A study out of Britain suggests that cats just don’t have the smarts like their canine counterparts. A series of experiments testing the intelligence of domestic cats was used to determine their processes of thinking in terms of cause and effect relationships.
"I would concur with the study that my intelligence greatly exceeds that of my feline counterpart"
The experiments, conducted by Dr. Britta Osthaus at England’s Canterbury Christ Church University, tested the ability of the animals to get unreachable food from under a plastic screen.
“Dr Osthaus attached fish and biscuit treats to one end of a string and tested 15 domestic cats to find if they could understand that pulling on one end of the string would pull the treat closer. She found that there was no evidence that cats understand the function of strings or their physical causality.”
Dr Osthaus said: “This finding is somehow surprising as cats regularly use their paws and claws to pull things towards them during play and hunting. They performed even worse than dogs, which can at least solve the parallel string task.”
Sniff is full of fascinating bits of science and dog lore. It will deepen your appreciation for these extraordinary creatures. Playful and fun for the whole family – just the way the dogs would want it!
Sandi - Dog trainer extraordinaire.
Tammy - :)