Who is smarter - cats or dogs: scientists answered this question

09.11.2023 12:42

Scientists have put an end to the dispute between dog breeders and cat lovers about which pet is smarter.

Neurobiologists have assessed the intellectual abilities of domestic animals.

The results of the study were published by the Frontiers portal.

As part of the study, scientists assessed the mental abilities of domestic cats, dogs and other wild animals.

Results of the study

It turned out that there are twice as many neurons in the canine cerebral cortex (530 million) as in the cat brain (250 million).

Cat
Photo: © Belnovosti

A human has approximately 16 billion neurons in the same area of the brain.

Considering that the intelligence of a living thing depends on the number of neurons, it is safe to say that dogs are still smarter than cats.

According to researchers, this is not an acquired quality, but a genetic predisposition of dogs to solve more complex problems.

One nuance

Scientists took into account that the brain size of animals is different. This means that the density of neurons in the cerebral cortex is also different, and in cats it is greater than in dogs.

Therefore, it is impossible to call cats more stupid than dogs. They are rather lazier.

Author: Igor Zur Internet resource editor

Content
  1. Results of the study
  2. One nuance