Miaow! It turns out that dogs might not be smarter than cats after all

Good news, cat lovers – it seems that dogs might not be superior in the brain stakes after all.

A new study by Japanese scientists has revealed that cats are just as good as dogs at certain memory tests, which means that they could be just as smart.

The findings came after a research team tested 49 cats on their ability to remember which bowl they had eaten from and which remained untouched after a 15-minute period.

The majority of cats were able to remember the bowls and their locations, suggesting they have episodic memories.

It’s hoped that the information will allow scientists to gauge a deeper understanding of cats and their relationship with humans.

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Researcher Saho Takagi said: ‘Understanding cats more deeply helps to establish better cat-human relationships.

‘Cats may be as intelligent as dogs, as opposed to the common view of people that dogs are much smarter.’

She added to BBC News: ‘Episodic memory is viewed as being related to introspective function of the mind; our study may imply a type of consciousness in cats.

‘An interesting speculation is that they may enjoy actively recalling memories of their experience like humans.’

In short, it means that cats aren’t so different from dogs after all – and now we’re left wondering if they can recall all of their nine lives too.

Miaow!