The debate among dog and cat owners to determine which pet is more intelligent is age-old. But what does science have to say?
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In a recent study, researchers from the Comparative Ethology Research Group and the Department of Ethology at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary compared how well companion dogs and cats can choose based on human pointing gestures.
According to scientists, dogs are a unique species to study interspecific communication and a promising evolutionary model for pre-verbal human communication. Recently, it has been reported that cats show some similar skills to dogs.
In the study, published in the journal Scientific Advances, researchers assessed the reactions of dogs and cats with a pointing test. “The task appeared to be very simple. We placed two containers on the ground, one of which contained a food reward. The experimenter always pointed at the baited container, then the subject could choose,” explained Melitta Csepregi, co-author of the study.
“Overall, dogs proved to be more skilled: they found the reward significantly more frequently than cats. In addition, cats gradually became less willing to choose, while dogs were eager to work during the whole duration of the test.”
“The ancestor of dogs lived in close family groups and had complex social behavior. Due to differences in their domestication from wild wolves, social and ecological background, and developmental processes, we expected better performance from dogs compared to cats,” wrote the authors.
“There may be several sources of these differences. Cats may have been less attentive, less motivated by food rewards, or frustrated by the unfamiliar environment or unusual handling during the test,” emphasized Márta Gácsi, lead researcher.
“Unlike the cat, the dog is a social species and was selected for interaction and cooperation with humans during domestication of wolves thousands of years ago. Differences in how we keep them may also have contributed to the test results. All things considered, it’s no surprise that it’s less relevant for cats to rely on human communication cues.”
