The question of whether cats or dogs are cleverer has long fascinated pet lovers. It is true that dogs generally have larger brains, particularly in bigger breeds, and possess more neurons. For instance, a golden retriever was found to have 623 million neurons in its cerebral cortex, compared with 429 million in a smaller dog and 250 million in a cat. Overall, dogs have more neurons throughout their brains.
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Of course, intelligence is not solely about the number of neurons but how they are used. Research into dogs’ abilities is more extensive than for cats, partly because studying cats is challenging—they dislike unfamiliar environments, such as laboratories, and tend to hide when carriers appear. Nonetheless, scientists have assessed pets using three main types of intelligence.
One method for gauging an animal’s understanding of others’ mental states is the “unsolvable task paradigm.” This simple test involves teaching an animal to retrieve food from a container. Once the animal has learned the task, the container is fixed shut so the food becomes inaccessible. Researchers then observe whether the animal looks to a nearby human for assistance. This back-and-forth gaze—between the human and the container—is known as referential signalling, the animal equivalent of pointing.
Dogs generally look to a nearby person when faced with an unsolvable puzzle. If both the owner and a stranger are present, dogs may look only to the owner in some studies, or to both in others. The reason appears to be that dogs notice which person usually opens the container or refills it and adjust their behaviour accordingly.
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Cats, by contrast, behave differently. Fewer studies exist, but in one experiment both cats and dogs could locate hidden, inaccessible food when a person pointed at it. Most cats, however, did not seek help. While some alternated their gaze between the food and a human, the majority simply persisted in trying to solve the problem themselves.
Cats do exhibit some visual communication skills. One study found they engage in slightly more gaze alternation between a human and a food container if the container cannot be opened. Cats also interacted more with the container and a human when the person appeared inattentive, demonstrating that they can discern whether a person is paying attention—an ability dogs share.
