How to Test Your Cat's Intelligence

Co-authored by Pippa Elliott, MRCVS

Last Updated: July 11, 2024 References

Do you ever wonder how intelligent your cat is? Do you know dog owners who insist that dogs are smarter or more intelligent than cats? As fun as it may be for you to debate animal intelligence with a dog owner, you can also find fun ways to test your cat’s intelligence. As of yet, there are no scientific tests that can accurately measure feline intelligence. However, there a few simple activities you can do with your cat to see how intelligent she is.

Things You Should Know

Play a nature show with birds on TV. How does your cat react?
Hide one of your cat's toys with them watching. Does your cat grab the toy from its hiding place?
Place an unopened container of food by your cat's food bowl. Does your cat look at you and wait for you to open it, or do they just ignore it?

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Testing Your Cat’s Intelligence

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Hide your cat’s favorite toy. A cat’s intelligence is similar to that of the average two- or three- year old child.^{[1]
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Research source} One way to test your cat’s intelligence is to hide one of her favorite toys behind a solid item such as a thick piece of paper or file folder.^{[2]
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Research source}^{[3]
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Research source} Let her a get a good look at the toy first, then hide it behind the item.^{[4]
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- It is best to do this activity in an uncluttered area where your cat can focus all of her attention on you.^{[5]
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- If she tries to look behind the solid item to see where the toy went, she is demonstrating an understanding that the toy is hidden and did not simply disappear.^{[6]
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  Research source} This level of intelligence is about that of an 18-month old child.^{[7]
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Move a mechanical mouse under a piece of furniture. If you have a mechanical mouse, turn it on and maneuver it such that it ends up going under a piece of furniture, such as a couch or refrigerator. Watch your cat as she studies the movements of the mouse.
- Even though she may not be able to see the mouse once it goes under the furniture, she may be able to predict accurately where it will come out.^{[8]
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- Your cat may be able to make this prediction by watching the mouse’s movements before it goes under the furniture.^{[9]
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- Her ability to predict where the mouse comes out demonstrates the intelligence of a two-year old child.^{[10]
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How your cat responds to this action tests her ability to reason and provides insight on her intelligence. If your cat has a high level of intelligence, she will likely look back and forth between you and the container, waiting for you to open it.^{[11]
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Research source
www.traditionalcats.com/education/medical/kittyiq.pdf} If she completely ignores the container, or does a quick sniff of it then walks away, her intelligence level may be a little lower.^{[12]
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www.traditionalcats.com/education/medical/kittyiq.pdf}
Choose a nature show that involves birds. Your cat is demonstrating her intelligence if she watches the show intently.^{[13]
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www.traditionalcats.com/education/medical/kittyiq.pdf} Although she may not initially understand that the birds are only TV and that she can’t actually catch them, she at least understands what image is being shown on the screen.

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Learning About Your Cat’s Intelligence

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Increase your knowledge on cat intelligence. Your cat’s intelligence is largely based on how she can use her skills to play, get food, gain attention, and ensure that her needs and wants are met. Her intelligence also stems from her highly inquisitive nature.^{[14]
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- Part of your cat’s intelligence has to do with her ability to rapidly change her behavior according to her environment. For example, if you give her a toy that allows her to bring out her predator side, she is showing that she can rapidly adjust from a pampered house cat to a cat on the hunt.^{[15]
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- Another aspect of her intelligence is her ability to manipulate and handle objects in her paws.^{[16]
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  Research source} The next time your cat is playing with her toys, watch how she is able to grip and manipulate them with her paws.
- Cats are sometimes unfairly labeled as less intelligent than dogs, or simply unintelligent, because they do not perform like dogs on certain intelligence tests. For example, when put in a maze, a cat is likely to stop and investigate the blind alleys, rather than navigate quickly through like a dog.^{[17]
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  Research source} Rather than indicating a lack of intelligence, the investigation is a cat’s way of exploring, and getting a good feel of, its environment.^{[18]
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- The entire scope of feline intelligence is beyond what can be explained in this article. Consider talking to your veterinarian or visiting your local bookstore or library to learn about feline intelligence.
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Do not compare your cat’s intelligence to that of a dog. Cat owners and dog owners have long debated which animal is more intelligent.^{[19]
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Research source} While both sides can make valid claims,^{[20]
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Research source} the intelligences of dogs and cats are too different to easily compare the two. Simply put, cats and dogs are intelligent in different ways.
- Dogs are social creatures and have become increasingly skilled at performing different social tasks in the human world (e.g., therapy dogs, seeing-eye dogs, rescue dogs), which gives them a high level of social intelligence.^{[21]
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  Research source} However, the intense domestication of dogs may have caused them to lose some survival skills along the way.^{[22]
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- Cats, who are independent and aloof, tend not to have the same level of social skills as dogs. However, their independence means they can largely survive on their own without being heavily dependent on people.^{[23]
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  Research source} This independence is an aspect of cat intelligence.
- Because cats and dogs have different skills sets, they use their intelligence in different ways. Neither intelligence is necessarily superior or inferior to the other.
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Identify the challenges of testing cat intelligence. People may assume that cats are not very intelligent because they do not demonstrate their abilities as readily as dogs. That is one main challenge of testing cat intelligence—the difficulty in convincing a cat to show what it knows and how it learns.^{[24]
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- Whereas dogs are social animals and are eager to please their owners, cats are more independent and less likely to look to their owners for approval.^{[25]
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  Research source} Your cat may wonder why she needs to show you her intelligence at all.
- Another challenge is that there are no scientific tests to accurately assess a cat’s intelligence.
- In addition, humans tend to equate high levels of animal intelligence with how similar the animal acts to humans. For example, an animal who has good eyesight is deemed more intelligent than an animal whose eyesight is not as good.^{[26]
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  Research source} Looking at a cat’s intelligence through the lens of human expectations presents a challenge to really knowing how intelligent that cat is.^{[27]
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Question

Which is smarter: cats or dogs?

Pippa Elliott, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Dr. Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS is a veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in veterinary surgery and companion animal practice. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1987 with a degree in veterinary medicine and surgery. She has worked at the same animal clinic in her hometown for over 20 years.

Pippa Elliott, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Expert Answer

Cats have 300 million neurons in the brain, compared to 160 million in dogs. However, these neurons are used for different purposes in each species, which makes it hard to judge which is the cleverer.

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Do cats have IQ?

Pippa Elliott, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Dr. Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS is a veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in veterinary surgery and companion animal practice. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1987 with a degree in veterinary medicine and surgery. She has worked at the same animal clinic in her hometown for over 20 years.

Pippa Elliott, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Expert Answer

IQ is merely a matter of intelligence, and yes, cats are intelligent; therefore, they have IQ. Of course, how you measure IQ in a cat is going to be different than how you measure it in people!

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Do cats know their owners?

Pippa Elliott, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Dr. Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS is a veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in veterinary surgery and companion animal practice. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1987 with a degree in veterinary medicine and surgery. She has worked at the same animal clinic in her hometown for over 20 years.

Pippa Elliott, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Expert Answer

Most definitely cats know their owners. You have only to see the trust an anxious cat places in their owner to see this bond in action.

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Interestingly, cats have about twice as many brain cells as dogs, suggesting that a cat has a larger capacity than a dog to process information.^{[28]
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Research source} Put those brain cells to work by teaching your cat new tricks!

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Cats tend to have large memories,^{[29]
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Research source} which can help them remember different situations, as well as various aspects of their environment.

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The website www.traditionalcats.com/education/medical/kittyiq.pdf has a series of short tests that you can perform with your cat. Keep in mind that these tests are not scientific, but are just fun ways to observe your cat’s intelligence.

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