Who is better, cats or dogs: comparison table, test, who to choose

Disputes continue between dog and cat lovers about which of the four-legged pets is smarter. How can we even determine the level of intellectual abilities of our pets? Should you rely on your own opinion in this matter, or is it better to turn to science? Recently, many studies have been carried out to address this issue. But it’s too early to draw a final conclusion here.

How to make the right choice

A comparative table of the characteristics of these animals will help you understand who is better, a dog or a cat.

Sign	Dogs	Cats
the washing up	Hygiene procedures are necessary after each walk, in particular, washing the paws.	Cats are clean. You can do without washing. Almost all breeds do not require special care. The exception is Exotics, Persians, hairless cats, but they do not require daily bathing either.
Wool	All varieties, except hairless ones, require regular combing. Many breeds are also groomable.	Long-haired cats need to be brushed three times a week. During shedding, it is recommended to do this twice a day. Only long-haired varieties require regular brushing; some short-haired breeds require regular brushing only during shedding. Hairless cats - this procedure is not necessary.
Toilet	From an early age it is necessary to accustom them to walking for the toilet or to a diaper for small breeds.	You can learn to go to the tray or toilet in a few days. They require litter box training from 2-3 months.
Training	They require training, are quite easy to train, there are special cynological schools.	It is not customary to train cats, although many breeds quickly remember the simplest commands. There are no specialists for training.
Physical exercise	Throughout life, repeated daily walks and sufficient physical activity are required.	Does not require walking. A sedentary lifestyle is most often compensated by special nutrition.
Attitude towards children	Many breeds require special training to educate and correct correct behavior in human society.	They only need affectionate and friendly treatment throughout their lives. Cases of aggression towards humans are very rare.

Advantages and disadvantages of dogs

Man's best friend is not called that for nothing. Probably no other creature can compare with his willingness to cooperate with him. Over the years of living together with the owner, the dog is able to become a member of the family.

There are many dog breeds in the world. We offer a top of 6 friendly and sociable representatives for novice owners:

Golden Retriever - with a balanced character, active and friendly to people, often used as a guide or rescue dog.
Collie, a Scottish Sheepdog, is smart, with luxurious fur, and is rightly called a nanny.
The Labrador Retriever is active, cheerful, easy to train, and gets along well with children.
The Border Collie is one of the smartest breeds in the world and is rapidly gaining popularity today.
The Jack Russell Terrier is active and cheerful, loves children.
The German Shepherd is a breed popular all over the world, used for everything except hunting.

Problems of mutual existence of a person and a dog

The owner of a small puppy should walk him 4 times a day. Regardless of your mood or well-being. It is necessary to keep the baby busy by offering special toys. Otherwise, he will have fun on his own. For example, chewing on shoes. And you can't blame him for that.

It is worth considering seasonal molting twice a year, in spring and autumn. Because of this, representatives of short-haired and smooth-haired breeds are better suited for keeping in a city apartment.

During the period of sexual desire, the animal becomes less sane. You will have to take this philosophically or sterilize your pet.

Large and strong dogs definitely need to be trained. In addition, keeping them in an apartment is quite problematic due to the large size of pets.

We recommend reading the article about how to make friends with a cat and a dog at different ages.

Impact of domestication

For quite a long time, experts in the field of cynology and felinology believed that due to improved living conditions, the intelligence and brain activity of domestic dogs and cats had decreased.

However, additional research has confirmed that as a result of domestication, the mental abilities of four-legged pets have not decreased at all.

Of course, they no longer need to think about where to find food and safe shelter.

Now cats and dogs direct all their intellectual abilities to studying the world around them, memorizing various commands and tricks, as well as striving to please their beloved owner.

No researcher has yet been able to figure out who is smarter - cats or dogs.

Perhaps this is because, being complete opposites, both cats and dogs are smart in their own way.

Advantages and disadvantages of cats

Cats have lived alongside humans since ancient times. They are still popular today because, in addition to fighting rodents, they can do a lot. For example, purring magically, calming and putting the owner in a positive mood. In modern apartments there are not always mice, but a good mood is still relevant.

Cleanliness is a distinctive feature of cats and one of the reasons why many people prefer them.

Problems of mutual existence of a person and a cat

A cat owner will definitely be faced with the question of what to do with a pet that has felt the call of nature. Even a balanced person will not be able to simply ignore his sexual desire while in the same house. The solution is sterilization.

They like to keep their claws in order. To prevent furniture from suffering, you can purchase a special scratching post. They are smart and easily learn rules of behavior. Therefore, other problems are usually resolved amicably.

From a scientific point of view

Science has proven that cats have better vision. And the sense of smell is a dog’s trump card. Both have excellent hearing. Much better than a human.

There are 12 laboratories around the world studying the intelligence and physiology of dogs. Nobody deals with cats to such an extent. Therefore, they remain mysterious creatures.

The life expectancy of both animals is the same. Unfortunately, only 12-17 years old. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s Murka or Sharik, loss is always difficult.

New Scientist magazine tried to find out who has more advantages in keeping a dog at home - a dog or a cat - from the point of view of scientists involved in the study of animal behavior - behaviorists and animal psychologists.

Parameter	Cat	Dog
The volume of the brain and the number of neurons in it.	25 g/300 million	64 g/160 million
It is unlikely that the criterion of “weight of gray matter of the brain” will help to form an objective opinion about the intelligence of pets, because a dog is most often much larger than a cat. But in terms of the number of nerve endings, cats lead by a wide margin. Plus in favor of the cat.
Who was domesticated first?	9.5 thousand years ago.	16 thousand years ago.
Although these numbers vary greatly among many sources, dogs are undeniably domesticated earlier. Plus in favor of the dog.
Attachment to a person	Selects place of residence or relatives.	The person always comes first.
Dogs also win on this point, although the criteria for assessing this parameter are not entirely clear, and there is no data on the statistics of experiments. 2:1 in favor of the dog.
Popularity (number of individuals in families)	204 million	173 million
The assessment was made based on the total number of individuals living with humans in the countries of the European Union. The score is equal 2:2.
Intelligence (number of commands learned)	No more than 20	About 200
Although an important factor in assessing this parameter was the desire of the pets to perceive and carry out commands. The cat simply does not have such a need. We give a point to the dogs. The score is 2:3.
Selection of an algorithm for solving assigned problems, ability to make decisions	Do not know how.	They can do it with a stretch.
Scientists gave primacy to dogs only on the basis that they serve as guides for the blind and, therefore, are able to make decisions. All the experiments proposed by animal psychologists (eating pieces of food in the right order, opening doors one at a time) failed miserably - neither the dogs nor the cats completed the task. Dogs get another plus. The score is 2:4.
Sounds made	Meow. Feature: purring.	Barking.
All pets are divided into “silent” and “talkative”; some simply bark, while others meow. But cats became the winners in this round because of their purring, so beloved by all people. Cats get a well-deserved plus. The score is 3:4. Read also: Highland Straight cat: description of the breed and features of caring for a fluffy Scottish cat
Education, training	There is no exact data.	Training abilities.
Of course the dogs win. But there are simply no schools for cats, not counting the Kuklachev Theater, the only one in the world. Nobody really tried to train them. Dogs practically tear out their plus point with their teeth. The score is 3:5.
Sense organs: vision; sense of smell; hearing.	5; 3; 5.	3; 5; 3.
Despite the fact that the dog’s senses have been used by humans for many centuries and have been actively developing, cats are the leaders here, they see better in the dark and have perfect hearing. Plus cats. The score is 4:5.
Ecological impact: average land area required per individual	0.15 ha	0.82 ha
Both pets are hunters, exterminating certain types of zoomass for many centuries. But the assessment of the degree of land contamination with biowaste was considered by scientists to be more important. Cats get their well-deserved plus. The score is 5:5.
Benefits for humans	They destroy rodents.	Hunting, security, police work, guides and guides for blind people, etc.
According to this parameter, dogs win, but the power of influence of love for a pet on a person was clearly not assessed here. The dogs turned out to be more useful, for which they receive their final plus. The score is 5:6.
As a result, dogs scored 6 points, and cats – 5. It turns out that according to certain criteria, it is better for a person to choose a dog as a pet.

According to scientists, dogs are better than cats, although it is difficult to agree with such biased criteria, due to the obvious controversy of their assessment. In addition, dogs are more difficult to keep than cats, at least from the point of view of the need for daily walking. If scientists had considered this parameter, the score would have been equal.

Rather, a global survey of the owners of these pets living in all corners of the planet would help here. But there are no such statistics.

Mr. Cat recommends: who is smarter - a dog or a cat?

You can argue about who is smarter. But only with a specific task in mind. And although both are predators, their hunting methods are different.

Representatives of the canine family prefer to starve out their prey, attacking it after a grueling chase. This method developed their ability to cooperate and social intelligence.

Domestic cats prefer to hunt alone, attacking from ambush, investing their energy in an accurate and swift throw. To succeed here you need to have excellent control of your body. It is impossible to do without developed sensorimotor intelligence.

Scientist neuroscientist Alexey Piskunov believes that cats cope with the tasks assigned in the laboratory no worse than dogs. But they are more difficult to motivate. Moreover, the number of neurons in a cat’s brain is almost twice that of a dog.

In a dispute about who is smarter, cats or dogs, each side will find more and more new arguments. The question relates rather to the psychology of a particular person.

Comparison of intelligences

Probably every owner wants to know what the level of intelligence of his cat or dog is. To do this, you can compare the individual skills of both.

Skill	Ability to perform skill
In cats	In dogs
Ability to remember nickname	They remember quickly, they use their noses to decide when to respond or ignore	They remember quickly and always respond to it
Attachment	They become attached to their owners, but try not to show it	They become attached to their owners and always try to show them their love.
Memory	Very well developed
Motor skills	More developed sensitivity and precision of movements	More clumsy
Schedule	Gradually get used to a certain mode of feeding, walking or going to the tray
Curiosity and caution	More careful: first make sure the safety of an unfamiliar object or person	More curious: when encountering an unknown object or person, they quickly forget about caution
Understanding and support	They perfectly sense the owner’s mood and will try to support him with affection at the right moment.
Performing tricks	Capable of learning to perform tricks, but due to their independent nature the owner will need to be patient while learning	They try to quickly understand what is required of them in order to please the owner. For encouragement we are ready to repeat the trick several times

Test to determine

A test will help you find out who will definitely become a good friend:

How much time do you plan to devote to your pet?
B. 1-2 hours a day.
B. Less than 1 hour per day.
What to do if your pet is lost:
B. I will search in different ways.
B. I’ll wait until he returns on his own.
Train a pet:
B. If there is time.
V. No, this is a waste of energy.
Why get a pet:
B. Just out of boredom.
Q. This is a toy.
How strong is the love for animals?
B. I’m calm.
V. I don’t like it.

If “A” answers predominate, then a dog is a good choice.

If answers “B” predominate, then the best option is a cat.

A large number of “B” answers indicate that you should not have a cat or a dog.

Teams

Experts around the world agree that pets can be taught to perform simple tricks. A pet of any breed can master basic commands. The dog is easier to train, there is no doubt about it. This is because the dog is more human-oriented and does not want to disappoint him in any way. For her, learning new commands is a piece of cake. To do this, it is enough to repeat them out loud several times. A faithful friend will quickly understand what is required of him.

It is much more difficult to teach a cat something, but not because it is dumber than a dog. Dogs are more dependent on humans. They gladly carry out his will. Cats are quite independent and capricious creatures. For this reason, it sometimes seems that nothing can be taught to them. However, this is actually a misconception. If you put a little time and patience into your studies, the results will not take long to arrive.