Cats outsmarted in psychologist's test

[Dantheman62]

Strings experiment shows limits of feline intelligence

Tuesday 16 June 2009 14.08 BST

Cats are not stupid, they're just different. Photograph: Getty


It will cause outrage among some cat owners, but research suggests the pets are not as clever as some humans think they are – or at least think in a way we have yet to fathom.

Psychology lecturer Britta Osthaus says cats do not understand cause-and-effect connections between objects. She tested the thought processes of 15 of them by attaching fish and biscuit treats to one end of a piece of string, placing them under a plastic screen to make them unreachable and then seeing if the cats could work out that pulling on the other end of the string would pull the treat closer.

They were tested in three ways, using a single baited string, two parallel strings where only one was baited, and two crossed strings where only one was baited.

The single string test proved no problem, but unlike dogs (which Osthaus has previously tested) no cat consistently chose correctly between two parallel strings. With two crossed strings, one cat always made the wrong choice and others succeeded no more than might be expected by chance.
Osthaus, of Canterbury Christ Church University, Kent, 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."

The study helped show the limits of feline intelligence, said Osthaus, who conducted the research while a teaching fellow at Exeter University. "If we know their limits we won't expect too much of them, which in turn is important for their welfare.

I am not trying to say cats are stupid, just they are different. We are so anthropomorphic we can't see the world through their eyes."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/20...outsmarts-cats

[Dantheman62]

Sorry to all you cat lovers out there, but I always knew dogs were smarter than cats!
HaHa, LOL

[BROOK]

Yep...btw Dan...is that dog walking you?

[Dantheman62]

yeah can't you see I don't have any eyes! And it looks like I'm wearing a glove on my right hand, hmmm weird!

[BROOK]

[Dantheman62]

Can a cat do this? LOL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeCzO...eature=related

Or this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy11X...eature=related

[BROOK]

They cannot do this either

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mIyMRPV8kg

[Humble Janitor]

I still don't think it's fair to compare cats to dogs.

Apples and oranges, people!

[burgundia]

Ok, Can a human or a dog catch a mouse in the field?
I think it is stupid to judge the intelligence of animals applying human notions...
So it means that women are more stupid than men because they cannot do certain things as well as men can...Right?

[Lorien]

Originally Posted by burgundia

So it means that women are more stupid than men because they cannot do certain things as well as men can...Right?

Wait for it..........

In defense of cats

Cats are solitary hunters. Well, not lions. House cats don't need the cues of groups (their pack) and that cause and effect to survive. It's like they see just still frames in films, and not the story. Each frame is new only moment, with its new placement, cues, movements, objects.

A cat is also a very good guard animal (really) in unique ways. I like dogs too.

Cats: never had one like another and bless 'em all.

[Humble Janitor]

One thing I love about cats is that you can make a connection with one just as much as you can with a dog.

[Metaphor]

"I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals."
/Sir Winston Churchill

[Carmen]

Dogs have owners. Cats have staff!!

[Metaphor]

I see cats and dogs as opposites. It says something about yourself if you are a "cat/ dog" person. Cats symbolizing spirit and dogs symbolizing the body.
Its a matter of choice, but i´m a "cat" person. I kinda like that you cannot really "own" a cat.
I like their mysterious eyes.
I know from "cathaters" I know, that they see just their eyes as kinda malevolent.
They see evil looking back where I see "the mysteries".

[burgundia]

someone tried to describe the character of people depending on whether they prefer dogs or cats. I do not remember all the adjectives which were used when referring to dog-people or cat-people. I just remember a few ideas from that article. people who like dogs like giving orders, they want the authority, want to be listened to( a dog is an obedient animal). cat people do not feel the need to have "power" over other people, they give others more space, respect differences and are more tolerant( you have to be such a person if you have a cat).

[Swanny]

Dogs are best

[burgundia]

Originally Posted by Swanny

Dogs are best

because you like when they fetch you the stick which you threw a moment earlier...

[day]

Ahem....there is something that was left out of the 'psychological test for cats'

all cats involved decided unequivacably and absolutely that humans were stupid enough to think cats really cared...