each animal has its own occasion. Some cats feel extremely offended if the dog licks their bowl, while others are quite calm about this. Some cats for years remember a dog that attacked them once and are able to show aggression even after several years. Others, on the contrary, will shun the offender, run away, climb a tree at the sight of a badass dog.
More rarely, aggressive behavior occurs in the classic Persians. Such a cat attacks a dog in exceptional situations in which there is simply no other way out. For example, protecting your kittens, or a plate with a delicious sausage, which the owner’s dog decided to claim.
Why is the cat attacking?
The reasons for the manifestation of aggression towards a dog in a cat are many. If we are talking about pets that live under one roof, then with careful monitoring of their behavior, determining the causes of the attacks is not so difficult.
In fact, the reason for the regularly repeated aggression on the part of the cat is always because the dog is constantly repeating some kind of action that drives another animal out of itself. But what exactly does the dog do, you can find out by watching the pets.
As a rule, a domestic cat becomes aggressive if:
- encroach on her personal space;
- do not give her the opportunity to sleep, relax;
- eat her food or drink water;
- stain a bowl, touch it with its paws, tail;
- take a favorite place near the owner;
- scatter the filler from the tray;
- interfere with the need for a toilet.
In addition to quite noticeable and objective reasons, there are not so obvious ones. It's about the psychological background of aggression. Not so rare are cases when a cat literally pounces on a puppy not so long ago and does it at every opportunity. At the same time, the small dog does not interfere with the cat in any way: it does not sleep in its toilet, does not gnaw the house, does not touch the bowl.
The reason for this behavior is stress and deep resentment, misunderstanding of what is happening and jealousy. Similar situations happen in families where for a long time the cat lived alone and was extremely spoiled. People, having brought a puppy into the house, at least for a month devote all their attention only to him, sometimes even forgetting to feed the cat on time. This behavior of the owners and the change of their priorities become the cause of deep emotional feelings of the cat, leading to attacks on the dog.
What to do?
As a rule, a dog runs away from a cat during an attack, if it manages to do so. In the case when the domestic dog was attacked by a street cat and did not have time to escape, it is necessary to visit the veterinarian immediately. The cat may be sick. With deep scratches, anatomical damage is possible. Under the claws there may be helminth eggs or other parasites, therefore, in case of a street attack, be sure to take the dog to a doctor's appointment.
If a cat attacks a dog living with it under one roof, it is necessary to carefully study the behavior of both pets and analyze their own priorities regarding pets. This is necessary in order to identify the cause of aggression and eliminate it. This is the only way to stop cat attacks. Remember that punishing or isolating the animal will only aggravate the situation. After eliminating the cause of the attacks, aggression will immediately disappear.