Are dogs smarter than cats? Science says yes.

Plot twist: Dogs are smarter than cats.

According to new study by Vanderbilt University, it seems that canines, long-believed by cat people to be less intelligent pets, are actually brainier than felines.

On the other hand, this adds fuel to the fire for dog people, who have long said that dogs are smarter than cats. The fact that there are no service cats or drug-sniffing cats have helped make their case, and now they have science to back them up.

It has to do with the number of nuerons in their brains, particularly in the cerebral cortex, researchers said. These “little gray cells” are associated with thinking, planning and complex behaviors, thus considered hallmarks of intelligence.

And researchers at Vanderbilt found that a dog’s cerebral cortex contains more than twice the neurons of a cat’s brain.

“In this study, we were interested in comparing different species to see how the numbers of neurons in their brains relate to the size of their brains, including a few favorite species including cats and dogs, lions and brown bears,” said Associate Professor of Psychology and Biological Sciences Suzana Herculano-Houzel, who developed the method for measuring the number of neurons in brains.

The study found that dogs have about 530 million cortical neurons while cats only have about 250 million.

The human brain, for comparison, has 16 billion.

“I believe the absolute number of neurons an animal has, especially in the cerebral cortex, determines the richness of their internal mental state and their ability to predict what is about to happen in their environment based on past experience,” Herculano-Houzel explained. “I’m 100 percent a dog person,” she added, “but, with that disclaimer, our findings mean to me that dogs have the biological capability of doing much more complex and flexible things with their lives than cats can. At the least, we now have some biology that people can factor into their discussions about who’s smarter: cats or dogs.”

While this study helps back a dog lover’s side of the argument, history is filled with evidence that dogs are likely more intelligent than cats:

• Dogs have served in the military and in police K9 units.

• Dogs assist people with disabilities and can learn to execute complex tasks.

• Famous dogs such as Lassie, Rin Tin Tin and Air Bud earned awards for performing expert tricks on cue.

But, with that said, cats still have one leg up: They know what a litter box is and how to use it.

This story was originally published November 30, 2017 at 12:25 PM with the headline "Are dogs smarter than cats? Science says yes.."