Are cats smarter than we think?

I've been reading the threads about behaviors in cats and how a lot of them are instinctive. But I think cats are intelligent (at least some of them) and can be trained. I have noticed this with my cats, there are some things they pick up on and remember not just because they associate things with 'instincts'. Like, one of my cats will come anytime someone rubs their fingers together. It isn't because he associates it with pleasure-- sometimes we want him because we need to put him in the carrier and take him tothe vet, sometimes we want him to pet and cuddle with, sometimes we want him so we can get him out of the room so the kittens can eat their kitten food (which he loves). But he ALWAYS comes (if he's in hearing or seeing distance of course). I had a cat who wouldn't eat anything but canned food because she had dental problems, so I let her eat and gave the leftover to my boys. One of the boys taught himself to wait until she was done eating, and when she walked away he would go up and finish. I never chased them away from the bowl when she ate, but I did sit there and pet them and made sure they didn't eat the food. He also does the same thing now with the kittens, even though I don't want him to have the kitten food, he thinks that as soon as they're done, the leftovers are his to claim. I think cats are sooooo smart. Just thought I'd share that

Cats are intelligent. I read a book that said the cat's brain is similar in structure to a human's, lacking only the structures that are responsible for long-term memory and abstract thinking. The cat definitely is not machine running on instinct. Of course, instinct does play a large role in influencing what they do and why, but learning definitely affects behavior as well. I really don't think we can accurately tell HOW smart cats are, because there are no IQ tests for cats. And those that say that tests show that dogs are smarter than cats, well, sure....they're probably giving them a dog test!! Let's see how well dogs would do if they were given a cat test!!

I can relate to that as of today...I was treating all of my 6 pets with Frontline, and 2 cats, and 3 dogs just sit there letting me do it without problems...as for the 3rd cat, he ran as soon as I took out the package, and has hid from me since (now it has been over an hour ago)..and even with treats being offered, he will not come out for his treatment..
Now I am no expert, but I think that my Jack is pretty smart (and tricky)...

smarter than we think? I dont know...I think most of them are pretty smart! I think they have scale like people too.

I've always heard cats spend their whole life not knowing their name (like a dog would). My cat knew her name in one month. She always comes when I call her, but wont come if I call just random words. I think that's pretty smart.

It's hard to separate human intelligence from cat intelligence and we all fall into a trap of judging a cat by human standards. From a cat's point of view, we are probably pretty dumb.

There is nothing better or smarter at being a cat than a cat.

Just my humble opinion.....

It's hard to separate human intelligence from cat intelligence and we all fall into a trap of judging a cat by human standards. From a cat's point of view, we are probably pretty dumb.

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I bet you are right! They have that superiority complex going on all the time anyway...smart or not!

Originally Posted by Momofmany

It's hard to separate human intelligence from cat intelligence and we all fall into a trap of judging a cat by human standards. From a cat's point of view, we are probably pretty dumb.

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Well, let's see ... here's a cat's to-do list.

Wake up my human at the crack of dawn to get fed. Check.
Eat to my heart's content. Check.
Lay in a patch of sun for a few hours. Check.
Play with my toys for a bit. Check.
Walk around the house rubbing on everything. Make sure they all know I am the king. Check.
Catnap for a few hours. Check.
See if the bathroom door is open ... YES!! Unroll the toilet paper. Check.
Perfect my "guilty but incredibly cute" look. Check.
Find basket or pile of freshly-washed clothes to nap in. Check.
Weave between my human's feet until she feeds me again. Check.
Mentally "suggest" to my human that she get out the catnip. Woo hoo! Cat doobie scored again. Check.
Curl up on bed with my human to get scritches. Check.

Sounds pretty smart to me.

Smart in what way? Learning to do things by trial and error or imitating others?

One way Nano has impressed me is how she can combine two "known" steps to solve an unknown puzzle. A good number of cats can figure out how to do A or B by instinct/imitation/trial & error, but how many cats can combine A & B -- to this point considered separate tasks -- in a new way to solve a fresh problem?

I guess I mainly posted about it because there is so much about training dogs, etc, and it seems that maybe cats aren't given enough credit for their potential to learn things.

My cats learn thru imitation and incentive all the time. We have taught the cats to use the scratch posts by scratching on them ourselves. They learn to open doors by watching each other. They know that if they follow certain commands, they will get treats or loving.

Cats are so much more trainable than most people give them credit for. Sometimes you need to be as persistent with them as you would be when training a dog. Anyone who has ever raised a puppy knows how much dilligence you spend on house breaking them. If you apply the same level of dilligence with a cat, you can train them to do anything, but most people don't think it possible.

I have 13 fully clawed cats and I don't trim any of their nails. I don't have a single piece of furniture that is clawed. I trained them to use the scratch posts by using the same techniques as when I housebroke the puppies (constant redirection). It's work but worth it!

Originally Posted by notme1295

I guess I mainly posted about it because there is so much about training dogs, etc, and it seems that maybe cats aren't given enough credit for their potential to learn things.

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All kidding aside, all our cats know their names. Also, though cats' vocabularies are smaller than that of dogs, they can learn commands. It's just that a cat thinks of it as more of a suggestion. I think cats can get pretty good at reading our body language, too, which is interesting considering that we are another species.

In my experience, too, dogs learn by repetition. Cats often learn instantly (though you have to be persistent in teaching them sometimes, too). You know, like if you drop some food by accident ONE time, they are always ready for it after that. Show them the litterbox ONE time, and they don't forget. Things like that.