# Human Digestive System Vs Cat Brain **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 11, 2012, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-digestive-system-vs-cat-brain/627935 "2012-07-11T22:16:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-digestive-system-vs-cat-brain/627935/1 "2012-07-11T22:16:26Z")
Bet you can’t work out what this is about from the thread title. But it involves cats obliquely, so someone is bound to click on it. According to this [interesting article](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18779997), there are about as many neurons in the human digestive system as there are in a cat’s brain, about 100 million. There’s a lot going on down there. We tend to think of the brain being in charge of the body, but really, it’s just at the head of a committee. (Don’t worry cat lovers, this doesn’t actually mean our guts are as smart as a cat. The neurons are organised very differently. There are parallels between the two, both can be very demanding, but your favourite pet is in no danger of being superseded.) ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-digestive-system-vs-cat-brain/627935/2 "2012-07-11T22:24:43Z")
Whew. I thought it was going to be what happens when one eats cat brain. MAD CAT DISEASE!! Much more hip than mad cow disease. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-digestive-system-vs-cat-brain/627935/3 "2012-07-11T22:50:37Z")
[Mad Cat Disease from eating Burger & Fries.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0tiT7KlACM) Warning: Turn down your sound. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-digestive-system-vs-cat-brain/627935/4 "2012-07-11T23:03:20Z")
[Enteric nervous system](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enteric_nervous_system), also sometimes known as teh gut-brain, I believe. Presumably cats have one too, so, for them, like us, it isn’t just what is inside the skull that matters. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-digestive-system-vs-cat-brain/627935/5 "2012-07-11T23:39:47Z")
Yeah, but a cat’s ENS is only as smart as a dog brain. Which is why cats are so smug. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-digestive-system-vs-cat-brain/627935/6 "2012-07-12T13:34:50Z")
Guess this explains my cat’s fondness for puking. ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-digestive-system-vs-cat-brain/627935/7 "2012-07-12T14:28:29Z")
That’s a helluva hair-brained cat you have there **Finagle**. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-digestive-system-vs-cat-brain/627935/8 "2012-07-12T21:35:49Z")
> [@Stephen Colbert](#): > > Do you know you have more nerve endings in your gut than you have in your head? You can look it up. Now, I know some of you are going to say, “I did look it up, and that’s not true.” That’s 'cause you looked it up in a book. Next time, look it up in your gut. It’s just a quote-nothing else