Cats and dogs are both smart... smarter certainly than men

By LIZ JONES

Clever boy: Liz Jones owns four collies similar to the one pictured but claims that cats are just as intelligent

So dogs are smarter than cats, are they?

The intelligence of man’s best friend has evolved more quickly than that of the less social cat over millions of years, scientists at Oxford University claim.

It was often thought that cats were smarter because they needed less attention, but researchers have discovered that cats’ brains are smaller ‘because they are less social’. Some mammals have evolved larger brains to be able to cope with the demands of being domesticated.


Aloof: Scientists at the University of Oxford have claimed that cats are less intelligent then their canine counterparts

I’ve studied the differences between dogs and cats too, at close quarters. I live with four dogs and 17 cats. And although my four collies are the Stephen Hawkings of the animal world, I’d challenge the fact that one animal is brighter than another, which you’d understand if you’d read Alan Clark’s account of his relationship with a jackdaw.

These Oxford scientists have obviously never met my cat Squeaky, who has been my animal companion (I don’t use the word ‘pet’; neither do I ever ‘own’ an animal) for 23 years.


source: dailymail