They may have a reputation for being independent and aloof, but scientists have found that playing fetch is a surprisingly common behavior in cats.
A survey of owners found that the vast majority reported that their cat fetched objects, usually without being trained. However, cats tended to set the rules of engagement, often retrieving only specific objects for specific people.
“In general, cats are notoriously difficult to train,” says Emma Forman, a doctoral researcher in the school of psychology at the University of Sussex and first author of the paper. “Cats dictate their own fetch sessions, but it’s a misconception that cats aren’t very social with their owners.”
The study, published in Scientific reports, surveyed 924 owners of 1,154 cats playing fetch to better understand the behavior. For most cats (94%), fetching seemed to be an instinctive behavior, rather than being learned by the owner or learned from another animal. It is said that most of the cats started fetching as kittens or young cats.
Toys were listed as the most popular item to collect, followed by spherical items such as trinkets or crumpled pieces of paper, and then cosmetics. Some cats will only fetch one specific type of item, have a preferred person to play with, or only fetch at certain times of the day for a game.
“The size of the pompom is important,” one owner told the researchers. “I bought a bigger pompom and she rejected it. I also tried small items that are about the same size as the pom pom and she rejected that too.”
Other owners have described being woken up at night by the cat dropping toys on their pillow, ready to play. In the survey, owners were asked to define what their cat’s version of fetch entails. Some cats retrieved objects and returned them to their owner, while others only brought the object back part of the way or gradually dropped it farther and farther away.
Forman said, “The cat stereotype of not really wanting to do what we want to do and doing what they want to do at all times is true.”
Owners reported that cats started and ended games of fetch more often than their owners and tended to play fetch more often and for longer periods of time when they, rather than their owners, initiated games.
“This sense of control from the cat’s perspective can be beneficial to the cat’s welfare and the cat-owner relationship,” added Forman. “I would encourage owners to be receptive to their cat’s needs by responding to their preferences for play – not all cats will want to fetch, but if they do, they are likely to have their own particular way of to do it..”
