Are dogs or cats smarter?

One of the facets that defines the intelligence of any species is the ability to solve problems. With dogs and cats, it is possible to make the mistake of humanizing this cognitive ability, which in the case of people is applied to issues such as operating a machine or being creative when painting a picture. However, for obvious reasons, these are not the specific skills of dogs and felines, which are applied to areas such as tracking down food or hunting prey. But the fact that their skills are different from those of human beings, because they are applied in other areas, does not make them less important. “If we understand that intelligence implies the ability to solve problems, each animal is acclimatized to solving those that are specific to its environment. For this reason, dogs and cats evolved differently to adapt to different contexts,” explains Javier López-Cepero, psychologist, professor at the University of Seville and director of the HABIER working group (dedicated to promoting studies on human-animal interaction).

If we stick to the ability to function well in the human environment, dogs are more skilled and adaptable in this area than cats. In fact, dogs have been domesticated for a vastly greater period of time (around 40,000 years) than felines (5,000 years), which has allowed them to develop an intelligence that is very well adapted to living with people. “We have had time to shape them, selecting their genetics to enhance certain characteristics, such as their character or their physiognomy, while cats have retained more of their wild and untamed side,” explains López-Cepero. The author of A prodigious snout (2024) highlights the developed facet of dogs’ intelligence to interact in a group: “Above all when it comes to humans, they are more social than cats.”

Pet owners can contribute to the development of their intelligence by enriching their environment with stimuli that are in keeping with their nature: “By giving them challenges similar to those they would encounter in their natural environment, such as allowing them to smell, chase, or hunt,” adds the specialist. “The idea is for dogs and cats to develop their nature, not to act like people. We should not expect them to do the same things as us, just as we cannot have the same abilities as them,” says the specialist, who considers it a mistake to think in terms of human intelligence to determine or classify that of other species.

Neither is breed a determining factor for an animal to be more or less intelligent. “For example, although shepherd dogs have been genetically selected to carry out this task, each litter has animals with different abilities from birth and, above all, dogs and cats learn from their experiences and the education they have received,” López-Cepero continues.

But what do we mean by intelligence? “In addition to the ability to respond to difficulties, it implies the ability to adapt to the environment and circumstances in order to survive, and we must take into account that, throughout history, animals have been able to solve many problems to get ahead in their ecosystems,” explains Stefania Pineda, a specialist in animal behavioural medicine and professor at the department of animal production at the Complutense University of Madrid. According to her, dogs and felines have different cognitive abilities. “Dogs have a better ability to communicate and interact with people than cats, but the latter are more skilled at surviving alone by hunting.” The intelligence of each species differs depending on their different sensory capacities. “For example, the vision of dogs and cats are very different. In the first case, at night it is poor, but felines have a highly developed vision, because they are nocturnal predators and hunters,” says the expert. She highlights several types of intelligence in animals: “Spatial intelligence, because they are aware of the place they occupy in nature or in the domestic environment where they live; kinetic, because they are also aware of their body (whether they are hungry or thirsty); and emotional, because, for example, if a dog does not do what is expected of it when given an order, it gets frustrated.”

Another of the intelligences these animals display is interpersonal intelligence, or the ability to relate to people. “In fact, experts consider the possibility that dogs are capable of putting themselves in another person’s shoes, thanks to mirror neurons,” Pineda points out. There are other types of intelligence, such as artistic or logical-mathematical, which are more questionable outside the human sphere. Although, who hasn’t seen their dog or cat relax and sleep peacefully when listening to music? As for linguistic ability, people associate it with the type of human verbal communication. However, this is an area with more possibilities if we apply it to dogs and cats: “Sounds, smells or gestures. For example, the dog is a great communicator, because it understands its human circle very well and is also capable of making itself understood. Another thing is that the animal’s communicative signals are ignored and misunderstandings occur,” says the specialist.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition