Who's smarter, cats or dogs? | Pet Project

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — It's the age-old question: Who's smarter, cats or dogs? PSPCA Animal Advocate Carol Erickson says it's a tough question to answer. Especially because many cats are often unwilling to participate in research.

"Many cats are not sociable enough to even allow testing, which may show some of their own intelligence," Erickson says.

In a recent study of dogs' and cats' social intelligence, Erickson explains that both were placed in front of two bowls. A researcher would then point at one of the bowls to try to encourage the animal to eat out of one and not the other.

Erickson says most cats didn't even want to be in the lab to do the test, and many hid from or bit researchers before any results could be taken. Erickson says this is just who cats are.

"That's really who cats are. From the time they were out there, they were independent, and they stayed that way. And dogs, they love us," she says.

Most dogs, on the other hand, easily understood the social cues from the researchers and ate from the bowls they were pointing at.

You can watch this week's full Pet Project interview with Erickson in the video player above. Stay tuned until the end to meet some animals available for adoption at the PSPCA.

If you're interested in learning more about these adoptable animals, contact the PSPCA at adoptions@pspca.org or call 215-426-6300.

CBS News Philadelphia intern Olivia Dunne contributed to this story.