Who's smarter, a pig or a cat?

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thats my take on it

 

Haven't octopuses recently been observed carrying around sea shells to use as cover/shelter when needed? Actually two of them at a time, iirc.

 

I was under the impression that cats were dumb as bricks and only had normal predatory instincts?

 

Cats are definitely thick as logs. Nowhere near as clever as dogs; I find it strange that some think so.

 

is that based on any evidence barmy?

 

Never heard anyone except cat owners praise cat intelligence but I have seen some documentaries about smart animals where they mention pigs.

 

A pig could climb out of a wheelie bin.

 

The evidence of me saying so pal.

Besides, dogs can be taught loads of tricks, loads of commands and orders. When was the last time you saw a cat round in a herd of sheep? I rest my case.

 

Trainability doesn't necessarily equate intelligence. I'm like a dog -- I can learn all sorts of stuff if someone wants to teach me. I'm very cooperative and all of that canine sort of stuff. My brother is like a cat. He lacks the cooperation gene and only self learns things -- he hated school. He's damn smart, though.

Which kind of leads into my next point. It's an old idea now, but when the idea of multiple intelligences came out it caused quite a stir. There's more than one way to be smart. Spatial intelligence, mathematical intelligence, linguistic intelligence, social intelligence . . . different animal species tend to do well at different sorts of tasks. Evolutionary theory indicates that natural selection has made them more suited for whatever niche they hold in their habitat. Some animals may demonstrate some sweet abilities in certain areas, but overall they can never come close to humanity.

 

LKD has it well. Dogs are quite trainable, but they're not stellar at figuring things out for themselves. Every cat I've ever known has figured out that if it bats at the handle to a door the right way, it can turn the knob and open the door. I was shocked the first time I saw a cat do that (I was a small child), but I now consider it expected.

Incidentally, the training difference between cats and dogs isn't even an intelligence issue. It's a personality one. Cats are quite trainable, but you neet to have a stronger will than theirs, as well as some treat they regularly want. Dogs are already bred to want to please you, so simple praise is often enough to train them. I've heard people who own both cats and dogs describe it this way: dogs can be trained, but cats have dignity.

 

You've never tried Chinese food? I'm stunned...

 

We have a saying over here, "Matalino man ang matsing, matsing pa rin ito." Literally, "Monkeys may be intelligent but they're still monkeys." I believe in that and it's the same with cats and pigs or any animals for that matter. Don't get me, it doesn't mean I hate or have no regards for animals, it's just about the intellectual capacity. I'll change my mind the day I hear some pig say he ran away from the piggery to avoid ending up as chops and bacon.

 

This argument reminds me of some D&D related arguments we used to have -- does it really matter if a character has a 3 or a 4 intelligence? The argument here is whether cats/dogs/pigs have a 3 or 4 intelligence (more likely a 1 or 2) -- it really doesn't matter which has the 3 and which has the 4, they're all really stupid.

 

Try telling that to the one with the 4.

 

Doesn't matter, the one with INT 4 still couldn't understand it. I mean what... did the cat get mad at you when you told him that the pig was more intelligent than him?

 

Intelligence is an exceedingly slippery concept.

However, from my experience and in my opinion, cats are exceptionally deficient in the intelligence department. Admittedly, I've had limited dealings with pigs (not zero dealings, oddly enough, for a city boy) but my father raised them as a child and young man and told me that pigs could be strikingly intelligent.

It makes sense to me that cats would be unintelligent. Cats are unparalleled as far as physical prowess is concerned. The power, speed, balance, reflexes, 'cutlery' etc. of a cat is top notch in the animal kingdom. Evolution being the conservative force that it is would not provide for a being to be exceedingly intelligent and supremely capable in a physical sense. In short, a cat has no need for intelligence so why would evolution 'grant' it to them? They thrive(are fit to perpetuate) on the merit of their physicality alone.