Fetch, kitty! New research shows that cats are more eager to retrieve than you might think

Mikel Delgado, a senior research scientist in Purdue University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, has had pet cats most of her life. So she was excited when her new kitties began doing something her previous cats had never done: playing fetch. The three cats, sisters adopted from an animal shelter, would all bring her toy mice to throw, then dash off to retrieve them.

“It was an interesting surprise,” said Delgado. “It’s very cute.”

It got her thinking: Was fetching really such an unusual behavior for cats? So Delgado delved into the research with her Purdue colleagues Judith Stella, senior research scientist, and Candace Croney, professor and director of the Center for Animal Welfare Science, along with James Serpell from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine. Using data previously gathered by Serpell, they looked at how frequently cat fetching was reported by pet owners and tried to determine what characteristics made cats more or less likely to fetch.

Their analysis showed that more than 41% of cats do fetch, as compared to about 78% of dogs. For both cats and dogs, fetching was more likely among younger males. Having poor health and living with dogs made fetching less likely for both cats and dogs.

The survey data included 8,224 cat owners and 73,724 dog owners.

Some of the findings were expected. It’s well known that certain dog breeds are more likely to fetch, especially those bred for retrieving or herding tasks — golden retrievers, Labrador retrievers, German shepherds, etc. — and the team’s analysis confirmed this. These dogs are used to working with humans and enjoy the back-and-forth interactions. Breeds that show low trainability — Great Pyrenees, Chihuahuas and greyhounds, for example — are less likely to fetch.

As previous studies have hinted, cat breed also affected fetching. Breeds originating in the Far East, such as Burmese, Siamese and Tonkinese, fetch more often than domestic longhairs, for example.

“That’s much harder to explain,” Delgado said. Dogs have been bred to help humans in various ways, but cats have been bred mostly for appearance and companionship.

“Some say cats have weaseled their way into our hearts without having to do much, and we haven’t changed them much,” she said. “We don’t ask cats to fetch our slippers or guard sheep or protect our homes.”

One hypothesis is that cats who fetch are more likely to be sociable, which could account for breed differences. “Siamese cats are highly interested in people,” Delgado said.

Indoor cats are much more likely to fetch than outdoor cats. It’s possible that this is because indoor cats have fewer opportunities for hunting, and playing fetch scratches the same itch, Delgado said.