“Cats virtually always underestimate human intelligence just as we, underestimate theirs!” Roger Casas
Our perception of intelligence has long been defined in humancentric parameters, blinding us to different forms of intelligence outside our scope or use.
Numerous diverse and exceptional skills unique to other animals are customarily unfairly dismissed as instinct. But what is instinct if not a talent that becomes intelligence in an area of expertise when nurtured?
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Learning sets is a form of intelligence, previously thought to be exclusive to primates, which demonstrates the ability to combine a learnt skill with insight in problem-solving. Studies have demonstrated that out of necessity cats can learn to think innovatively.
When food was put out of the cats’ reach, the felines demonstrated the intelligence to pull boxes to an area beneath the suspended food, using them as platforms from which to access the food.
While findings such as this may have been a revelation to science, I am sure many homes with a feline family member would not find them surprising.
Cats are inventors and able to learn by trial and error, and also by observation and imitation, otherwise known as social learning.
Of her own accord, one of my cats observed how a door handle was operated and, using a bedside table next to the door, managed to open the door repeatedly. I recently observed a cat using and flushing a toilet.
Cats can tell time with uncanny accuracy. They not only have exceptional hearing but have been shown to be able to discern minute differences in the duration of sounds.
In a test, cats were restrained alternately for four or five seconds. Depending on the length of the restraint, they were given a treat from a feeder either to the left or right. They learned which feeder to approach based on the duration of the restraint.
Susan Henderson© (Accredited Animal Behaviourist)
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