How To Test Your Cat’s Intelligence

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(Updated on August 29, 2025)

Have you ever wondered how to test your cat’s intelligence?

A cat’s intelligence is similar to that of the average two- or three-year-old child. One way to test your cat’s intelligence is to hide one of her favorite toys behind a solid item. Let her get a good look at the toy first, then hide it behind the item.

There are no specific scientific tests to measure a cat’s intelligence, commonly referred to as feline IQ. However, you can get a pretty good idea of how smart your cat is just by observing them.

Tips To Gauge A Cat’s Intelligence:

• Watch a nature show with birds on TV. How does your cat react?
• Hide one of your cat’s toys while they watch. Does your cat grab the toy from its hiding place?
• Place an unopened container of food by your cat’s food bowl. Does your cat look at you and wait for you to open it, or do they ignore it?

Cats & Newly Laundered Beds:

Is there a cat on the planet that will not jump in the middle of the bed just after you’ve laundered the linens?

You get everything just so, and out of the corner of your eye, you see your cat jump on the bed as you’re walking away. Why are cats so attracted to freshly laundered linens?

There’s no use scolding them. I read that cats don’t respond well to negative training because they’re not pack animals.

I had a moment of irritation with Ivy last night. Then I realized how funny the situation was. There she lay, looking like a sphinx posing for photos, undeterred by me.

If a cat thinks you’re irritated at them, their ears go back as if to say: “Don’t think that you don’t irritate me too.”

How Does Your Cat Respond?

Place an unopened container of food near your cat’s food bowl. How your cat responds to this action tests her ability to reason and provides insight into her intelligence.

If your cat has a high level of intelligence, she will likely look back and forth between you and the container, waiting for you to open it.

Ivy is a laid-back cat. She likes to lie on her back and contemplate the ceiling.

I always wonder what she’s thinking when she does this. She may be in her zen zone, staring at the ceiling and allowing her body to relax.

Cats & Memory:

Does your cat “remember” what time they get dinner or a treat?

Try putting a bite of cat food under a small pillow or piece of paper on the floor while your cat watches you. See if your car remembers you putting it there and reaches for the food.

Try to teach kitty a “trick,” such as “sit” or “give your paw,” using small food treats as motivators. If they accomplish the tasks, you have a smart cat. If they can’t be bothered, then you have a typical cat.

Memory is not the same as intelligence, but it is a key component and foundation for it, with working memory being especially crucial for fluid intelligence.

While a good memory involves retaining information, accurate intelligence lies in the ability to use, apply, and understand that information for problem-solving and flexible thinking, not just recalling it.

Survival Skills In Action:

If there is a squirrel on the other side of the patio door staring at Ivy, she will adopt her predator stance.

She has never been outside, so she has never caught a squirrel or any other animal. However, her brain obviously remembers the predator skill that’s stored in her memory.

Questions to Assess Your Cat’s Intelligence

1. Is your cat reluctant to go into their cat carrier? If so, this suggests that your cat has the long-term memory to recall previous negative experiences associated with the carrier (such as veterinary visits or long car rides).
2. Does your cat ever scratch at a particular exterior door, wanting to go outside, even though you have never let them out through that door in the past? If so, this suggests that your cat has learned the purpose of that door through observing you and your family members.
3. Has your cat ever opened a cabinet to access cat food or some other desirable object? If so, this behavior demonstrates your cat’s problem-solving skills.
4. Has your cat trained you to feed them at a particular time, using meows or some other attention-getting behavior? If so, this indicates an understanding of cause and effect (meowing or another behavior causes you to put food in the bowl) and a grasp of the concept of time.

It seems that cats are hard for scientists to study. They are notoriously non-receptive to participating in research studies. Are you surprised by this? A cat is a cat, and that is that, which is what comes to mind.

Increase Your Knowledge on Cat Intelligence:

Your cat’s intelligence is primarily based on how she can use her skills to play, get food, gain attention, and ensure that her needs and wants are met. Her intelligence also stems from her highly inquisitive nature.

• Part of your cat’s intelligence is related to her ability to adjust her behavior rapidly according to her environment. For example, if you give her a toy that allows her to bring out her predator side, she is showing that she can rapidly adjust from a pampered house cat to a cat on the hunt.
• Another aspect of her intelligence is her ability to manipulate and handle objects in her paws. The next time your cat is playing with her toys, observe how she grips and manipulates them with her paws.
• Cats are sometimes unfairly labeled as less intelligent than dogs, or simply unintelligent, because they do not perform as well as dogs on specific intelligence tests.
• If you have more questions, consider consulting your veterinarian or visiting your local bookstore or library to learn more about feline intelligence.

Are Cats More Intelligent Than Dogs?

It seems that the answer is up for debate, depending on which scientist you listen to. According to various studies, some researchers have decided that cats are more intelligent. And other scientists think dogs are smarter.

Cats have a more independent nature and an ability to solve problems independently.

However, dogs are generally considered more trainable. Dogs are capable of learning a wide variety of tricks and even performing specialized jobs, such as search and rescue.

Dogs come when they’re called. Cats take a message and get back to you later.” – Professor Mary Bly