Pet intelligence wank
The Guardian: Cats outsmarted in psychologist's test.

You can imagine how well this goes with the readers. Besides the predictable flood of pet owner butthurt and anecdotes of clever / stupid cats / dogs / mice / owls, there are plenty of genuinely funny comments as well as a side wank on the validity of test methods and statistics, obligatory calls to talk about world hunger instead or discuss the intelligence of various nationalities, and, naturally, Hitler and his pets make a bonus appearance. I think one could play classical wank bingo in here, but some of the stories make it all worthwhile.

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lexingmouse3
2009-06-19 04:47 pm UTC (link)

I agree cat intelligence is vastly overrated. Birds (crows, ravens, magpies) are smarter than cats, let alone dogs, who can manage language understanding equal to bonobos.

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2004/06/63792

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14552-mirror-test-shows-magpies-arent-so-birdbrained.html

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1209_041209_crows_apes.html

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sisterelwood
2009-06-19 09:22 pm UTC (link)

My, my isn't that fascinating! However, none of the links you provided mention anything about cats unless you're talking about the letters C-A-T being part of other words in the article and I hardly think 'educator' is a type of cat. Also? I've known dogs as stupid as a sack of hammers and birds regularly fly into the windows at my apartment complex. Not all birds, dogs, cats- whatever- are created equal.

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	isaiddietpepsi 2009-06-29 12:02 am UTC (link)
	I don't know anything about cat intelligence, but it is vastly amusing to see so many cat owners getting so defensive at the idea that their furkids aren't as smart as they'd like to assume. Your cat's refusal to listen to you may indeed by a sign of independence that shows that they are smarter than dogs. Or...your cat could just be an idiot. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	tiki 2009-06-29 05:45 pm UTC (link)
	You just don't understand! My little Fluffy Munchkins is a MENSA GENIUS!!!!!!!! THOSE STUDIES PROVE NOTHING!!!! What do you mean I'm projecting my own sense of self-worth and intelligence onto my pets?!? etc. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	kelmendi 2009-07-11 10:47 pm UTC (link)
	No shit. Of course birds are smart. They've been publishing studies about the brilliance of parrots and covidae in particular for decades. At this point the fact that lots of people don't know this doesn't mean cat intelligence is overrated. It means human intelligence is. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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