A new study shows cats are way smarter than we suspected, and also big ol’ jerks

Listen up, dog people: The proof is in, and cats are every bit as smart as dogs.

Scientists at Kyoto University studied 49 house cats and their ability to recall basic memories.

They learned that cats actually have a good memory. We’ve long known this about dogs, which is why people get to obsess over teaching them tricks. Show-offs.

Turns out cats could probably do tricks, too – if they wanted to. The study showed cats have a memory that rivals that of dogs.

“Episodic memory is viewed as being related to introspective function of the mind; our study may imply a type of consciousness in cats, Saho Takagi, a psychologist involved in the research, told the BBC.

The experiment tested whether cats could remember which bowl they had already eaten out of after a fifteen-minute break. They could.

Because they’re SMART.

In fact, the results showed that the episodic memory of cats is similar to humans.

Like us, cats hold onto memories and can look back and think about past experiences.

We KNEW IT. One HelloGiggles writer (ahem), swears she can SEE her cat reflecting, deeply, philosophically.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPEDIJohL4n

But that also means they might remember all of the humiliating things we do to them.

Maybe that’s why they hate us?

The study also proves something cat owners everywhere also inherently knew: Cats are receptive to our facial gestures and emotions.

They know what we’re feeling. They see it in our faces. We can’t hide anything from them.

So, when they’re totally resistant to your need for cuddles, or straight-up ignore you when you call out their names to get them to stop scratching at the arm chair, they’re not oblivious. They’re just being jerks. Because that’s their prerogative.