Health Editor’s Note: I can totally attest to the fact that cats for the most part do not care what we want. If what they want and what you want coincide, so much for the better. Can’t live without them, but their lack of caring what people think does have to lead to making them very poor testing subjects. With the large group of felines around here, there is a ton of intelligence, intuitiveness, and the vast ability to manipulate…..Carol
Scientists Confirm That Cats a) Are Pretty Smart, b) Don’t Really Care What You Want
by Colin Shultz Smithsonian.com
Yes, your cat is very special, and your dog is very cute. Millions of years of evolution, however—tens of thousands in the company of humans—have instilled cats and dogs with some particular traits and mental skills. And while cat people and dog people love to debate the superiority of their preferred pet, pet lovers who really want to compare and contrast species-wide superiority would do best to turn to the science of animal cognition.
One problem: According to David Grimm, writing at Slate, there’s oodles of research on how dogs think. Not so for cats.
We are living in a golden age of canine cognition. Nearly a dozen laboratories around the world study the dog mind, and in the past decade scientists have published hundreds of articles on the topic. Researchers have shown that Fido can learn hundreds of words, may be capable of abstract thought, and possesses a rudimentary ability to intuit what others are thinking, a so-called theory of mindonce thought to be uniquely human.
There’d probably be more research on cats if they would just do what they were told for two seconds.
Carol graduated from Riverside White Cross School of Nursing in Columbus, Ohio and received her diploma as a registered nurse. She attended Bowling Green State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Literature. She attended the University of Toledo, College of Nursing, and received a Master’s of Nursing Science Degree as an Educator.
She has traveled extensively, is a photographer, and writes on medical issues. Carol has three children RJ, Katherine, and Stephen – one daughter-in-law; Katie – two granddaughters; Isabella Marianna and Zoe Olivia – and one grandson, Alexander Paul. She also shares her life with her husband Gordon Duff, many cats, and two rescues.
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I asked a veterinarian once which she thought was smarter, dogs or cats. She immediately replied, ‘cats.’ I asked her how that could be – we can train dogs, but not cats. Her answer: we train dogs, cats train us.’ And so there you have it.
My cat Tigger was very affectionate; quite human oriented and a natural born killer. He went out out night dodging foxes and on patrol. He took out rats mice moles and rabbits. He defended us from Lyme. When I walked the doggie on a leash Tiggs came along without a leach to the delight of the neighborhood children. When I opened the refridgerator both dog and cat stood together awaiting a certain treat. He was a special animal, more than a pet. And absolutely never a bother. He was a part of the family.
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