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Purebred cats more intelligent?

post #1 of 18
1/2/11 at 8:27am
Thread Starter 
Hi,

I'd like to know if purebred cats are more intelligent than domestic cats?
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post #2 of 18
1/2/11 at 11:42am
I don't know, but my plain old domestic cat is one of the smartest animals I've ever met.
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post #3 of 18
1/2/11 at 12:18pm
Well, in my experience, no.

But those who prefer pure bred cats may have a different opinion.

I've only known the pure bred cats of friends, and frankly, some of them were the dumbest cats I ever met. And the most difficult is some ways.

But, I'm sure there are some very intelligent pure bred cats. I don't want to offend anyone (or their cats). I'm just stating my experience.

And I would think it may depend on the specific breed.


Robin
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post #4 of 18
1/2/11 at 12:18pm
There is no definitive response to that, since each cat is different like people. That's like asking if Europeans are smarter than Asians.

My aunt and uncle had three purebred cats, an abyssinian, a siamese, and an ocicat, as well as one DSH Tuxedo cat (which some people claim are twice as smart as other cats. see, there are different arguments for lots of different cats being smarter). Guess which cat was the smartest by far? Yep, little Bonkers the DSH. He would frequently lock his least favorite cat roommate in any room he pleased, since he could close doors and Mr Gizmo-Gadget the Ocicat couldn't open them.
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post #5 of 18
1/2/11 at 12:18pm
Some breeds are smarter than others, my Ocicats are highly intelligent.
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post #6 of 18
1/2/11 at 12:30pm
Breeding practices are much better now, but ultimately you're asking if natural selection and survival of the fittest produces animals of inferior intellectual capacity to captive inbreeding.

So the answer is surely there is no difference, or the other way around. Mother nature is far less forgiving in harsh conditions where the weak die and only the best breed compared to human selection where those with pretty coats and desirable body shapes are chosen over their littermates and in the past often bred with relatives.

One last note is to ask how you DEFINE intelligence.

Most people will find that the more active cats are more intelligent, when really they are simply more active and thus motivated. A 'lazy' cat may be just as intelligent, but have no interest in learning tricks and the like.
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post #7 of 18
1/2/11 at 12:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ducman69 View Post
One last note is to ask how you DEFINE intelligence.

Most people will find that the more active cats are more intelligent, when really they are simply more active and thus motivated. A 'lazy' cat may be just as intelligent, but have no interest in learning tricks and the like.
That's a good point. I have known cats who are dumb as rocks yet run around like crazy (how do I know they're dumb? They ran like crazy INTO inanimate objects and walls!)
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post #8 of 18
1/2/11 at 2:51pm
Just like in people, there is both a nature and a nurture component to intelligence in cats. From a genetic point of view, purebred animals would likely be at a disadvantage because of the necessary inbreeding required to establish a "pure" breed. There is going to be a distribution of intelligence in both purebred and non-purebred animals in any case, with both having members at the high (and low) end of intelligence scales.
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post #9 of 18
1/2/11 at 2:53pm
Oh yeah coz my Persian cats are smart!
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post #10 of 18
1/2/11 at 4:24pm
Those speaking of inbreeding, moggies are inbred too it’s just no one is monitoring their ICC%. Especially in colonies or home where folks don't spay/neuter, they could well be more inbred than any pedigrees.
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post #11 of 18
1/2/11 at 4:55pm
All cats are intelligent
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post #12 of 18
1/2/11 at 5:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by missymotus View Post
Those speaking of inbreeding, moggies are inbred too it’s just no one is monitoring their ICC%. Especially in colonies or home where folks don't spay/neuter, they could well be more inbred than any pedigrees.
Thats a good point in reference to the managed colonies where cats are highly localized by an artificial food supply. Seems unlikely though that as much genetic bottle-necking could occur as in breeding though, and defects would usually be weeded out quickly by natural selection in harsh outdoor conditions.
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post #13 of 18
1/2/11 at 5:57pm
I'll say that there is nothing more intelligent at being a cat than a cat. How can humans think they are intelligent enough to judge the intelligence of a cat? I would think that another cat would be the best judge of that. What valid comparisons can we possibly make that aren't in terms of human intelligence? It's like comparing apples and oranges.

Just my humble opinion.
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post #14 of 18
1/2/11 at 7:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Momofmany View Post
I'll say that there is nothing more intelligent at being a cat than a cat. How can humans think they are intelligent enough to judge the intelligence of a cat? I would think that another cat would be the best judge of that. What valid comparisons can we possibly make that aren't in terms of human intelligence? It's like comparing apples and oranges.

Just my humble opinion.
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post #15 of 18
1/2/11 at 9:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by My4LLMA View Post
All cats are intelligent
I don't know about that! My Scrappy is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I suspect he's inbred (he has an overbite!). He was a stray, but I doubt he was on his own for long. He probably got out of his house and was too dumb to find his way back. . .

I would say that selective breeding (since "intelligence" is not usually the trait selected for) would have a deleterious effect on intelligence, in general. But I don't think there would be any really noticable difference.
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post #16 of 18
1/3/11 at 4:29am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for your replies.

I've heard that siamese cats rate very high on the cat intelligence scale as well as balinese, tonkinese and abyssinians. I've also been told by a siamese breeder that siamese cats tend to dominate other breeds because they are so intelligent so it's best to have two siamese cats instead of one siamese and another breed.

I was wondering if it's the same with domestic cats?
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post #17 of 18
1/3/11 at 2:07pm
When you were growing up, was the school bully smarter than others? In business and politics, I supposed intelligence can be related to dominance, but that's not my experience.

Every one of our cats is a rescue kitty, born of a mom that was not a pet. They're all DSH, and that's my only experience. But our smartest cat is definitely not the alpha cat, and she does not dominate the others. She does, sometimes, bug the others, but that's just because she's also more playful.

If you were adopting children, do you think there would be an issue mixing children from Asia with children from the Middle East and children from South America? You might be able to describe aspects of what those children will look like based on expected ethnic genetic traits - but you can't predict intelligence or personality. It is the same with cats, pure bred or not.

While pure bred cats are certainly intended to have certain traits, I think all that can be generally predicted is that some are known for being more talkative than others, and some are known for being more active or more laid back than others. Of course, I'm not a breeder, and I work with rescue cats.

If you want to read up on breed traits, here's a link for you%3
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post #18 of 18
1/5/11 at 10:52pm
Ive seen this discussion among "dog" people.. purebred vs mutt.. and also the subject of "which breeds are smartest".. All breeds are smart.. the "smartest breed" lists are based more on trainability and eagerness to please. Dogs listed as least intelligent are breeds that tend to be more independent.. are not so eager to please, and are more stubborn. Does that make them dumber? No, it means they are more self-motivated, rather than pleasers. (for example, a husky is a master escape artist, but typically not a very obedient dog.. he can learn to unlatch a gate, but wont likely come when called for a stupid cookie)

I think ALL of them (cats or dogs) are intelligent. Like people- some are smart about some things, and dumb about other things. Each individual has their own motivations. In my cats, I see them think about different things.. it just depends on what that particular cat is motivated by.
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