Who's Smarter: Dogs or Cats?

Bigger than apples vs. oranges, men vs. women, tomatoes vs. tom-AH-toes: dogs vs. cats.

Cat people swear by their furry friends, while dog lovers insist their pups are posher. And the dog peeps may be right: The intelligence of dogs has evolved at a greater rate than the intelligence of cats, scientists at Oxford University claim, according to the Telegraph.

Cats were previously thought to be smarter than dogs because they require less attention, but researchers have discovered that cats' brains are smaller because they are less social.

"Dogs have always been regarded as the more social animals while cats like to get on with their own thing alone. But it appears that interaction is good for the brain and extends to other species, like ourselves," Dr. Susanne Shultz, who led the research, told the Telegraph.

So being needy and social means you're smart. Hooray for humans!

The research found that over the last 60 million years, the brains of monkeys grew the most, followed by horses, dolphins, camels and dogs. The brains of more solitary cats, deer and rhino grew much more slowly during the same period.

Take that, cat ladies.

"All dogs are quite good at solving problems, which gives credence to the traditional image of the cunning fox which is a member of the same family. Dogs descended from wolves which appear to have the biggest brains as they live in large family groups," Shultz said.

The study also proves what you might have suspected all along: Dealing with others isn't easy.

“[The study] suggests the co-operation and co-ordination needed for group
living can be challenging and over time some mammals have evolved larger
brains to be able to cope with the demands of socializing.”

Now we know why we need a glass of wine before Thanksgiving dinner.