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When you watch your cat open the fridge door, you literally marvel at its intelligence. On the other hand, when you see him freaking out in front of his own reflection in the window, you doubt his mental abilities. Although felines are not an easy subject to study, scientists have still managed to prove some amazing facts about their brains.
The cat has a small brain, but a very good memory!
The first surprising fact that studies have revealed is that cat brains are smaller compared to humans and dogs. The human brain makes up about 2% of the total body weight, while the dog’s brain makes up 1.2%.
Meanwhile, a cat’s brain accounts for no more than 0.9% of its total weight. Despite this reduced size, the cat has a particularly developed long-term memory. It can remember places and people for many years.
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However, it happens that when these animals are old, they develop a disease similar to Alzheimer’s. Another interesting fact is that cats have a certain sense of time. You may have noticed that your cat starts meowing when it’s time to eat. And that’s at the same time every day.
This is explained by the fact that it has a particularly efficient internal clock that allows it to assess the duration of events. It is therefore impossible for your pet to forget to eat. And it knows when you’ll be back from work soon.
Scientists did a study in 2005!
With regard to understanding language, the cat is unable to understand the meaning of the words we speak. However, they can quite pick up on what we are trying to tell them with gestures.
In a 2005 study, scientists presented cats with two hermetically sealed bowls. One contained food and the other was empty. The cat couldn’t see or smell what was inside.
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However, once these pets were allowed to approach, the result was surprising. In fact, the researcher pointed to a bowl filled with cat food and almost every time they went to it.
Can a cat learn by simply observing. For example, if your cat often watches you open a cupboard, it will quickly figure out how to do it on its own. From an early age, kittens mimicked their mother’s behaviors, such as hunting and grooming.
A cat has more neurons than a dog!
A cat’s brain contains 300 million neurons, more than a dog’s brain, which has 160 million. In addition, the structure of the cat brain is more complex than that of a dog, mainly due to a more developed cerebral cortex. This explains why cats are so adept at making decisions.
In conclusion, despite its small size, the cat brain is more powerful. These felines have a developed memory, understand body language and object permanence, and also have an efficient internal clock. Thus, cats are intelligent and fascinating animals that deserve all our respect and admiration.
If you want to read more articles like this, we recommend you to visit our Animals category.
