No, Cats Are No Smarter Than Dogs

Are dogs smarter than cats ? Apparently, science can now provide a definitive answer. This means that one of the biggest controversies that has always divided the owners of these two extraordinary pets will be put to an end .

The number of neurons matters

Research that has, for the time being, been accepted and published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Neuroanatomy,  states that the cerebral cortex of dogs is home to twice as many neurons  as that of cats. The team of scientists responsible for this discovery comes from six universities, located in the United States, Denmark, Brazil and South Africa.

The scientist responsible for using this method to quantify the density of brain neurons of a species is Professor Suzana Herculano-Houzel. According to this professor, the first step to be able to count an approximate number of neurons is to consider the brain as a kind of soup, with many different elements inside. By doing so, it becomes easier to isolate the nuclei of neuronal cells and calculate their number.

The number of neurons is the measure of intelligence

The neuron is the basic unit for processing information. The cognitive capacity of every living being, therefore, is directly related to the number of neurons it possesses. The researcher Herculano-Houzel also states that the quantitative factor is the key :

These interesting results are based on the application of the so-called ‘minestrone’ method to the cerebral cortex of dogs, consisting of a nervous tissue extended to cover the two cerebral hemispheres, just a few millimeters thick. Commonly called “gray matter”, this organic tissue is essential in the decision making process of animals and humans.

The use of this area of ​​the brain is particularly relevant because it is precisely here that external stimuli are processed and are constantly collected through sight and touch.

So, are dogs smarter?

To reach this conclusion, the scientist Herculano-Houzel and her team analyzed three brains : that of a cat, that of a Golden Retriever and, finally, that of a small mongrel dog.

Two dog brains were used due to the large differences that normally exist between different sized breeds. It was found that the cerebral cortex of both dogs housed as many as 500 million neurons and, conversely, the cat’s brain only had 250 million.

Later, the researchers analyzed the brains of eight different carnivore species to establish equivalence. They chose samples of ferrets, mongooses, raccoons, cats, dogs, hyenas, lions and brown bears.

In comparison, it was estimated that the intelligence of dogs was similar to raccoons and lions, while the gray matter of cats appeared very similar only to one group of other mammals, that of brown bears. Every human being, on the other hand, has 16 billion neurons in his brain. Within the animal kingdom, the next most intelligent species are elephants, with 5.6 billion.

A hypothesis yet to be confirmed

The goal of this group of researchers, in fact, was to confirm the hypothesis that the brain of carnivorous species has more neurons in the cortex than those of herbivorous species. This was not confirmed because no large differences were found in the correlation between the values ​​of neuron densities in animals of the two types.

This is estimated to be the case because the stress the herbivores are subjected to has prompted them to develop their brain capacity. The reality is that the largest carnivores are usually those with fewer neurons. For example, the bear’s brain is 10 times larger than the cat’s, but they both have the same neurons.

What surprised the team most was the case of the raccoons. Despite having a brain the size of a cat, they instead have the same amount of neurons as a dog. A raccoon has more than the average number of neurons of all other animals in the same family.

In light of this interesting discovery, it is fair to say that, from a neuronal point of view, cats are less intelligent than dogs. What matters most to all lovers of these fantastic pets, however, is that both can be great friends for humans.