Cats and dogs alike love play – and it’s good for them, too! However, there are certain games and toys we tend to associate with one or the other.
Think of the best cat toys, for example. You might think of feather toys. For dogs, on the other hand, you might consider a classic tennis ball to be one of the best. But there is some – often surprising – crossover.
it turns out that plenty of cats love playing fetch, just like their canine counterparts. You might be more likely to wonder ‘Can cats play fetch?’ altogether than start a game of it with your kitty, but you could be surprised by how much they enjoy it!
A study analyzing data from online surveys of pet parents, published earlier this month, found that almost eight in 10 dogs (78%) enjoy playing fetch. That’s no real shock. However, over four in 10 cats (41%) enjoy it too.
Researchers looked at data from online surveys of pet parents conducted between 2015 and 2023, and of over 80,000 cat parents surveyed, 41% reported that their cats would sometimes, frequently, or always retrieve toys or objects that they threw, a much higher figure than was expected.
They found, too, that cats are more likely to enjoy fetch if they’re more active and playful generally, and if they live indoors. And while cats of all breeds can enjoy fetching, the behavior is most frequently displayed in Burmese, Siamese, and Tonkinese cats. All three breeds originated from cats taken to Southeast Asia during early cat domestication, so they’re genetically distinct from other breeds.
And of dogs, while fetching is common in most dog breeds, among those most likely to enjoy playing fetch are Labrador and golden retrievers, Border Collies, and English Cocker Spaniels, with breeds developed as hunting companions or to herd livestock generally being more likely to enjoy the game. Meanwhile, dogs who play fetch also tend to have a higher overall trainability score.
In both cats and dogs, fetching is less common in female animals, older animals, and those with health conditions.
While fetching has similarities to instinctive hunting behaviors, the authors of the study have said that the results indicate it’s more closely related to play. As part of the domestication process in both animals, juvenile behaviors were chosen to be retained into adulthood, and this could include fetching behaviors based on play that would have helped wild cats and dogs learn how to hunt.
Although cats and dogs are very different in many aspects of their behavior and in how they ended up being companion animals, we find it fascinating that so many of them share this very interesting behavior – fetching!” the authors said. “We hope that our study will encourage further exploration of how fetching is related to play, hunting, and social interactions in both cats and dogs."
Maybe your dog loves fetch, but perhaps you're playing fetch with your dog all wrong – make one simple change for a healthier, happier dog! Meanwhile, here are 32 tricks to teach your cat.
