Are cats aloof/independent, or just not as smart as some other animals?

[erinandseamus]

I think my Seamus is pretty smart. He definitely knows his name. He knows that doorknobs open doors, he just can't figure out a way to turn them. He knows how to indicate to me what he wants. I think he knows a couple of words. He knows "green treats" and "harness" and he'll sit patiently while I put it on him. And a couple of times I've spoken complete sentences to him and he's acted appropriately, thought that may have just been lucky.

My darling Gator boy doesn't seem to know his name, but that may be because we more often use nicknames with him.

 

[cdubbie]

is conditioning the same as training?
My kitty knows exactly when it 10:30pm and arrives for her bedtime snack - even if she was dead asleep in the other room.

I also condtioned her bedtime activity (or lack of activity is what I was going for) so that she would sleep peacefully with me (that took months of work).

She also knows my few rules and knows when she is breaking them. (ex: she isnt allowed on the dining room table, but if she is there and sees I noticed her she gets down immediately)

Mine knows her name for sure. If I call her she comes running, chirping all the way, no matter where she was hiding. That's how she ended up as "Smidge" matter of fact, I playfully called her my smidgen kitty when I got her home she was so tiny. Within a week she was answering to "Smidge" and it stuck. (hey, she chose it, I didnt have much choice

)

 

[mirinae]

Interesting topic! There's a website, www.messybeast.com, that has a bunch of articles related to this subject (and many more, besides!). Now, it's clear from the articles that the author is a cat-lover, but she's also a doctor and a scientist, and there's a lot of thought and research put into her work. One thing the author of those articles brought up was with regards to maze training and cats versus other animals. A dog or a mouse can be trained to go through the maze by giving it a food reward (or, in crueler cases, electrical shocks for going the wrong way), and will learn the lay-out of the maze fairly quickly. Cats, on the other hand, don't operate on the same principals. Cats are opportunistic hunters: they have to check down every single alley and corner because there might be something there. And they don't necessarily respond to the food reward, if they think they're expending too much effort in order to get it (which makes sense: why exert all your energy for a tiny treat when you could sit and wait, or peer around a corner, and possibly find something even bigger to eat?). Also, scientists conducting the studies were often under the impression that because a cat sat down and groomed itself, that meant the cat had lost interest, or was too "stupid" to figure out how to navigate the maze--when in reality, cats groom themselves reflexively, biding themselves time while they try to figure out what they want/need to do next.

I definitely recommend the articles, if you're interested in learning more about this topic. They're very well-written, and quite thought-provoking!

 

[sbw999]

Originally Posted by Mirinae

Interesting topic! There's a website, www.messybeast.com, that has a bunch of articles related to this subject (and many more, besides!). Now, it's clear from the articles that the author is a cat-lover, but she's also a doctor and a scientist, and there's a lot of thought and research put into her work. One thing the author of those articles brought up was with regards to maze training and cats versus other animals. A dog or a mouse can be trained to go through the maze by giving it a food reward (or, in crueler cases, electrical shocks for going the wrong way), and will learn the lay-out of the maze fairly quickly. Cats, on the other hand, don't operate on the same principals. Cats are opportunistic hunters: they have to check down every single alley and corner because there might be something there. And they don't necessarily respond to the food reward, if they think they're expending too much effort in order to get it (which makes sense: why exert all your energy for a tiny treat when you could sit and wait, or peer around a corner, and possibly find something even bigger to eat?). Also, scientists conducting the studies were often under the impression that because a cat sat down and groomed itself, that meant the cat had lost interest, or was too "stupid" to figure out how to navigate the maze--when in reality, cats groom themselves reflexively, biding themselves time while they try to figure out what they want/need to do next.

I definitely recommend the articles, if you're interested in learning more about this topic. They're very well-written, and quite thought-provoking!

Interesting site. I just started looking at it. A couple of passages not for weak stomached though. Amazing how wantonly cruel people can be to innocent animals.

 

[cdubbie]

I figure cats must be smart because they got a bunch of humans to do their bidding for scant reward

 

[vibiana]

My three don't know their names, but that's for two reasons: one, they are all rescues who had other names before they came to live with me; and two, I usually call them silly "boo boo bunny" names instead of using their "given" names. Probably because I remember my late and sainted mother blaring "Vibiana Margaret Nelson!" at the top of her lungs when she was about to lay me out to whalesh*t. LOL (and no, that's not my real name)

They have nicknames, too: Surely, Goodness, and Mercy. They follow me EVERYWHERE when I'm at home. lol

 

[semiferal]

Originally Posted by CDubbie

I figure cats must be smart because they got a bunch of humans to do their bidding for scant reward

Yeah, I think the real question is whether humans are as intelligent as either cats or dogs.

I mean, really - we go to work every day and bust our bottoms so we can buy food and treats and toys and vet care for our little furkids. We get home after a long day and they have obviously spent the whole day doing nothing productive at all. One would think they could at least get their own dinner and scoop their own litter. But no, instead we get home after a long day and the first thing we do is feed them and scoop their litterboxes.

And we're supposed to be smarter than they are? Sometimes I wonder!