Are dogs or cats capable of abstract thought?

[JJJ's Ulcer]

I read once that an eye-seeing dog dragged his blind owner to the vet because he was sick. He felt sick, he knew the vet would help him and he knew how to get there.

Did the dog think in a pre-mediatated way, not just based on stimuli triggers and instinct? Imo I believe his actions showed clear forethought.

I used to have a dog (rip) and when he would be in the car and see us picking up a family member from school, work or what have you, he would hit the electronic button for the car-window to open it and jump out so he could meet said family member on the sidewalk. Another action based on an expected consequence or reward.

Also, like most dogs, he would dream at night and whimper or wag his tail. If dreaming isn't abstract thought, then I don't know what it is.

As for cats... about twenty years ago my family had a cat named Zeus. Our home was being renovated so we temporarily moved to a small apartment two towns away and over a bridge. One day Zeus disappeared. He was gone for about a week. We had posters up and everything. Then one day we had stopped by our home to see how the renovations were going and saw Zeus skinny as a rail and a bit worse for wear curled up by the front-step. How he got there, we have no idea to this day.

So do you have an amazing story about your dog or cat? Do you agree or disagree that they're capable of abstract thought?

 

[Immortalfire]

My cat lived to be 24, and I still believe he understood what I said to him.

But yeah..I've heard numerous stories about both animals being so devoted, or having been around long enough to know what to do, or if something is wrong.

 

[Llama_Shepherd]

Recognising that a vet would make him better isn't abstract thought, neither is the cat at the house. It's conditioning, positive reinforcement in these cases. Dogs and cats are just too low on the evolutionary tree for their brains to have advanced enough to be capable of thought like that. A good way to test it is to put an animal in front of a mirror. Dogs do not recognise themselves, because they do not know they are alive. Elephants and apes and other later mammals know that they are alive and have what humans call the "conscience". They can weigh up what is going on in a situation and act accordingly to what serves them and their relatives best.

 

[Suirou]

Gimme a break, bro.

My bro's dog barked at the mirror at himself then within a day, he knew that it was his own reflection and he trots past it everyday without a second look. Or the time when my brother's dog was just fine until I noticed that he chewed up my brother's headphones, once I picked it up.The dog looked at me with the headphones in my hand, he gave me puppy-dog eyes, lowered his ears, and whined. He knew what he did was wrong, I hate it when people say~ "oh it's the tone of your voice" yada-yada. I am deaf so I don't really use my voice so what other explanation do you have?

My cats knows that I am deaf and that it was pointless to meow outside so they would get on the windowsill and the visual would let me know that they want in.

 

[Llama_Shepherd]

Gimme a break, bro.

My bro's dog barked at the mirror at himself then within a day, he knew that it was his own reflection and he trots past it everyday without a second look. Or the time when my brother's dog was just fine until I noticed that he chewed up my brother's headphones, once I picked it up.The dog looked at me with the headphones in my hand, he gave me puppy-dog eyes, lowered his ears, and whined. He knew what he did was wrong, I hate it when people say~ "oh it's the tone of your voice" yada-yada.

Dogs bark at their own reflection because they think it is another dog. They simply do not have the brain capacity to know they are alive. The can determine certain outcomes, but only through conditioning. Only with things that have been repeated and practiced many, many times.

I am deaf so I don't really use my voice so what other explanation do you have?

Well, I'm right, so you can take my word for it. Evolution through natural selection applies to everything in nature. Your canine has the same capacity for learning as all others of it's species/breed. Dogs and their predecessors appeared too early. The first three dog species Wolf/Jackal/Coyote are the first species of dog and evolved from 25- 1 Ma ago and haven't really evolved since then, some have larger brain capacity, better physicality, but that about limits it. Elephantine species appeared 12 million years before dogs and have had the time to better develop their brain power. Modern humanity may have only appeared appeared roughly 200,000 years ago, but our primate evolutionary history goes back 65 million years.

Your brother's dog isn't special.

My cats knows that I am deaf and that it was pointless to meow outside so they would get on the windowsill and the visual would let me know that they want in.

This would be an example of negative and positive reinforcement. Your cat wants something that will benefit itself, the warmth/shelter of your house. So they tap on the window and give audible signals. You don't respond (negative reinforcement). Taste touch and smell will not help either as there are barriers to them all, so the cat tries to use a visual aide. You respond by giving them the shelter they require (positive reinforcement). Henceforth, the cat knows to use a visual aide to get inside the house.


You need to chillax dudemeister. Evolution through Natural Selection is an observable fact. Dogs just aren't smart, neither are cats. They haven't needed to evolve larger brains.

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

My dog would sometimes run into the kitchen counter.

But she was the best damned dog I ever had, and I miss her

That dog was the best example of "man's best friend" that I ever could have asked for.

To answer the question, I agree I think it's just a lot of positive and negative reinforcement. For instance, the same dog knew that I allowed her to do certain things that other people wouldn't allow, so she would only do those things with me and never try them with other people.

 

[scarletwonder]

I think from experience my cat is only able to think in abstract!

 

[Spider-Fan83]

I don't know if its and example of abstract thought...

but, earlier this year, a few days after my cat pasted way csad, our old family cat (who ran away about 5 years ago, an was eventually taken in by a neighbor, who I've never seem on a property, since) I found hanging out around my front porch (which is where my cat died) an as soon as I when outside, he came right up to me (which he's never done since he left, anytime I've seen him around the neighborhood, even if I called him) let me pet him, play with him, an everything

if I didn't know any better, I'd think he was there paying his respects to my cat, and was offering his condolence to me...

 

[DarthDaveBanner]

Well one of my cats learned to mimic bird calls to aid his hunting and has recently taught my new kitten to do the same.

 

[SuperFerret]

We'll never know for sure. There's a good chance that they are, and that most (if not all) animals are capable of "abstract thought" on some level or another (though I'd say neither of those examples are abstract thought), because humans are and humans are animals and nothing is ever really unique in the world.

You'll just never know because you're not a cat or a dog, and nobody can read minds. Hell, for that matter, for all any individual person knows, they are the only sapient being in existence.

 

[twylight]

My cat can paint in abstract.

 

[Kane52630]

My cat can paint in abstract.

I've been doing a lot of abstract painting lately, extremely abstract. No brush, no paint, no canvas, I just think about it.

 

[Ultra Lantern]

I think so.

 

[Spider-Who?]

I've been doing a lot of abstract painting lately, extremely abstract. No brush, no paint, no canvas, I just think about it.

hahaha.

 

[Thundercrack85]

Dogs yes, cats, I don't know. But dogs are a lot smarter than most people think. Them looking dumber than they are may have been an evolutionary tactic. It's worked quite well.

 

[Schlosser85]

I don't know, but I know they sense our emotions, when we're angry, when we're sick, when we're sad, etc.

They have some kind of sixth sense about picking up on our feelings, and both dogs and cats have it, because I've seen them both do it and act on it.

 

[Thundercrack85]

That's the result of eons of coexistence / evolution. In some ways, dogs know us better than our closest cousins (the other apes).

 

[Schlosser85]

I share an apartment with two roommates and a cat, which like most cats is fairly anti-social a lot of the time, doesn't like being held, etc.

One night I was so depressed I was crying myself to sleep, and she came straight into my room, jumped onto my bed, climbed onto my chest, tucked herself right under my chin, and lay there for an hour without moving. I've never known her to spend that much time with any person at any other time.

I choose to believe this was not coincidence.

 

[Duke]

I believe dogs & cats do have some form of rudimentary intelligence. I've had a dog for a few years now & he's well trained, responds to commands, & knows things he should or should'nt do.

 

[Scourge2099]

My cat will curl up next to me when he notices I'm depressed. Most of the time he's a d***.

 

[Ultra Lantern]

I think they have abstract thought.

 

[greenrage36]

I'm not sure if I buy the abstract thought idea although I'll give a bump to the 'know us better than our closet cousins' as well as a bit of empathy. Every cat I've ever had, including my current one, all could sense when I was really bummed and would find the appropriate time to hop in the ol' lap and help comfort. They also would learn how to anticipate my behaviors and beat me to the computer chair or bed at morning or evening time.

 

[Rhiannon]

I don't think they're quite capable of abstract thought, but I've enjoyed reading the stories in this thread about their sense of empathy. I think both cats and dogs can sense the emotional state of their owners. They know when something is amiss.

A quirk of my own cat that I find amusing is her sense of time. She's an indoor cat and roams the house during the day, but we have a little room she sleeps in (with all her food, water, and box in it) at night with the door closed to keep her out of mischief. Around 11 PM, she's ready to go to her room and go to bed. She whines persistently at my husband until he does her bidding: she has decreed that he will follow her into her room, pet her while she eats for a few minutes, and only then may he exit and leave her to her slumber. She has him conditioned very well.

 

[greenrage36]

Lol..mine has somehow got the idea that she needs to be fed at some point between 6:15-7:00am every morning, regardless of what time I've gone to bed at whether it be 10:00 pm or 5:00am..ugh...

 

[The Morningstar]

My dog apparently knows when i'm coming home from work. According to my girlfriend he goes and sits by the front door and starts whinging and barking about 5 minutes before i walk in every single day.