Is there a "Dunbar number "for cats and dogs ?

"Dunbar's number is a suggested cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships—relationships in which an individual knows who each person is and how each person relates to every other person. This number was first proposed in the 1990s by British anthropologist Robin Dunbar, who found a correlation between primate brain size and average social group size. By using the average human brain size and extrapolating from the results of primates, he proposed that humans can comfortably maintain 150 stable relationships" (Source: Wikipedia)

Apparently, in the hunter-gatherer days, this used to be the average size of the tribes. While we may or may not find this concept acceptable, it's very interesting to see how we are exposed to a much larger number on social media every day. It makes me wonder if this number would be lower in today's context. Given the overexposure, are we able to maintain stable social relationships with 150 people? To be honest, I feel my threshold is 5 😂.

This got me thinking about our four-legged family members. There is no science behind my theory, more like loud thinking. This is more to get a conversation going than prove a point.

Even large dogs are supposed to have brains that are 20% smaller than wolves. According to https://www.californiawolfcenter.org, "Wolf pack size can range from 2 to 36 wolves, with the average pack size consisting of 6 wolves." So ideally, 4.8 is the number of dogs they can maintain stable relationships with. But given that a lot of us live in areas with a high density of dogs, their exposure to their kind is also far higher. This would explain why some dogs are high-strung while they are exposed to a lot of dogs during their walk time. I have known of dogs that do well with one-on-one interaction, but are on the edge if even one additional dog is around. And I have communicated with dogs that expressed their desire to be walked outside the community they live in.

African and European wild cats and the Chinese desert cats are the closest relatives to domestic cats. https://wildcatconservation.org on African Wild Cats - "This is a solitary species but can form temporary large groups comprised of a female with her offspring from several consecutive litters." So in a way, it's much harder for cats, indoors or outdoors, while living with multiple cats.

I certainly understand domestication over centuries changes things. But I guess some of them are still wired to be this way. Hence, it wouldn't hurt to show some empathy when they can't be as social as we would like them to be. Also, numbers and statistics aside, there is individuality, and that's what makes us and also our pets unique. We have had the honor of sharing space with three dogs of the same breed, and all three are totally different in their social needs.