Playing fetch is one of dogs’ favorite activities, and according to new research, cats also enjoy this game.
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However, unlike canines, cats may “manipulate” their owners, refusing to fetch an object unless they decide to do so. In many cases, they will only fetch a very specific-sized object.
Moreover, cats seem hesitant to bring an object back to their owner, sometimes dropping it farther and farther away, so the owner effectively has to fetch it for them. The findings come from a survey of 924 cat owners who reported having cats that play fetch.
In 94% of cases, researchers found that cats were not trained to fetch objects but came up with the idea on their own. The behavior was most commonly observed among purebred pets, although the majority of fetching cats were of mixed breeds.
“Cats seem to like to make fetch more interesting for themselves, and often play only when they feel like it,” explained the study’s co-author, Dr. Elizabeth Renner, from the University of Northumbria in London, published in the journal Scientific Reports.
“They typically only fetch something less than five times, and the pickier cats will only fetch certain objects,” she added. In contrast to dogs, it was found that cats typically do not bring an object back to the owner.
Examples provided by the researchers include dropping the object halfway between where it fell and where it was first thrown or gradually dropping the object farther away from the owner.
