Which is smarter: cats or dogs?

Question

I'm going with cats.. give me your thoughts.

Answer 1

Hi there...Intelligence is a relative term to the species of the animal as ALL animals have the capacity to learn. Two primary factors will influence accuracy in the interpretation of any test for animal intelligence -- an understanding of the animal's natural history and an understanding of the limits of the test. An animal will naturally show an aptitude for a concept it needs or uses regularly in the wild.

As an animal trainer we discover while we are educated that intelligence has very little to do with how trainable an animal is. Yet, as humans, the subject of intelligence continues to fascinate us.

So both dogs and cats are trainable and neither are more intelligent than one another it's just as they are different in their abilities based on their natural behaviours.

I could go on and on with the scientific aspect and the anthropomorphic aspects which are the biggest reason for the dispute.

Anyhow, most people are not aware that cats are very capable of learning more command behaviours than most dogs if the proper techniques are applied.

As a professional animal trainer for over 20 years I specialize in training both domestic and exotic cats. Both my housecats not only understand obedience commands (come, sit, down, etc) but are also toilet trained, can flush the toilet, go to wherever I point, follow a target anywhere, jump through hoops, roll over, fetch, tap the round door knob to ask to open the doors, take apart a 3-D layered puzzle, wave, give a high-five, raise a paw to ask a question, fetch, do agility (like dog agility), walk on a leash in public and so much more. They understand both visual and verbal cues/signals as well and learn most new behaviours quite quickly within a matter of days and for the more complex behaviours such as balancing and walking on a ball in a month.

Training is conducted using operant conditioning through positive reinforcement. We never coerce/mold an animal to learn rather reward desired behaviour with food, praise (most cats only work for food) or toys and always ignore undesired behaviour so that extinguishes itself over time. This is the key technique to train any animal including goldifsh. Yes! You read that correctly... even small fish can be trained to learn new behaviours! Here's some videos of goldfish playing football, soccer and going through a hoop: http://www.fish-school.com/gallery.htm

Answer 2

Even though I'm more of a dog person, I'd have to say cats! I once knew a cat, that was friends with this dog. Well the dog wanted the chicken on the table, and so the cat jumped up on the table, and knocked the chicken off just for the dog! Dogs, on the other hand, are very loyal, intelligent, but just for the owners.

Cats are also intelligent, but masterminds at problem solving. They are very independent, so many think cats aren't smart because they can't learn tricks, but not so! Cats are independent, and they can learn the hardest tricks if they felt like it!

Cats can open doors, flush toilets (wierd huh?) and do many other things! So I'd go with cats (even though I've only had one cat in my life, and now I have a dog, and more of a dog person)

Answer 3

No comparison between the two. It is like comparing man or woman. A dog runs in a "pack", pet dogs have to become part of the human pack! or they are terrible pets. A CAT, now that's a different story. A cat needs no one, nothing, she/he can live in or outdoors, fend for itself, are toilet trained in minutes,give love when They want it. LOL - I go with CATS, but it would have been better to ask "who is smarter - birds or cats?"

Answer 4

How do you define "smarter"? If you mean "Which is more trainable" - I'd say that dogs are generally more motivated by more things that humans have to offer (toys, tugging, food). I say generally because quite a few people have trained their cats to do Agility (link below).
But if you mean "smarter" in the sense of being able to avoid anything like "work" in order to lie around and pretty much do whatever they'd like....I think most cats would win!

Answer 5

Cats for sure - they have so much personality, and cannot be trained to do anything they don't want - dogs go and fetch a stick that their 'master' throws - how dumb is that???? You're never the master of your cat! Also, my cats were never selfish - whenever I was upset, they'd always come and sit on my lap, they are so sensitive - dog people would never understand them!! You need to be sensitive yourself to appreciate cats!

Answer 6

You will be challenged by both cat and dog lovers.
Think about this.
How many rescue cats have you seen or heard of?

Answer 7

in a fight between both the dog would get **** scared and run off so the cat would win so im going with cats even though i hate them

Answer 8

Cat people will say "cats", dog people will say "dogs". These animals have different behaviours but I believe from personal experience that they of equal intelligence.

Answer 9

I read that with Science, Dogs or actually smarter than cats but dumber than pigs. xD

Answer 10

all say CATS is right i have two cats my first one is 9 yr old and the other is 4 i have had them since they was born so the are and allway going to be my kids even once i have a kid