Is the Cat Intelligent?
The intelligence of the cat, as well as animal intelligence in its entirety, is the subject of a good deal of scientific research and arouses considerable public interest. If, in the past, animals were only considered instinctive, their learning, memorizing, and even reasoning capacities are nowadays recognized and more and more developed.
Human intelligence and feline intelligence: definitions
Intelligence is a vast concept that compiles a series of mental capacities such as learning, memorizing, reasoning, or projecting. Humans and animals have a certain intelligence, but it is not similar at all points, even within the animal kingdom.
Animals have primary capacities of action and reaction, marked by instinct. Thus, predatory behavior, i.e., hunting, is innate in cats. The kitten does not learn it; it knows it instinctively and only perfects it through contact with its mother.
However, a cat can learn new things and react in a new way to stimulation or a modification of its environment never encountered before. It also has learning, memorizing, and reasoning abilities.
Is the cat intelligent?
All cats are born equal. In other words, they all have the same possibilities to learn, memorize, or reason at the beginning.
Cat intelligence: learning
If the training and education of a cat are often more complicated than for its canine counterparts, it is more related to the sometimes untameable, even lazy, character of the tomcat. Therefore, teaching a cat to sit, paw, jump through a hoop, or even use the toilet is possible. A cat is just as capable of learning as a dog to name the closest pet.
Cat intelligence: memorization
The memorization abilities are also remarkable in cats. For example, he will quickly understand where his treats are hidden and will not hesitate to stand in front of the cupboard and meow insistently so that you agree to his request.
Cat intelligence: reasoning
His reasoning abilities are finally exceptional. Understanding your emotions and intentions and adapting his behavior accordingly is irrefutable proof.
Good to know: consciousness and projection into the future are subject to questioning in the cat. It is not able to project itself into the future. To recognize himself in a mirror is also impossible for him. These are two characteristics typically reserved for humans.
Influencing and stimulating the cat’s intelligence
What factors can influence the intelligence of the cat? The answer is simple. While all cats have the same abilities, they will not all deploy their arsenal of learning, remembering, and reasoning in the same way. Why not? On the one hand, some are naturally lazy than others and are not very active and reactive. On the other hand, unlike the dog, the cat does not work to please his master. They do it because they want to benefit from it.
How can we stimulate the cat’s intelligence?
It has been observed and recognized that a cat living in a stimulating environment will develop all its abilities more quickly and efficiently. The best advice to give a cat owner is stimulating his cat as much as possible. Playing with him and introducing him to new things (textures, shapes, smells…) will be as many incentives that will “tickle his brains”. A rich environment in which a cat can run, jump, smell, touch, roll, and experiment will represent a world of discovery for him where his intelligence will naturally be tested.
Hope this post has provided you with the information you were looking for. We will cover more topics on cats in our upcoming articles. If you want to read about something in particular, kindly let us know in the comments below.
