In Defense Of Cats Against Canine Propaganda

(Not that cats actually give a hoot what this report says anyway.)

The Telegraph reveals its canine bias:

Dogs are 'smarter than cats'
Dogs are cleverer than cats because their friendly character has helped them develop bigger brains, a study set to end the argument between pet lovers has shown.


The intelligence of “a man’s best friend” has evolved at a greater rate than the less social cat over millions of years, scientists at Oxford University have claimed.

It was often thought that the feline pet was smarter than its canine counterpart because it needed less attention but researchers have discovered that cat’s brains are smaller because they are less social.

...They found that there was a link between the size of an animal’s brain in relation to the rest of its body and how socially active it was.

Throughout the entire article, the point is made over and over that because of their more social nature, the brains of dogs are larger than the brains of cats.

As the owner of 2 cats, I am fine with that. In fact, the actual implications of those bigger brains is made clear:

“This suggests the co-operation and co-ordination 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 socialising.”

But that is just the point: the larger brain is for co-operation and co-ordination--it does not mean that dogs are more clever. If anything, considering how easily cats manipulate their owners when in fact they do not have to offer the constant companionship or services that are offered by some breeds of dogs, just which is the 'cleverer' animal?

As far as the article's contention that:

Dogs have always been regarded as the more social animals while cats like to get on with their own thing alone.

--just remember that it is the lion, not the wolf, that will one day be laying down with the lamb.

Technorati Tag: Cats and Dogs.