Unit 85
　　How Smart Is Your Pet?
　　Can the animal plan and understand a sequence of events that will lead to a specific outcome? Can animal think of things that are not in the here and now? If so, then it is proper to attribute intelligence to animals. The debate over the intelligence of dogs, cats and other animals may be as old as human attachment to the lower species. Some say you can't compare human intelligence and thought to other species. But others argue that you can, if you remember that each species has adapted to its environment and developed problem-solving skills.
　　Alan Beck, an expert on human-animal bonding, believes that it's egocentric to think only in terms of human intelligence. Humans now have e-mail, but other animals long have had "pee-mail". Marking territory with urine is another way of sending messages. Dr. Milani, an author of Catsmart, says humans have an opposable thumb and a larger brain, but it's pure prejudice to deny that other animals think. Rena Durr, a psychology professor, believes that animal intelligence is essentially a problem-solving issue. Octopuses were added to the list of animals that require ethical treatment in labs after one was seen reaching out of his tank and pulling a string to switch off a light bulb above. He preferred the dark, like the bottom of the ocean.
　　But Durr also suggested that people tend to overestimate the intelligence of their pets in the same way they tend to overestimate the intelligence of their kids. Anyone who has ever owned a cat will know that there is no limit to the cat's charm. Cats are evolving into supercats that are better able to handle humans. Cats have learned what buttons to press to please their owner after 5,000 years of living with us. Apparently, it is all down to the miaows they choose to get what they want. Many cats seem to have a set of miaows they use for different situations. For example, a cat might choose a particular noise to signal it wants to be let out and a different one to demand to be fed.
　　But when you compare cats, there is nothing in common between these miaows. This suggests that each cat learns how to get its owner's attention, something that is nothing to do with genetics. That is to say, cats learn to miaow in was that manipulate their owners but it's got nothing to do with evolution at all -- it's a learned response. Each cat tends in its own lifetime to learn the noises that interest its owner.
　　Cats and dogs learn from experiences. The one thing they cannot do is to take several thoughts and put them together in order to produce a third thought. This is actually a blessing since it means that animals don't get stuck into jealousy or hatred. The ability to judge is a human trait (some say it is a human curse). So, our pets truly experience and give unconditional love.