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Science, which is unbiased and emotionless, can answer the question cat or dog: who is smarter ? Maybe.
Researchers conducted a study that, in theory, should end the eternal dispute between cat and dog lovers. The research found that the cerebral cortex of dogs contains 530 million neurons, while in cats only "half" that amount, 250 million neurons. The study revolved around the theoretical index of encephalization (EQ), a measure of the size of the brain of a mammal inin relation to your body weight.
The greater the number of these same neurons in the region of the brain responsible for thinking, the easier and faster the mammal learns, draws conclusions from its own mistakes and remembers events. Therefore, the dog with more neurons is better at solving complex problems than the cat.
Cats don't give up
Researcher Ursula Dicke, from the Institute for Brain Research in Germany, found that the density of neurons per square millimeter of the cerebral cortex of cats is significantly higher than in dogs. And this indicator is as relevant accurate as the EQ.
Therefore, cats have no worse disposition to learn. Another thing is that due to the specificity of the feline character and temperament, it is much more difficult to force them to learn something against their will, so the overwhelming majority of tests failed. However, the tests that were still possible to perform confirmed Ursula Dicke's conclusions. In particular, scientists from Canadian LavalUniversity found that cats have short-term memory three times better, they remember all kinds of sequences better and are better able to analyze the situation than dogs. This last point is especially important because, among other things, cats are better hunters than dogs.
Cat or dog is the smartest? It's up to you
An unexpected conclusion was reached by Swiss scientists from the University of Lausanne, led by researcher Daniel Silvestro. It turns out that in terms of evolution and adaptability, cats showed their best side. About 20 million years ago, the settlement of representatives of the feline family in North America negatively affected the diversity of dog species. Cats, forall counts, turned out to be much more skilled hunters, which caused the extinction of 40 species of dogs. Cats are more accurate and silent, have sharp retractable claws - characteristics that dogs do not possess.
On the other hand, dogs have a well-developed social intelligence: when individuals of the same herd communicate and act together, they compensate for all the advantages of cats. Cats, on the other hand, are absolute individualists, they do not need social intelligence, they get along very well on their own.
