Why Dogs Are Better Than Cats
A new study indicates that cats are social creatures capable of establishing relationships with people by virtue of their apparent appearance, and some cats seem to be very enslaved to their owners, as many cat lovers testify, and in the preference between dogs and cats there is a clear winner in public relations, Dogs are humans' best friend because they are sociable, loyal and obedient, and our relationship with cats is often described as more complex, as isolation, mystery and independence, cats are only with us because we feed them.
"I've studied this a lot and I knew it," said Christine Vitali, an animal behavior scientist at Oregon State University and author of the new study published this year. "I know cats like to interact with me but in science, you don't know that until you test it." Cats' behavior is different from the behavior of dogs, cats are not social animals, as many scientists assumed - and it is not easy to deal with them, but recent studies have begun to deeply appeal to the social life of cats.
"This idea that cats don't really care about people or respond to them does not end," said Dr. Vitaly, and in a 2017 study, Dr. Vitaly and her colleagues found that the majority of cats prefer interacting with someone over eating or playing. And in a 2019 study, The researchers found that cats modify their behavior according to the person's interest in them, and other researchers found that cats are sensitive to human emotion and temperament, and that cats know their names, and scientists have reached conflicting results about whether cats like to accompany their owners, so Dr. Vitaly and her colleagues designed a study to test the hypothesis More clearly.
They recruited the owners of 79 cats and 38 adult cats to participate in a safe blanket test, a commonly used experiment to measure the connections dogs and monkeys form with caregivers.
In the six-minute experiment, the cat owner was introduced to an unfamiliar room with his cat, after two minutes, the owner left the room, leaving the cat alone - a possible experiment for the animal, when the owner returned two minutes later, the researchers noticed the cat's response, and about two-thirds of the cats came to greet the owners when they returned. Then they returned to explore the room, and periodically return to their owners, and the researchers concluded that these animals were safely attached to their owners, which means that they consider them a safe base in an unfamiliar situation, and Dr. Vitaly said: “This may be an adaptation of the bond they would have with their parents When they were young, ”she added, this behavior might mean:“ Everything is fine when the owner appears, so you feel comfortable and at ease. ”
About 35% of cats were exposed to insecure companions: so they avoid their owners, or do not allow them to hold them when they return to the room, this does not mean that these pets have a bad relationship with their owners, says Dr. Vitaly, but she does not see their owners as a source of safety and stress relief. .
The results reflect those found in studies of dogs and human children. In humans, 65 percent of children show a secure bonding for caregivers, and so do 58 percent of dogs. “This finding indicates a similarity in socialism between humans and companion animals,” said Atsuko Saito, a behavioral scientist at Sophia University in Tokyo. It will help us to better understand the development of socialism between humans and animals.
Why Dogs Are Better Than Cats - Intelligence
Researchers have shown that dogs have in their brains more than twice the cells available to cats, in areas related to thinking, planning and other complex elements of behavior, according to the British newspaper "Daily Mail".
The researchers say, from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, that the number of neurons in the animal's cerebral cortex is a distinctive feature indicative of intelligence.
The cortex is the largest layer of the brain's layer, and it is associated with a set of complex behavioral characteristics.
The researchers found that dogs have about 530 million cortical neurons, while cats only have about 250 million.
For comparison, the human brain contains about 16 billion cortical neurons.
"I believe that the absolute number of neurons in an animal, especially in the cerebral cortex, determines the richness of the internal mental state, and its ability to predict in its environment, based on past experiences," says Dr. Hercolano-Hausel, the lead author of the scientific study.
The researchers applied the theories of intelligence to several types of carnivores, and found that larger brains did not necessarily imply more cortical neurons.
The brain of a "Golden Retriever" dog, for example, has more cortical neurons than a "brown bear" dog, despite being much smaller in size.
In terms of brain size, the proportion of cortical neurons in one of the most intelligent animals has been found in a raccoon.
The brain size of raccoons is equal to the size of a cat's brain, but the density of cortical neurons of a raccoon has been shown to be similar to that of a dog.
According to Dr. Hausel: "Raccoons have a fairly small brain, but they have many neurons, such as those that would be expected to exist in the brains of monkeys, that is, a large number of neurons."
The team of researchers warns that this intelligence is not conclusive, but rather a subjective assessment, which means that it is not absolutely certain that dogs are smarter than cats.
"At least we have some biology that people can validate their opinion in an argument about which is more intelligent? Cats or dogs?" Adds Dr. Hausl.
Dogs Are Better Than Cats reasons :
1- You can play a lot of games with your dog, like Fetch using a ball or a disk.
2- Dogs adapt better with change :
When it comes to introducing new people, pets, or things into your home or moving into a new home, cats generally need more time to adjust. They do not automatically trust that everything is fine. They want evidence first. Most dogs take their cues from their owners.
3- Dog training is the easiest
Well, cats can technically be trained, but even cat lovers admit that it's not as easy as training a dog. Even cats with a dietary incentive will soon get sick from training sessions and go far.
But most dogs enjoy training. It seems to give them a sense of purpose. It's a job, and most dogs love to work. Additionally, they stimulate a lot of dogs with food and attention.
4- Dogs have more potential
When was the last time you saw a cat in a sweater working hard to help people? It is true that cats have a place in animal assisted therapy, but they are usually not suited to other types of work. Dogs have been helping people as long as they are on the ground. They work on farms.
Today, many dogs still work on farms, and they serve more noble purposes: service dogs, guiding the blind, helping the disabled, aiding the police and the military, participating in search and rescue efforts and calming the sick. Some dogs can even spot seizures and tattoo cancer.
Characteristics of dogs
Loyalty : The attribute of loyalty is always attached to dogs, until the aphorism is spread (more complete than a dog) as a sign of loyalty and loyalty to its owner, and perhaps the reason behind this trait is the ability of dogs to remember their owners even after a long period of interruption from them, and their willingness to sacrifice themselves for the sake of their safety and security. And taking risks in order to defend what threatens them.
Intelligence : Dogs have a special intelligence that differs from other animals, as they are able to read body language, recognize and track people, based on activating their subtle senses, and for this reason, criminal investigation and investigations centers use police dogs to trace crime clues and arrest the perpetrator.
Communicative language : This characteristic may seem strange at first glance, but studies have proven the ability of dogs to build a bridge to communicate with people and understand and understand what they want, such as raising the tail, sitting, frequent barking, licking the feet and turning in the same place, all of which are signs indicating certain messages that predict their desire for food or play Or the desire to defecate, or the alert of an imminent danger.
The ability to learn : It is true that God Almighty did not create a mind for the animal, but many animals are able to acquire many traits through taming and contact with the human environment, and dogs are among the most prominent of them as they preserve all the movements and sounds directed at them and remember it when repeated.
The power of the senses : dogs are characterized by subtle and very strong senses, the most important of which are the two senses of smell and touch. Dogs are able to detect the scent of a spoonful of sugar in a deep and large swimming pool, and they can pick up smells at great distances, and dogs depend on the sense of touch to communicate with each other and with others. This sense is part of a dog's socialization.
Benefits of raising dogs
Dogs do not require as much attention as some other pets, such as birds and cats, as they are stronger in physical structure, and require few basic needs such as food, water and medical care.
According to many studies, dog breeding helps develop emotion in a person, and helps him to show it to others without fear or shame. When raising dogs and dealing with them daily, a person learns many things, such as the value of sacrifice and the importance of loyalty and love.
Dogs provide humans with protection and guard thanks to their supernatural senses and their ability to grasp any strange smell, which makes a person feel safe and comfortable.
Personal differences between dog and cat owners :
Some studies have found differences between cat owners and dog owners. Researchers at the University of Austin conducted a study of 4,565 people, and asked participants to determine whether their personalities bore the traits of dogs or cats, or both.
Then the participants completed an assessment to gauge their tendencies toward various personality traits.
The results came as a surprise ... as the people identified as tending to the traits of dogs showed traits such as extroversion, proportionality and conscientiousness. Whereas, people who showed a tendency to the traits of cats, they appeared to be introverted, nervous and open (this is meant to openness here evidence of traits such as creativity and imaginative thinking).
In his own research, Corinne found that unattached (single) people are more likely to own cats, while families are more interested in dog breeding.
Defects of the theory
Some psychologists have rejected the results of this and other similar studies, arguing that they may not be completely accurate.
For example, the fact that bachelors are more inclined to own cats while families are more interested in owning dogs may be due to the simple fact that it is easier to take care of cats than dogs, and that many apartment buildings (where singles often live) do not allow for ownership. Dogs.
So perhaps there are clear differences between people who have the characteristics of cats and people who have the characteristics of dogs.
However, this does not affect our great love for pets in general, whatever our personal traits, according to what American writer Maggie McCracken concluded.
Characteristics of dog and cat breeders
Mixing with people
Dogs are characterized by being among the social animals and the most mixing with people, and this trait that they leave on their owners, according to the survey, while cat breeders are characterized by shyness to some extent.
- Chaos
The dog is characterized by being chaotic and automatic in dealing with which the breeder of this type of pets is affected, while the cat breeder is characterized by discipline and planning for everything.
Nervousness
The dog is characterized by rapid anger, curiosity and love of adventure, and these are characteristics that affect dog breeders, while cat breeders tend to be sober and think before making a decision.
- Self-assurance
The cat breeder is characterized by self-confidence and affection, while the dog breeder is characterized by indifference and chaos in their daily life.
- devotion
The dog breeder is also characterized by sincerity and appreciation of others, while the cat breeder is characterized by changing emotions and moods in dealing.
Family love
Cat owners prefer to live alone and single for as long as possible, while dog breeders are characterized by the love of family, the formation of a quiet life, and the love of children.
Domination and control
The cat breeder is characterized by the inability to lead others, and shyness, while the dog breeder is characterized by strength and firmness in decisions, and the ability to lead others.
Athletic or lazy
Dog owners are characterized by a love of sport and keenness to exercise it on a daily basis, while cat breeders prefer laziness, overeating, and lack of exercise.
