Cats and dogs are both popular domestic pets, but they behave very differently when it comes to responding to human commands. Dogs are well known for being obedient and responsive to training, readily learning commands like “sit,” “stay,” and “come.” Cats, on the other hand, are much more independent and less likely to obediently follow directions. This article will explore the reasons behind this difference, looking at the differing histories and natures of cats and dogs that make the latter more compliant to human instruction.
Domestication History
Dogs and cats have very different domestication histories. Dogs were the first domesticated animals, initially domesticated from wolves approximately 15,000 years ago (source 1). Early humans domesticated dogs for practical purposes like hunting, herding, and guarding. This required active selection and breeding of dogs that were friendlier and less aggressive. In contrast, cats were not actively domesticated by humans. Cats were drawn to early human settlements in the Fertile Crescent around 10,000 years ago, likely attracted by rodents eating stored grains. Over time, the cats that were less aggressive and avoided interbreeding with wild cats self-domesticated as they adapted to living near humans. Unlike dogs that were bred for working roles, cats domesticated themselves merely for survival (source 3). This key difference of purposeful domestication versus self-domestication is why dogs retain stronger pack mentalities and are more responsive to human training, while cats are more independent.
Breed Differences
One key difference between dogs and cats when it comes to obedience training is that dog breeds can vary widely in their trainability and willingness to follow commands. Certain dog breeds like Border Collies, Poodles, and German Shepherds have been selectively bred for intelligence, trainability and working roles for humans. This makes them generally more responsive to human direction and eager to please compared to breeds that have not been bred specifically for those traits.
Studies have shown significant differences between dog breeds in success rates for obedience tests. For example, one study found over 80% of Border Collies passed the AKC’s Canine Good Citizen test, while less than 40% of Basenjis passed (How Does Your Dog’s Breed Affect Dog Training?). While individual differences always exist, some dog breeds have simply been bred to be more attentive and responsive to human commands.
In contrast, domestic cats have not undergone the same degree of specialized breeding for particular behavioral traits. Most cat breeds were selected for physical characteristics like coat color and pattern rather than temperament. While there are some notable differences between cat breeds, such as Siamese being more vocal, there is much less variance compared to dogs. This means a cat’s breed generally does not determine trainability or willingness to obey commands.
Pack Mentality
Dogs are pack animals by nature and have evolved to live in social groups and follow a pack hierarchy. This pack mentality means dogs are attentive to the commands and body language of their owners, who become like the “alpha” in a dog’s mind. Dogs aim to please their pack leader and obey commands. [Source]
Cats, on the other hand, are more solitary and independent. Unlike dogs, cats do not have an inherent pack mentality or social structure. While cats can form social bonds with their owners, they do not follow social hierarchies in the same way as dogs. Cats have not evolved to take commands from an “alpha” cat or human. They are self-reliant animals that may choose to cooperate when it benefits them, but generally don’t obey orders. Their wild ancestors lived solitary lives and did not hunt in packs like wolves. This difference in social structure and evolutionary history helps explain why cats are less trainable than dogs. [Source]
Training Differences
Dogs are generally easier to train than cats due to key differences in how they learn and respond to training methods. Dogs are pack animals with an innate desire to please their owners, making them highly responsive to positive reinforcement like treats and praise during training sessions. Dogs can also better tolerate repetitive training and instruction. According to Animal Behavior College, dogs may require over a hundred repetitions to learn a new behavior or command. Their willingness to repeat actions through conditioning allows for successful training over time.
Cats have more independent natures and are not as motivated by praise or treats during training. They tend to get bored quickly with repetitive actions. As solitary hunters, cats do not have the same pack mentality or need to please an “alpha” as dogs do. As stated by PerroMart, cats respond better to training based on positive reinforcement, with rewards like treats immediately following the desired behavior. Cats may only need a behavior reinforced 10-15 times to learn it. Training sessions with cats should be short, positive and leverage their natural food drive and intelligence.
Brain Structure
There are some key differences between the brain structure of cats and dogs that influence obedience and trainability. Dogs have a larger cerebral cortex and more cortical neurons than cats, which allows for more complex thinking and problem solving skills[1]. The canine brain regions associated with obedience and communication, like the temporal cortex, are more developed compared to cats[2]. Dogs also have over twice the number of neurons in the cerebral cortex as cats do[3]. This gives dogs an advantage when it comes to learning commands, social bonding, and responding to human communication cues.
Additionally, a larger percentage of a dog’s brain is devoted to analyzing smells compared to a cat’s. This allows dogs to interpret human cues like pointing more readily[1]. Cats have an excellent sense of smell, but more of their brain power is dedicated to spatial awareness for hunting rather than social bonding or obedience like dogs[2].
In summary, the canine brain structure related to social intelligence, communication, obedience, and memory gives dogs an advantage when it comes to learning and following commands compared to cats.
Communication Styles
Dogs and cats have very different communication styles when interacting with humans. Dogs are known to be able to understand hundreds of words and commands, while cats generally only understand their own name and simple phrases. This is largely due to differences in how the two species communicate and socialize.
Dogs are pack animals, so they are used to closely communicating with other members of their pack. They utilize body language, barks, and whines to convey a wide range of information to other dogs. With humans, dogs have learned to understand many of our words and commands. They pay close attention to human body language and tone of voice as well. When interacting with people, dogs tend to make eye contact, respond to gestures and pointing, and follow commands. This allows humans to train dogs to follow complex instructions.
Cats, on the other hand, are more solitary creatures in the wild. As a result, they use more subtle body language cues and rely less on vocalizations to communicate with other cats. With humans, cats are similarly more independent. They tend to not make consistent eye contact with people or follow pointing or gestures. Cats mainly understand their names, common commands like “come” or “no”, and tone of voice. While cats can be trained, they typically only learn simple commands, and do not respond as readily to human language as dogs do.
In summary, dogs have adapted their pack-animal communication abilities to better understand human cues and commands. Cats rely more on body language and have not evolved to comprehend human language to the extent dogs have.
Treat Motivation
One of the biggest differences in training cats versus dogs is their motivation for treats. Dogs are generally extremely food-motivated and will readily perform behaviors in exchange for treats or food rewards. Cats, on the other hand, are more selective about treats and food does not motivate them to the same degree as dogs. As obligate carnivores, cats have not evolved to please people for food rewards like dogs have.
According to Cat Training Tricks: Is Cat Training Like Dog Training?, cats may ignore treats, especially if not hungry, and are more motivated by other rewards like play, petting, and praise. Food is often lower on their hierarchy of needs. This makes using treats and food motivation more challenging when training cats. Dogs will repetitively perform behaviors for treats while cats lose interest more quickly. Understanding cats’ different food drive and motivations is key to effective training methods.
Instincts
Cats and dogs have fundamentally different instincts that impact their trainability. As hunters, cats are driven by strong predatory instincts to stalk, chase, and pounce on prey (Source 1). They are more independent and retain more of their natural hunting behaviors compared to dogs (Source 2). In contrast, dogs have been selectively bred for herding behaviors to gather, control, and protect packs. This means they are more attentive to human cues andcommands as part of their pack mentality (Source 3). A cat’s drive to hunt small prey does not lend itself well to human obedience training, while a dog’s herding instinct establishes them as loyal followers of the “pack leader.” This key difference in predator versus herder instincts contributes greatly to cats beingless trainable than dogs.
Conclusion
In summary, cats are less obedient than dogs for a variety of reasons related to differences in domestication history, breed tendencies, pack mentality, training approaches, brain structure, communication styles, treat motivation, and instincts. While dogs have been selectively bred for thousands of years to work cooperatively with humans, cats largely domesticated themselves and have maintained more independent traits. Dogs often have strong desires to please their owners and follow commands as part of their pack mentality, whereas cats are more solitary hunters. Dogs can be trained through positive reinforcement with treats and repetition, but cats require different techniques focused on clicker training and consistent motivation. Differences in brain structure and neurons also lead dogs to be more responsive to human direction. Cats communicate and interpret human gestures differently than dogs, relying more on visual cues. Treats are often less motivating for cats than dogs in training. And the predatory instincts of cats make them less inclined toward obedience behaviors. Considering all these factors provides insight into why commands come more naturally to dogs than cats.