Lending a Paw

Now, I know everyone's got an opinion on which pets are the best. You've got your cat people, your dog people, your bird people, and let us not forget the equestrians. But considering the majority of folks have either cat(s) or dog(s) or both, comparisons usually end up being made between man's best friend, who humans actively domesticated, and the mice hunters, who more or less domesticated themselves. How the domestication process came about is interesting in its own right, but those differences have led to some interesting tendencies in the behavior of these animals.

Now, dogs have gained the title of Man's Best Friend, for various reasons, beginning with assisting hunters and then growing out into a variety of jobs from herding to protection. Modern day, they are primarily pets, but many still work, from the old jobs of guarding the yard to more modern ones such as serving a disabled human. Dogs, provided the training and guidance, will do almost anything to help their person.

That is not to say that other animals won't go to the same lengths if able—there are plenty of stories proving that horses will stay with a fallen rider, even in the middle of a battle despite the fact they can and will spook at their own shadow, and that some birds are willing to take a bullet if it means delivering a message. But dogs are unique in that many have gained fame for the wide range of heroic tasks they have undertaken. Sergeant Stubby, a Boston Terrier crossbreed, is only one of many examples from the Modern Era. Stubby earned a gold star and two purple hearts during his eighteen month stint in the U.S. Army during WWI, and many dogs today follow in his, as well as many other heroic canines, paw prints.

But if you try to search for information about recognized feline heroes, well, your results will be limited to exactly one. Cats who went to war served mostly the same purpose any working cat does: Hunting mice. Able Seacat Simon, the only cat to have received the Dickin Medal (to put it in perspective, if Simon were human, he would have received the Victoria Cross), served on the HMS Amethyst as a mouser. However, while cats have always been common on ships and other areas due to their pest control habits, unlike Stubby, Simon is singular in his achievement. Which brings up the question, why is that?

Well, as I alluded to earlier, it may relate to how these two very different creatures became part of humanity's extended family. But that's just a guess on my end; after all, I'm not a scientist.

But that doesn't mean I'm the only one asking.

Research on Helping Behavior

Researchers from Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary decided to see how likely cats and dogs were to help people. They selected groups of untrained animals and what I can only assume was the control group in which assistance would be expected. The stated control group were toddlers who, at the age of two, were the perfect unwitting subjects.

The experiments were done at the subject's home. The tests consisted of a scientist hiding an object before the owner or parent would come into the room searching for the item while loudly expressing their inability to find it. Sometimes it was something random, a dish scrubber for instance, and other times it was a treat or a toy that was favored by the subject who had observed the scientist's actions.

Interestingly, for both the children and the dogs, the type of object didn't matter. 75% of the time, they either helped point out the location of the hidden item or retrieved it themselves for their caregiver. Both the toddlers and the dogs just seemed to have the instinct to help regardless of whether or not treats were involved. Cats on the other hand?

They'd assist if there was a treat or toy involved, but of those only 40% looked or approached the hidden object. That leaves two options for the favored feline companion: They didn't understand the problem or they understood and didn't care enough to take action. That boils down to cats are either clueless or selfish. Personally, I'd consider the latter option most likely as the dogs were able to match both the toddler's intelligence and observational skills, and I'd expect the cat to be capable of similar feats. Regardless, that still leaves us with the question of why are dogs so eager to help while cats are not?

Why so Different?

Perhaps this has to do with where they came from prior to domestication. Dogs began as wolves, and wolves are social creatures that hunt in packs and have to cooperate with one another to survive. When humans started the domestication process, we likely ended up enhancing much of the social intelligence that wolves had started with. Perhaps that's how we've ended up with dogs like Sargent Stubby, who actively searched for wounded soldiers stranded between trenches and would alert his division of a coming gas attack. He wasn't trained for either of these tasks, he just relied on his instincts and acted of his own free will.

Cats, however, are mostly solitary animals with only a few notable exceptions in the wild such as lions. They stuck around humans because of the hunting grounds human inhabitation provided them, and from there slowly became domesticated. Able Seacat Simon was an excellent mouser and a pillar of moral support, though in this duty of morale upkeep he was joined by the canine Peggy (all animals have the general duty of seeing to morale). The Seacat's heroic actions involved performing his mousing duties despite not being able bodied, having received shrapnel wounds to the face during the Yangtze Incident. His near week spent recuperating had seen to rats infesting the food and living quarters of the ship, and the feline's efforts in eliminating the invading force earned him his rank. Like Sargent Stubby, Able Seacat Simon's actions were instinct driven as a natural hunter looking for a meal, and in acting on those instincts, he prevented the ship from becoming a living hell.

Both these animals went above and beyond the call of duty in their own ways which played to their personal strengths. That said, even in these two cases I think the experiment likely stands: Dogs don't often need extra encouragement to help, but cats probably will.

But that doesn't mean they won't be any less helpful if given the proper motive and that they won't miss you if you're gone.

If you'd like to learn more about the test done in Hungary, click here. If you want to learn more about Sargent Stubby or Able Seacat Simon, then feel free to check out the links attached to their names. Otherwise, I hope you have a good week and remember, if you lose something, ask your local dog for assistance and let the cat nap.

Best,

Dr. K's Blonde Daughter