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Score one for dog lovers....
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! :D
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? 8)
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..... 8)
cjwood:
--- Quote from: Ellie on July 04, 2009, 11:02:43 PM ---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? 8)
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..... 8)
--- End quote ---
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. :D
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