It’s good news for cats this week.
Scientists in Japan have devised a series of memory tests in which they say cats performed as well as dogs.
The tests, which had previously only been used on dogs, involved cats being led to four food containers and being allowed to eat from two of them. All containers were then replaced with empty ones. The cats were found to explore containers from which they had not previously eaten for longer than those from which they did previously eat.
The study was a bit more involved than that and involved 49 domestic cats, but you get the idea.
Scientist Saho Takagi, of Kyoto University, told the BBC: “Cats may be as intelligent as dogs, as opposed to the common view of people that dogs are much smarter.”
We should know how smart cats are already. I mean, how many stories have you heard in the past about cats who have managed to establish themselves as the pet of two households – visiting both to get double the amount of food and attention!
Two timing cats are a common problem. In fact, one story I found was about a cat who managed to secure himself four families in his neighbourhood – that sounds pretty smart to me!
It brings to mind the famous thought experiment of Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger. He suggested that a cat could be in two states inside a sealed box, both dead and alive, until observed. Maybe two timing cats have mastered the ability to be in two places at once!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-38665057
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/07/20/is-your-cat-two-timing.html