Meow, Bow-WOW! An animal intelligence test

	Project title: Meow, Bow-WOW! An animal intelligence test
Difficulty level:	Middle school
Main link:	None

Hypothesis:

Based on my observations as a pet owner I believe that the cat will obtain the treat from the food container faster than the dog. Cats are able to figure out how to get toys from places where they have been hidden. They can be curious and persistent when faced with a challenge. Dogs are more easily distracted. When they are faced with a challenge, such as a ball that has tolled beneath the sofa, they rely on their caretakers help to get it or they will switch activities.

Materials:

• Subjects:
1. cats
2. dogs
• Food storage containers with a hole drilled in the bottom and side:
1. small for cats and small dogs (1/2 cup size)
2. large for medium and large sized dogs (1 pint size)
• Assorted kinds of cat and dog food and treats
• Clip board
• Pens/pencils
• Stopwatch
• Data collection sheets
• Camera

The Procedure:

I will begin by letting the animal get to know me and feel comfortable in the surroundings where he or she will be tested. I will pet and play with the animal and let him or her explore the environment for up to five minutes before beginning the experiment.

1. Let the animal see, smell and taste a morsel of the food. If the animal does not show interest in the food presented I will try another kind until the animal seems interested in one.
2. Allow the animal to watch me put the food into the container. Place eight pieces of food in the container and seal it.
3. Place the container on the floor, right side up, in front of the animal
4. Time and observe the animals’ behavior while it attempts to obtain the food. Record how long it takes for the animal to get a piece out.
5. Repeat the procedure (steps 1-4) 2 more times.
6. Record the information on the data collection sheet.

Results:

An analysis of the data from this experiment reveals the following:
•Shelter cats were less likely to participate in testing than shelter dogs.
•Shelter dogs were less likely to complete three trials than dogs in their home.
•Cats and dogs that were able to problem solve how to obtain the food independently, without demonstration, were animals that interacted with the tester in a friendly, playful manner.
•The median age for animals that successfully completed the task was 1year 3 months. The median age for animals that were not successful in obtaining a treat from the container was 2 years 1 month.
•Labrador retrievers tested at home and at SICSA were more persistent than other breeds of dogs tested.
•Dogs, as a group, were faster than cats in obtaining the treat from the container. Of the dogs, females were faster than males.
•The best trial time of all female dogs was 4 seconds or under.
•The best trial time of all male dogs was 16 seconds or under.
•The best trial time of all male cats was 30 seconds or under.
•The best trial time of all female cats was 5 seconds or under.
•Female dogs were more independent than male dogs. 75% of the females obtained the food without a demonstration compared to 33% of the males.
•Male and female cats had the same independence level. 33% were independent in obtaining the treat. 67% were successful following a demonstration.
•Male dogs and male and female cats had the same independence level.
•50% of all animals that completed three trials showed improvement in their times with each trial.

In conclusion my experiment demonstrated that when testing animals for intelligence consideration must be given to environmental factors. Testing conditions including location, distractions, hunger level, motivation and people in the environment may have affected the results. My hypothesis was incorrect based on the small number of cats tested. Cats did not problem solver faster than dogs. Many of the cat subjects were unwilling to attempt the task. Successful problem solving appears to be associated with an animals’ personality (friendly, not timid), age (young), species (dogs), breed (Labradors), and gender (female).

If I had the chance to do my experiment over again I would do several things differently:
1. I would not attempt to test cats at a shelter. I learned that when put in an unfamiliar environment (the testing room) with strange people cats are too wary to participate in a problem solving task. Some were emotionally starved and only wanted human contact. They rubbed on my legs and tried to climb into my lap for attention. The kittens wanted to play, and the older cats were more interested in cautiously exploring the room or looking out of the window. One cat hid under a sofa and would not come out at all.
2. I would ask the shelter staff not to feed the cats before I came. The cats would eat the treats if given to them, but they were not willing to work for it. Food is not a strong motivator for a cat that has recently eaten.
3. I would use a completely empty room so as to minimize distractions. Even though I removed the toys from view there was still furniture that the animals could climb on and the scents from many animals.
4. When I tested animals in their homes some animals were afraid of me and responded better when their owner presented the food container. Other animals sat and waited for their owner to give them the treats. For those animals I would ask the owner to leave the room once the pet was comfortable being with me.
5. I would have tested more animals if I had had more time. Earlier in my project I lost time designing and building a device that would release food when I button was pressed. Although the device worked well, the animals did not understand what they needed to do to obtain the treat. Pushing a button isn’t a natural behavior for cats or dogs. The low-tech device that I used in the end was more successful