Dogs Smarter Than Cats, Oxford Study Finds

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After millions of years of evolution and hundreds of academic hours of study, the verdict is in: dogs are smarter than cats.

Researchers at the University of Oxford in England have released a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal stating that highly social animals need more brain power than solitary species.

Since the phrases "followed me like a puppy dog" and "as hard as herding cats" have become clich?, it follows that dogs' brains are bigger relative to their size, according to a University of Oxford press release.

"Groups of highly social species have undergone much more rapid increases (in brain size across history) than more solitary species," said the study's lead author, Dr Susanne Shultz, in the release. "This suggests that the cooperation and coordination needed for group living can be challenging and over time some mammals have evolved larger brains to be able to cope with the demands of socializing."

The study took a look at 500 species, analyzing living mammals and fossilized records, the release stated. It found that the brains of monkeys grew the most over time, followed by horses, dolphins, camels and dogs. The brains of more solitary mammals, such as cats, deer and rhinos, grew much more slowly during the same period.

Prior to the study, most scientists believe brains in mammals developed at about the same rate over time. Shultz said in the release that evolutionary scientists ought reconsider that view.

Co-author and Professor Robin Dunbar said: "For the first time, it has been possible to provide a genuine evolutionary time depth to the study of brain evolution. It is interesting to see that even animals that have contact with humans, like cats, have much smaller brains than dogs and horses because of their lack of sociality."

[catsaresmarter11]

I doubt anyone will read this, but lets take this moment to look at just how idiotic Oxford people are. By their own logic, dogs are smarter that cats because their brains are increasing more rapidly in size. This might mean something, if it weren't for the fact that cats have MUCH BIGGER BRAINS, compared to their body size. Dogs still have a lot of catching up to do before their brain to body mass will approach that of cats. By oxford's criminally idiotic, infectiously, droolingly, rabidly stupid logic, this means that whales are smarter than humans, because they have more massive brains. Maybe oxford people should go back to being ******* stupid english bastards with bad teeth who think women are inferior to men and we should colonize every country we can. God I ******* hate you oxford.

[LifeCycles]

Hey. Do a google search on the subject and maybe try reading the article before making such bold claims clearly based on your own bias. I agree, brain to body weight ratio is important to consider when trying to quantify the relative intelligence of a species. Domestic cats have a ratio of ~1:110 while domestic dogs have a ratio of ~1:125. Cats have a SLIGHTLY larger brain compared to body size but this relationship is hardly linear. Mice and humans have an equal ratio, though it would be hard to find any evidence suggesting that the intelligence of a mouse equals that of a human. Elephants have a comparatively small brain to body weight ratio even though they clearly possess a high degree of intelligence. The Oxford study compared growth in brain size, cerebral cortex development, and degrees of brain folding between 500 different species. These factors directly relate to cognitive learning and spatial awareness. Studies performed by the U of Portsmouth, U of Moncton, and U of Hungary have found that a dogs ability to use process of elimination, to understand and react to external stimuli as subtle as a spoken word, and to use reason when making decisions is so highly developed that domestic cats pale in comparison. Cats are fascinating animals. They are instinctive, well adapted and physically impressive. Dogs are far more intelligent though, whether or not you believe it. I can look at the sky and tell you it's green. I might really think that, but it doesn't make me any less of an idiot. But hey, keep ignoring scientific evidence and just go with your gut. right?

[MaiKatzchen]

The people that did this study made no actual measurements of the mental ability of cats verses dogs, so I don't think that the study is valid. I do not see how brain size equals intelligence. A human may have an IQ less than 20 or over 200, with the same size brain -- it depends on how the brain was genetically wired. The same goes for other animals.

Dogs may have more scent nerves than a cat, but that doesn't mean that they are better at processing the information. Brain mass has no bearing on the use of the brain and the actual mental abilities of an animal.

I see dogs in bad predicaments regularly that a cat will think his/her way out of with ease. I have seen cats create and use tools to do what they want, but i have seen no evidence of such inventiveness from dogs. An article on c-net recently revealed that a cat uses more than 300 phonemes to communicate along with a complicated body language. Dogs communicate with less than 80 phonemes and a simple structure of body language.

I guess this proves that the limeies are dimmer than burned out lamps once again.

[JohnnyCrabcakes]

"Dogs Smarter Than Cats..."
"... it follows that dogs' brains are bigger relative to their size."

Oh goody! Phrenology is back! Thanks for the pseudoscience insight.

[formrusmcsgt]

I know people love their "pets".

I prefer my own species for company.

Thay can actually converse.

[spotonthewall]

My siamese had a vocabulary of seven words. He could open doors with his paw and also turn on the kitchen faucet to get a drink. He could come down out of a tree upside down. Cats have fallen from seven stories and survived. When a cat swipes at a dog, the dog hightails it. Another cat isn't so stupid and swipes back. Cats clean themselves and can be taught to use the toilet.
Dogs just stand there and look up at you and drool. You throw them a packet of dog food and they swallow the whole thing, plastic package and all. Cats are very selective in what they eat, and then they go and kill something anyhow (like some songbird) and leave it on your front porch for your approval. If you abandon a cat, he just goes and fends for himself. I feed three stray cats every night in a nearby parking lot, to make their lot easier. A dog would be dead in three days. That's why if you see a stray cat and call Animal Rescue they ignore you and hang up, but if you see a stray dog, the police are out there immediately with a net until Animal Rescue arrives. Cats are tough, resilient, sassy, arrogant, independent.
Dogs are pathetic. So is this "Oxford study." If you wanted to be reincarnated, would it be as a cat or a dog? There is your answer right there.

[g57h]

A bomb sniiffing cat? A police cat? A hearding cat? Hey idiot, first of all the cat weighs 20 pounds or less! Apparently you lack the simple knowledge that dogs are pack animals which explains most of there close connections with the humans around them. This includes a submissive reaction to their master as a "master" so saving lives can have little or nothing to do with love and mostly to do with the dogs reward for being obedient or serving a duty to their pack instinctually. You have not given a single reason for a dog being superior to a cat in terms of love and intelligence.

[aadunlapesq]

being social means that all members are dependent on each other, bound to each other and enjoy the company of each other. these are attributes that are also found in love. I'm not saying that a dog has the same emotional ties to it's owner as a man and wife but there is a definite bond and there is definite loyalty

[Truth_Tracker]

This lame-brain article stands as conclusive proof that "bigger" is not "smarter" - given the size of the human brain needed to write this nonsense. All of nature and all of existence is in harmony and makes sense . . . UNTIL you get to humans. Only humans commit hideous crimes purely out of hate. Only humans pointlessly, needlessly destroy the only habitat that keeps us alive. Only humans make no sense. And as Jeff Valdez put it, "Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow."

[formrusmcsgt]

Dogs Smarter Than Cats
---
And smarter than many people as well....

They wag their tail and convince a schmuk to feed and clean up after them for life.

[Void-Master]

Let's see; dogs are more intelligent than cats because dogs obey commands and cats to not? Hmmm. By that logic we would observe that dogs are also more intelligent than teenage human beings.

As far as dogs having bigger brains per body mass than cats, the same could be said of Neanderthal versus H. sapiens. So apparently Neanderthal were more intelligent than we are.

Yeah, right. I believe that. Sure. You bet.

[MissAbbyNormal]

My cat fetches, shakes hands and sits. They are smart and can be trained.