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Cats and Intelligence

Started by Extrarius May 19, 2003 at 2:34 PM 47 replies 2.3k views

Original Post

May 19, 2003 at 2:34 PM

Why do so many people(dog lovers) consider cats stupid? I''ve been in many arguments on the subject and many people seem to define the intelligence of a pet by what it will do for them. Why do we consider a dog intelligent just because it can be a slave? Why are cats considered stupid because they think independantly? Do people measure their own intelligence the same way? Do people think things such as "Today I got coffee for my boss and did all his work for him, I''m such a good human"? If not, why do people use different standards of intelligence for pets and humans? Why is an animal that takes what you do/say into consideration and then acts how it thinks is best less intelligent than one that does whatever you say?

Waverider

May 19, 2003 at 2:37 PM

Dogs: "They feed me, they give me a place to stay. They must be gods."

Cats: "They feed me, they give me a place to stay. I must be God."

It''s a different kind of intelligence. I had dogs when I was younger. Cats took a little getting used to (the ones with attitude, anyway). I wonder what it''s like for people who had cats when they were younger, to then be around dogs...

Tron3k

May 19, 2003 at 2:37 PM

I personally find that my dog can figure out things, like actually solving problems. He''s very intelligent. Also, dogs have evolved with humans to such an extent that they actually understand human facial patterns (I read an article about this). I don''t know about cats.

Witchcraven

May 19, 2003 at 2:38 PM

why? it would seem to me that neither cats or dogs care themselves. It is a human thing to quantify intelligence. Cats and dogs are happy either way.

Zeraan

May 19, 2003 at 2:39 PM

I (a cat lover) despites dogs. They drool all over the place, demands way too much attention (walk the dogs, clean up their mess, etc), and are generally idiotic unless trained. That''s my opinion. Dog lovers think differently...

MindWipe

May 19, 2003 at 2:40 PM

Cats are smarter then dogs.

Because dogs are stupid

Witchcraven

May 19, 2003 at 2:42 PM

Oh yeah, my pet bird is better than both cats and dogs. He may not be smarter (I dont know), but he is WAY better.

Oh yeah, my penis > your penis.

Voice Of Tango

May 19, 2003 at 2:45 PM

quote:
Original post by Extrarius
Why do so many people(dog lovers) consider cats stupid?

Cats are more intelligent than dogs. If you give your dog the freedom to go wherever it wants it will have itself run over within five minutes. Don''t flame - I have conducted extensive studies to prove this. I would like to say that no animals were harmed, but sadly that''s not true.

Extrarius

May 19, 2003 at 2:45 PM

quote:
Original post by Waverider
Dogs: "They feed me, they give me a place to stay. They must be gods."

Cats: "They feed me, they give me a place to stay. I must be God."

It's a different kind of intelligence. I had dogs when I was younger. Cats took a little getting used to (the ones with attitude, anyway). I wonder what it's like for people who had cats when they were younger, to then be around dogs...

I agree with that very much, but if you notice, cats are treated as gods(or at least, equals) by many cat lovers. For example, when my cat wants in he comes to the door and I let him in, same when he wants out. When my friend's dogs want in or out, tough. He lets them in/out when he thinks they should go in/out. I grew up with both cats and dogs, and I don't dislike either, but I like that my cat is independant and doesn't demand every second of my time like my friend's dogs do of him.

[edited by - Extrarius on May 19, 2003 3:48:48 PM]

Julio

May 19, 2003 at 2:47 PM

quote:

Cats are smarter then dogs.

Because dogs are stupid

you''re not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed either. our dog is the second smartest breed of dog, and I must admit, she''s a pretty good problem solver compared to other dogs I''ve seen.

My Homepage

Witchcraven

May 19, 2003 at 2:48 PM

According to the ancient egyptians, cats are gods. I may be wrong, but I think I heard that somewhere.

Eelco

May 19, 2003 at 2:51 PM

cats can be quite smart. the can figure out to open a door for example. besides they are quite capable of communicating with humans. they can perfectly sense your mood, and will do things to attract your attention. my cats sometimes gets me cos he wants to show me a bird or some such.

dogs probably arnt dumb either, although i think it might vary as much as their size. anyway they are annoying: always barking at people, thinking theyre though, and shitting all over the place.

Voice Of Tango

May 19, 2003 at 2:52 PM

quote:
Original post by Extrarius
cats are treated as gods by many cat lovers

True. My cat Phoebe is my Special Friend ™. Joey''s cool as well, but he doesn''t decide to sleep on my bed every night without fail.

I love my cats.

This post was made from Mozilla Firebird

MindWipe

May 19, 2003 at 2:58 PM

If cats are gods, then all dog lovers will burn in hell, right?

/MindWipe

BradDaBug

May 19, 2003 at 3:00 PM

I hate cats. Rats < squirrels < cats < poop < ... < dogs < me < god.

I say dogs are MUCH smarter than cats. Dogs have learned how to push human''s buttons and how to get us to like them. "hey, if I do what they want I get food! If I look cute they''ll praise me and pet me! If I pee on the floor they get mad!" What do cats do? Crawl down the garbage disposal, have kittens inside the wall and get stuck, chase flashlight/laser pointers, etc.

I vote that cats are too stupid to be trained. Dogs are smart enough to figure out that if they do what they''re told they get rewarded.

cowsarenotevil

May 19, 2003 at 3:02 PM

I''ve seen really smart cats, but mine is really dumb... It''s fully grown too.

-~-The Cow of Darkness-~-

If you see the image I am online

Extrarius

May 19, 2003 at 3:04 PM

quote:
Original post by BradDaBug
I hate cats. Rats < squirrels < cats < poop < ... < dogs < me < god.

I say dogs are MUCH smarter than cats. Dogs have learned how to push human's buttons and how to get us to like them. "hey, if I do what they want I get food! If I look cute they'll praise me and pet me! If I pee on the floor they get mad!" What do cats do? Crawl down the garbage disposal, have kittens inside the wall and get stuck, chase flashlight/laser pointers, etc.

I vote that cats are too stupid to be trained. Dogs are smart enough to figure out that if they do what they're told they get rewarded.

I've had a pet rat(really my sister got it from a friend but after a week she forgot about it pretty much) and squirel too, and the rat was pretty boring but squirrels are fun.
I've never seen a cat chase a laser pointer or a flashlight beam, and I've never seen a cat attack a mirror either.
You say Dogs can push people's buttons to get love, but consider this: Dogs do what they are told and many people like them. Cats do whatever the hell they want and many people like them. I say cats are better at controlling humans than dogs.
In my experience, dogs go the bathroom all over the place, but if you have a litterbox a cat will use it without any training at all (or at least, my cats do).

[edited by - Extrarius on May 19, 2003 4:05:22 PM]

Densun

May 19, 2003 at 3:05 PM

I watched a show on the Travel Channel named The Top Ten Smartest Animals (or something like that). Dogs were on the list, but cats weren''t. That''s the extent of my research.

Unspoken Magi

May 19, 2003 at 3:06 PM

OK, you all asked for it! ALL PETS SUCK!
I generally do not like pets.
Oh yeah, and I know its coming, so...
YOUR OPINION IS WRONG!

[Enter the Unspoken Realm]

Extrarius

May 19, 2003 at 3:06 PM

quote:
Original post by mtw
I watched a show on the Travel Channel named The Top Ten Smartest Animals (or something like that). Dogs were on the list, but cats weren't. That's the extent of my research.

I'd bet the measure of intelligence used was teaching the animal to obey a command, and cats just did(after taking into consideration the 'training' and whatever else) what they thought best instead of what the trainer wanted.

[edited by - Extrarius on May 19, 2003 4:11:12 PM]

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