Cat and dog people have long had differing viewpoints as to which species has the superior brainpower. Team Cat advocates that felines’ independence, hunt ability and refusal to submit to every owner demand as evidence of superior intelligence.
Cats have also shown they can learn through social inference. By watching other cats, for instance, they might pick up tips for finding food.
Cats are able to remember things for a long time
Cats often come off as having short memories; however, studies have demonstrated that they actually possess an exceptional working memory that lasts up to 16 hours of useful information storage. Cats also possess spatial memories, meaning they remember where they found items or people.
Memory allows them to return to a specific spot to retrieve their toy or food, for example. Furthermore, it helps them know where their litter box and food bowl are as well as how to perform tricks.
Some have reported that their cats remember them years after spending time together, which is an interesting example of long-term memory. Most memories associated with cats tend to be short-term because most of their experiences relate to food, toys or humans they interact with. Cats also don’t store visual memories very well so are less likely to remember faces or locations.
They’re good at solving puzzles
Cats often get short shrift when it comes to intelligence. Anyone who has lived with one can attest to that fact – they know exactly where the food is hidden and can solve puzzles on their own! Additionally, cats understand cause-and-effect relationships – meowing can get them noticed; cats can even train humans to feed them at certain times!
Studies have demonstrated that cats can understand object permanence – the recognition that something that has gone from view will remain present – much like toddlers do. Cats can even perform “visible displacement” tests similar to what toddlers undergo to learn time and space concepts.
Cat brains, though smaller than dog ones, contain twice as many neurons enabling them to process visual information faster and recall specific events from long-term memory more quickly. Furthermore, cats have an enhanced emotional detection sense that allows them to sense when their human’s emotional state changes quickly.
They’re good at recognizing emotions
Cats can be excellent at reading emotions, including those of their owners. Cats have the ability to read emotional cues and respond accordingly – purring when their owner is happy or rubbing up against them when sad.
Cats’ ability to recognize emotions is also essential for survival; cats can sense their owners’ feelings and respond appropriately, such as recognizing whether someone is angry or excited by looking at their faces; in addition, cats can understand that an object out of sight doesn’t mean it has vanished forever.
Cats, often misunderstood as distant and disinterested in people, are actually adept at reading human emotion. A recent study demonstrated this ability; cats were shown to recognize both cross-modal human facial expressions and conspecific facial expressions as well as be able to adjust their behavior according to the intensity of emotion they sensed – they even recognize human voices or sounds that indicate anger or happiness!
They’re good at recognizing objects
Cats have an incredible ability to recognize objects based on their shapes. This helps them easily distinguish their favorite toys from others and find them more easily when lost. Cats also possess an amazing visual system which is tuned towards prey movement as well as human owners’ faces; thus enabling them to recognize faces even when not looking directly at them.
Researchers conducted a recent experiment where they placed one of a cat’s favorite toys behind an opaque object and allowed it to become visible. When presented with it, cats began playing with it as though it were still there, showing they understood object permanence.
Scientists have taken this testing a step further and discovered that cats can learn through social inference, just like dogs can. This could change perceptions about cats as untethered and independent creatures while providing insight into domestication processes that transformed wild animals into our beloved companions.