How Smart Is Your Cat?

Cat lovers insist their feline friends have a superior intelligence to any other animal — even humans, according to some. Danielle Chenery asks the experts if cats really are as smart as some may think.

- Danielle Chenery

 

Cats like to please … themselves. Because of this basic fact of cat nature, it can be really hard to truly measure their intelligence. If you’re trying to train your cat to do something, you’d better be sure your cat sees the point of the exercise or your efforts are likely to be in vain.

Dr Kate Adams, owner of Bondi Vets (drkateadams.com or on Insta @drkateadams), says one of the problems in measuring feline intelligence as opposed to canine intelligence is compliance. “There would probably be more research on cat intelligence if they did what they were told. It’s no secret that when it comes to research and cats, cats are not the ideal research candidates, meaning we are still far from having the same level of understanding about exactly the way cats think or how their brains work compared to dogs. Because that’s the thing about cats — they don’t follow instructions.”

That said, cats have proved themselves to be their own special kind of smart. “They are smart at doing cat things, like being patient enough to wait until the opportune moment to pounce on an unsuspecting mouse,” Dr Kate says.