Do your master often do stupid things? It often makes you suspect that your cat is mentally retarded; but sometimes you think they are extremely smart. As soon as you glance over, he knows that you want to clean his ears and play hide-and-seek with you immediately.
So what is the IQ of a cat?
Today, let’s talk about whether cats are smart animals.
Brain Index
Brain Index (Encephalization Quotient) is a measure of the relative size of the brain, that is, the ratio of the actual size of the animal's brain to the expected brain size, which is often used to estimate the intelligence of animals.
Brain index is a more accurate measurement method than the brain's body mass ratio because it takes into account allometric growth factors. The relationship and formula of brain index are only applicable to mammals and not to other animals.
Yeah. . . The brain index of a cat does seem to be much less than that of a human
However, this electroencephalogram index is only a criterion, and this alone does not mean that people and dogs are smarter than cats.
In addition, the brain index is also a test for humans, so it may not be fully applicable to cats. The cat's score is naturally not high.
How old is a cat's intelligence equivalent to a human?
So, what age does a cat's intelligence equal to a human?
Based on cat behavior similar to the behavior and judgment of children around 2 years old during development, the mainstream theory is to believe that cats’ IQ is equivalent to that of human children aged 2-3 years old.
But this cannot be equivalent, because a two-year-old can speak some language and understand the concept of numbers. But cats don't speak fluent language at any age.
Similarly, cats can do things that humans cannot do. For example, high motor ability, strong ability to capture, and excellent intelligence in judging various things.
Then why is there no clear scientific research to draw conclusions on cat intelligence?
In fact, compared with dogs, cats have a lower domestication level, that is, they are more unruly, and they are extremely uncooperative in the experiment (think of how the master ignores you), but when measuring the cat's intelligence, certain conditions and repeated experiments are required, so the difficulty of the experiment has increased sharply and the correct results cannot be given.
But according to the reality, cats are not stupid, and even cats are smarter than humans in some areas.
Where are cats smart?
Where is cats smart?
High-altitude recognition ability
Cats have good intelligence and can recognize three-dimensional space.
Cats can choose the shortest route, or find a safe place immediately once they get there.
Therefore, even in a maze with steps and distances, you can observe high places and climb and descend well.
Strong Capture abilities
When cats catch prey, they will have different hunting methods and are very patient.
For example, it may chase forward, or advance in an ambush, or turn around to an area where prey is not noticed to attack.
In addition, the way of ambushing or hiding and jumping can be changed at any time.
High judgment
When cats determine that they are at risk or may be in danger, they have the wisdom to act quickly. In addition to quickly escape under dangerous circumstances, cats will also respond quickly when facing enemies. Cats are particularly alert and sensitive animals. They can be captured immediately if there is any movement.
Strong short-term memory
It can be said that cats have strong memory.
Cats have the ability to remember things they see in an instant, but this memory ability is limited to the cat being interested in or having a positive or negative impact on the thing.
For example: During the process of catching cockroaches, the cat will clearly remember where the cockroaches are hiding. Even if the cat goes to the toilet halfway, it will stay in the place where the cockroaches hide and "wait for the rabbit" when it comes back.
Female long-term memory
Cats seem to be good at "long-term memory", but this is often learned by repeating short-term memory.
In particular, remember very much what you don't like, places and dangerous things like veterinary clinics and bathhouses.
Therefore, if you always take her out to bathe with a cat bag, then you will gradually develop the impression that the cat bag = going out to bathe, so that the next time you get the cat bag, it will hide immediately. Therefore, the socialization process should form a positive relationship
Another example is that if you often beat and scold cats, then it will remember: you = a huge threat, so over time, the cat will be alert to you and refuse to get close to you.
In addition, because of strong long-term memory, it has the ability to be trained and learned.
Strong curiosity
Curiosity is also a manifestation of high intelligence.
Although he is a cautious cat, he is also curious, so when he encounters a new situation or object, he often tries to adapt to it or approach with interest.
From the above, it can be seen that cats are very smart in protecting themselves and satisfying their interests and hopes, and are also very smart in this regard.
How to train
How to use cat's intelligence to train?
Being able to communicate well with cats may be the best way to train cats:
It is best to let cats signal or take action during training, rather than compulsive training. It is important to remember that cats have the following characteristics: Even if they are trained and rewarded, they do not always perform in the same way.
This is not because of the cat's mental retardation, but because cats tend to act according to their feelings at the time.
training methods are as follows
1. From the age of kittens, we are familiar with the intellectual development stage from the second week to the seventh week after birth, and we entered the socialization period. During this period, it is the best time for socialization:
Therefore, doing a good job of socialization during this period is the top priority for training cats in the future.
2. Snacks and Sounds—conditioned reflexes
There is a way to use a soundtrack, and it will make a clicking sound as soon as you press it.
Combine sounds with snacks. Over time, the cat will remember that this sound = there is snack to eat; you can also use this method to train cats to understand the name, and you can harvest the cat owners who are on call in minutes.
By using conditioned reflex training with sounds and rewards, some cats will be able to complete various tricks.
Once you master the correct method, your cat can gradually train well like a dog!