Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[deftarchangel]

I just found this humourous, although disappointing, seeing as how I am more privy towards cats than dogs.  But this may explain why Sylvester never got Tweety, or why he never figured out the problem with the giant mouse!   



Are cats dumb?

By THANE BURNETT, SUN MEDIA

 
Your cat may not be as smart as you’d like to think.

That’s not me talking – it’s science.

Among the great debates of humanity — is Star Wars better than Star Trek, are old episodes of WKRP in Cincinnati funnier than old episodes of Seinfeld and is Megan Fox the new Angelina Jolie— few disputes have been so polarizing as cats versus dogs.

And while many have assumed felines are somehow more intelligent than canines, research has proven them wrong.

At least when it comes to pulling strings.

Psychology lecturer Britta Osthaus has found cats seem dumbfounded by cause-and-effect challenges.
 
She, and two graduate students — Emma Whitt and Marie Douglas — took 15 cats and had them face a simple contraption, where treats were attached to bits of string peeking out from under plastic screens.

Pulling on the threads would get them the snack.

The tests included mixing in lines without food on the ends, and even crossing the strings.

Similar tests have been done on infants.

While the cats figured out the lone string connection to the bits of fish and biscuits, they weren’t savvy enough to solve the multiple string problems. In fact, one particularly daft cat managed to always make the wrong connection, and his fellow feline brethren didn’t make out any better than what you would expect by sheer chance.

Osthaus, who teaches at Canterbury Christ Church University in Kent, England, is puzzled by how dim the kitty subjects turned out to be.

“You would think, given their reputation and the fact they use their paws so much, they would have done better,” she tells Sun Media on the phone from her office.

“But, please, I’m not saying cats are stupid.”

Instead, she points out the experiment just shows their limits in problem solving.

Not that that’s calmed the hurt egos of cat owners, who have jumped to the defence of their furry friends.

They’ve contacted Osthaus to insist the science is flawed, and that perhaps the cats simply didn’t care to find the food.

“But they were motivated,” she points out. “You can see them trying to figure it out. They just couldn’t.

“The test dogs can do one step better.”

Next up, Osthaus will return to working with dogs — which she’s done often — as well as possibly horses.

But she’s a little nervous when it comes to ever again challenging the intellectual prowess of cats.

Dog owners seem to shrug off suggestions their best friends aren’t always that bright.

But cat owners — they get their claws out.

And that smarts.

 

[EKnight]

Not a fan of cats so this is no surprise to me    I have three dogs and they are all smart but in different ways.

Eileen

[Ellie]

The cats won the test.No doubt about that.While their cousins roam the jungle as Kings and Queens of that domain,so do their smaller counterparts roam the human world as little Kings and Queens.
    Cats know what they want and who they are.That's the key to it all.
    Dogs are made to serve,cats to BE served.So no smart moggy is going to upset the status quo on that.To them you may as well pit the dogs against frogs with a tasty fly on the end of the string...
    Our friendly felines don't sleep for up to eighteen hours a day for nothing.They adventure, dream, meditate, relax and learn.They are well aware of past persecutions and glories. They are not going to jeopardise their current position in life for a piece.......of string.
   Imagine if the cats acquiesced,followed all the strings,beat the dogs and won the test.
    Besides....who paid for this experiment?  And who got paid for it?
    Goodness knows ....what the human beings would get them to do next!!!
No cat would be that dumb to fall for that trick......Call it a test if you like....
They wont walk that line of human carnality.....
    These cats....forced to a test....are martyrs for the whole of the Little Cat Kingdom. It is a victory for the lifestyle of cats everywhere.
    So today,when your cat curls up on your lap for his/her comfort,affection and your adoration,just be sure that rising inside that sweet little cat heart, is a secret, deep.......Superior....smile....
     And rumbling amongst the contented purr ....is the sure knowledge....that your lap....is their throne.....

[cjwood]

The cats won the test.No doubt about that.While their cousins roam the jungle as Kings and Queens of that domain,so do their smaller counterparts roam the human world as little Kings and Queens.
    Cats know what they want and who they are.That's the key to it all.
    Dogs are made to serve,cats to BE served.So no smart moggy is going to upset the status quo on that.To them you may as well pit the dogs against frogs with a tasty fly on the end of the string...
    Our friendly felines don't sleep for up to eighteen hours a day for nothing.They adventure, dream, meditate, relax and learn.They are well aware of past persecutions and glories. They are not going to jeopardise their current position in life for a piece.......of string.
   Imagine if the cats acquiesced,followed all the strings,beat the dogs and won the test.
    Besides....who paid for this experiment?  And who got paid for it?
    Goodness knows ....what the human beings would get them to do next!!!
No cat would be that dumb to fall for that trick......Call it a test if you like....
They wont walk that line of human carnality.....
    These cats....forced to a test....are martyrs for the whole of the Little Cat Kingdom. It is a victory for the lifestyle of cats everywhere.
    So today,when your cat curls up on your lap for his/her comfort,affection and your adoration,just be sure that rising inside that sweet little cat heart, is a secret, deep.......Superior....smile....
     And rumbling amongst the contented purr ....is the sure knowledge....that your lap....is their throne.....

loved your post ellie. truly the "cat's meow"!

claudia

p.s. just a few minutes ago i had several kittens roaming around the computer, then under the bed, then under anything else they could get under. precious little foster kitties!!! they have slept all afternoon waiting for this very time when they could prowl the dimly lit hallway and bedrooms and any other rooms where their little cat brains direct them. oh, and the cuddling and purring, and little kitten smell, and soft little fur. so cute you could just eat them up.

yea, the cat's meow.

[Dave in Tenn]

Be careful, Claudia.  In some places, they DO eat them up.

Ellie, that was priceless...even though I still prefer dogs.  As long as they are OTHER people's dogs.   

[fox]

I have always had both cats and dogs and love them both. Their intelligence is oriented differently so they will
not always perform equally on the same tests. Just like some people excel at math and others excel at language.
Both are intelligent but it is expressed differently.

Basically dogs are made to grovel   and cats are made to be groveled to .

Years ago it was considered that cats could never do agility courses like dogs since cats were "untrainable". Now
cats are performing in agility contests and doing quite well. People had to learn that while dogs would follow
commands (grovel) cats had to be enticed with lures which they enjoyed chasing (groveled to).

Cats and dogs are different but I appreciate the differences. I had a cat for many years that was a feral kitten.
I did not know about feral kittens at the time. It seems that some never quite tame down and get comfortable with
people. This cat never liked me or any other person but formed a strong bond with one of my dogs. The two slept
together and the dog would even let the cat eat from her food bowl. The dog died after a long life and we made a
mistake by not letting the cat see us burying Lizzie. I don't think that the cat ever knew that Lizzie was dead. For
days after the death Jazzbaby (the cat) circled the house, first in one direction then in the opposite direction. After
hunting for days she finally gave up. I walked outside the house after dark and Jazzbaby was sitting on the top of a
flat fence post wailing at the top of her lungs. And I do mean wailing. It was the most pitiful sound. She had never
done that before nor did she ever do it afterward.

There is a purpose to this story concerning a cat's mental abilities. Jazzbaby was at loose ends and really wanted
another dog friend. We had a another dog that lived as a guardian with our goats. This dog had NEVER been around
a cat and was not friendly toward any cat. Jazz started sitting about 10 ft. from the fence where the guard dog
patrolled. The guard dog barked and lunged like she was going to tear Jazz apart but Jazz just calmly sat there and
stared at her. The next day it was the same thing but Jazz was about a foot closer. This went on for about 2 to 3
weeks with the cat getting closer and closer. The dog's barking gradually grew less intense. Finally Jazz just walked
through a small hole in the fence and rubbed the dog under its chin. From that day forward they were friends.

To me this shows that Jazz was able to make a plan and patiently work through the process to a successful out-
come. She also had to have the ability to accurately perceive when her strategy had worked on the dog. This pro-
cess took weeks of concentrated effort and really does not seem so dumb to me.

fox

[deftarchangel]

There is a purpose to this story concerning a cat's mental abilities. Jazzbaby was at loose ends and really wanted
another dog friend. We had a another dog that lived as a guardian with our goats. This dog had NEVER been around
a cat and was not friendly toward any cat. Jazz started sitting about 10 ft. from the fence where the guard dog
patrolled. The guard dog barked and lunged like she was going to tear Jazz apart but Jazz just calmly sat there and
stared at her. The next day it was the same thing but Jazz was about a foot closer. This went on for about 2 to 3
weeks with the car getting closer and closer. The dog's barking gradually grew less intense. Finally Jazz just walked
through a small hole in the fence and rubbed the dog under its chin. From that day forward they were friends.

Incredible story.  Love your enemies, eh?  Amazing that a feral cat and a vicious guard dog can become friends, but we (people) have such a hard time following suit.  I thought humans were supposed to be a higher form of intelligence.   

Anyways, I thought I'd balance things out for the cat lovers out there by including this story (I was reminded of it by fox's comment regarding the mental abilities of cats).  Although I think this story is quite famous already, it is still rather remarkable.  Enjoy.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cqiylGLAvg


 

[musicman]

Cats are definately more vane than dogs.  In fact, I think the reason dogs hate cats so much is because of the cats.  We know how much puppies love playing with kittens.  Well, once the cat gets older it develops an attitude.  So when the dog goes to play with the cat, it gets clawed in the face.  Cats also tease dogs by prancing back and forth in front of the fence just to get the dogs angry.  Seriously, how can dogs fall for something like that?  Can't they wait for when the owner accidently leaves the fence open?  Pretend to be locked up?  And when del gatto prances by, ummm. .. .no more nine lives for you.  Yeah, cats are dumber.  So they shouldn't be so vane.  And dogs shouldn't be so naive to fall for their crap. 

[Ninny]

OMG!! I just watched that video..every time I lie down to have a nap my cat jumps up and sits on top of me! That's it!! He will NOT be allowed to get near me when I am napping ever again!!! 

I used to have a cat that would stay in the yard with my dogs no matter how they treated him! It was weird. the two dogs would actually fight over the cat! It was the strangest relationship I've ever seen. One of the dogs would just put his paws on the cat and hold him down! I never once saw that cat put his claws on either of those dogs! Some dogs have a favorite toy..my dogs had a favorite CAT!! When the cat died (the dogs didn't kill him!) those dogs were pathetic for a month just pacing around and waiting for the cat..Animals are strange!