Most dogs, some breeds more than others, love to chase the ball and bring it back to their owner. This game of “fetch/retrieve” is a great bonding moment with your four-legged friend. However, dogs are not the only ones who can enjoy it.
Cats can play fetch, too. Not only can they learn it, they can do it innately. A new study published in the journal PLOS One has even made a surprising discovery.
In fact, about 40% of cats will bring back a thrown toy at least once in their life. While this may not seem like a lot, it should be remembered that cats are generally quite independent by nature.
Our pet felines like to do things their own way when they want to, like when they fidget in front of a closed door for example.
Cats were not bred for specific behaviors like dogs.
But then, why do cats decide to participate in this game usually reserved for dogs? What drives them to act this way? Dogs love to play and please humans, which fits perfectly with the game of “fetch”.
As study co-author Mikel Delgado, an animal behaviorist at Purdue University in Indiana, explains, “When we domesticated dogs, we selected them for specific behaviors, like retrieving, which probably goes a long way to explaining why retrieving is much more common in dogs.”
This does not explain why cats also retrieve toys, however. They were never bred to help humans with specific tasks. Dog breeds were created for various tasks such as hunting, guarding, herding, etc.
8,000 cat owners questioned about their companion's playing habits
As far as we know, cat breeds were chosen more for their physical appearance than for helping with specific tasks. To solve the mystery of fetching cats, researchers sent a questionnaire to more than 8,000 cat owners.
The results of this questionnaire confirmed that 40.9% of pet cats play fetch, either “sometimes,” “usually,” or “always.” Many felines also engage in similar games.
Nearly 58% of cats carry toys in their mouths, but they don't bring them back completely. Additionally, 39% of cats place a toy at their owner's feet to initiate a play session.
Siamese, Burmese and Tonkinese cats retrieve toys more often
In this study, some breeds stood out more than others. Siamese, Burmese and Tonkinese cats were the most likely to retrieve toys. Other factors may also influence this behavior.
For example, male cats that live exclusively indoors and have no health issues are more likely to retrieve toys. Conversely, cats that live with dogs are less likely to retrieve.
Researchers believe this is likely caused by the dogs' predatory behavior. They may have a habit of chasing cats or they simply don't want to share toys.
The game of “fetch” to practice hunting?
We don't have enough information to know whether cats' playful behavior was influenced by their domestication, but researchers have some theories.
“In both species, retrieving is correlated with measures of activity and energy,” Delgado concludes. It is quite possible that cats develop the habit of retrieving objects in order to train themselves for hunting.
Source: LiveScience
Allan is out in the field, at the heart of the action. Specializing in local reports and in-depth investigations, he has a knack for revealing the stories behind our city’s facades.
