What is happening in your Cats head?

A question you may have asked yourself upteen times after picking up the smashed milk bottle that he has just knocked over or having to pull him out of the cardboard box he has got his head stuck in ...again. Do cats think? Yes of course they think but just how intelligent are they? The accepted feeling is cats are more intelligent than dogs. As a great Cat Lover myself I would defend this statement as long as I live but then I guess I am slightly biased. I would find it quite funny to watch an Alsation take on my little blue Ellie and come off the worst. As he naturally will. Look at the difference in sizes! It has to be brains doesnt it!?

Evidence of intellligence

Intelligence is a difficult thing to visualize. What exactly is it? Knowledge, instinct, common sense,problem solving, streetwise skills? The IQ test brought all of these things and more, under one umbrella. Unfortunately there is no IQ test for cats. However when scientists looked at a cats brain. It seems it has a large and highly convoluted hemispheres, typical of other relatively intelligent creatures. Also the difference in body weight to brain weight is greater than most other mammals.Agin showing a likelihood towards evolved intelligence. We can also use psychological tests and simple observation. However it is exactly through these findings that two unnusual feline charecteristics stand out clearly.

Why your cat is intelligent

Firstly Cats are extrordinarily good at problem solving and then adapting this to a later different problem. This is the feline equivelant of insight, and is seen in such situations as opening a door latch or retrieving an inaccessable object. Secondly (and this is partly what I love about Louie and Ellie)they are totally unmoved by what we would call in our society - the work ethic. Other animals such as rats, monkeys, chickens, dogs (ok Rover?) etc will press levers for rewards endlessly to get a food reward. The cats attitude is to possibly fall asleep and only work as a last resort. A cats Curiosity is a clear indication of his intelligence. And ok, maybe he should check out risk involved before he gets stuck up that tree again, but the fact that they are inspired by changes in their envireonment to explore and seek suggests a thoughtful mind.Cats appear to have a sense of time and learn to judge the movements of their owners if there is likely to be some kind of pay off. It seems many of the behaviours attributed to cats as superior intelligence could be better answered by accepting that they in fact have superior senses.

Instincts Versus Learning

It needs to be taken into account that cats like any other animals are born with natural instincts that ensure they are able to reproduce and survive. The suckling reflex is a good example of such behaviour. If a cat did not do this it would not naturally suck on its mothers teat. The cat is also an inborn hunter. This is why he will spend his time chasing and swatting. But there is more to cats than reflex behaviour. Cats can learn and remember and use their skills and knowledge in different situations. This is seen when a cat learns how to rouse his owner perhaps by scraping on the door if he is outside, or tapping you on the nose if you are in bed (yes - and asleep Ellie). And was that milk jug knocked over by accident? Only now one can lick it up cant one?

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