Are There Particularly Intelligent Breeds Of Cats?
Some cat lovers have very clear preferences when it comes to choosing their velvet paw. However, the size and eye color are not the only decisive factors. Some claim that there are particularly intelligent breeds of cats.
Is that just an opinion or is there solid evidence for it?
How do you determine a cat’s intelligence?
There aren’t that many studies on the intelligence of cats, whatever their breed. In 2009 one of them looked at whether cats can count objects.
To the amazement of many, it turned out that cats did not do particularly well at this task. Dogs, by contrast, seemed much better. Another study wanted to find out how well cats can solve puzzles.
When dogs had difficulty solving a problem, they turned to their caregivers. Cats, on the other hand, just seemed to keep puzzling.
The studies registered various reactions, but none of them came to conclusive results.
However, thanks to these studies, it has been possible to identify the points to consider when it comes to researching your cat’s intelligence. For example, we can pay attention to the following:
Your cat’s social skills
Cats are differently sociable than dogs. While dogs are extroverted and open to humans, cats often shy away from human contact.
Cats are just not as dependent on humans as dogs because they don’t need us to survive in nature. But that doesn’t mean that a more sociable cat is less intelligent. However, it shows us that cats can take better care of themselves.
Changes in the daily routine
Cats and dogs use their memory to program their daily routine. You know when, where and how there is food.
Small, unexpected changes to this routine can be quite confusing. Observe how they respond to such changes and how long it takes them to get used to them.
Memory and learning
Memory is closely related to the ability to learn. Cats are proud and independent beings who don’t always feel like learning the tricks their caregivers want to teach them.
So your cat may not seem intelligent just because she ignores your “training”. Don’t confuse that with less intelligence, but rather change your training strategies.
Allegedly particularly intelligent cat breeds
Thanks to the clues listed above, we can look into a cat’s intelligence, regardless of its breed. Nevertheless, according to experts, there are some particularly intelligent cat breeds . These include:
- Siamese cat
- Birman
- Angora cat
- Abyssinian cat
However, it is often the personality of the animals that leads us to suspect that they are particularly intelligent cat breeds.
As we’ve seen, cats often don’t care what a human tells them to do. Her character is a bit more reserved, which is why it is more difficult for us to empathize with her.
The danger of such enumerations is to present something obviously subjective as objective, without considering all the factors that contribute to the cognitive development of a being.
