Why cats and dogs both play fetch

Many people have watched dogs play fetch, but cats enjoy joining in too. Although their hunting and play styles differ considerably, fetching seems to bring together predatory and social behaviour in both species.

Cats and dogs have very different histories of domestication and natural behaviours, yet they have much in common. Both are predators, live alongside humans and can enjoy rich social experiences with us.

In our newly published study, we found that more than 40% of the cats described in our survey data played fetch, compared with almost 80% of dogs.

We also identified several possible explanations for fetching, including play, selection during domestication and the effects of learning.

Limited research into cats and dogs playing fetch

Our research group took particular notice when British researchers published a 2023 study examining some of the key features of fetching in cats. The scientists surveyed 924 owners whose cats played fetch. They found that the cats retrieved a wide range of objects, from pet toys and paper balls to pens, bottle tops and even shoes.

Perhaps most intriguing was that the cats had generally not been trained to fetch: they offered the behaviour spontaneously. They also preferred to start the game themselves and were more likely to play when they brought a toy to their human than when the human threw one.

Before that study, scientists had paid little attention to fetching in cats. But because the research surveyed only owners of cats that fetched, it could not compare them with cats that did not. We wondered whether something about the cats themselves made some more likely to fetch than others.

And what about dogs? Fetch is among the most common games dogs and humans play together. Many dogs have been bred and selected specifically to help humans hunt by retrieving prey. We expected to find plenty of research on fetching behaviour in dogs, but discovered that studies of dog behaviour rarely addressed it.

Fluffy, fetch the ball!

To help close this gap, our group joined forces with University of Pennsylvania researcher James Serpell, who developed two survey-based tools for assessing dog and cat behaviour.

The surveys begin with basic questions about each animal’s breed, age and living environment. These are followed by dozens of questions about behaviour, covering traits such as predatory behaviour, sociability with humans, activity level and fearfulness. Both surveys also asked about fetching.

Using the survey results, we analysed data from thousands of cat and dog owners. We wanted to find out how common fetching is and which characteristics of an animal and its environment are likely to predict it.

Fetching turned out to be much more common in cats than we expected. Over 40% of cat owners had a cat that fetched “sometimes, usually, or always”. For comparison, we also produced the first estimate of the prevalence of fetching behaviour in dogs. Almost 78% of the dogs represented in the data were reported to fetch.

Interestingly, males of both species were more likely to fetch. Older age and health problems reduced the likelihood of either cats or dogs being fetchers. For both species, living in a home with a dog also made the animal represented in the survey less likely to fetch.

There were differences between breeds as well, particularly among dogs. Breeds known for responding to human instructions and taking an interest in toys, such as German shepherd dogs, golden retrievers and Labrador retrievers, were among those most likely to fetch. Hounds and livestock guard dogs, by contrast, were among the least likely to do so.

In dogs, fetching was correlated with trainability regardless of breed. This points to the potential importance of the early selection of dogs as human helpers, long before people began developing dog breeds.

There are far fewer cat breeds than dog breeds, and our study included fewer purebred cats than purebred dogs. Even so, we found differences between cat breeds too. Siamese, Tonkinese, Burmese and Bengals were the cats most likely to fetch.

Fetching was also correlated with activity level: cats more inclined to run, jump, engage with new items at home and initiate play with their owners were more likely to fetch.

From hunting to playing catch

Fetching behaviour has its roots in the hunting practices of both species. Cats are known as stalk-and-rush hunters: they approach prey stealthily and pounce when the moment is right. Dogs are thought to be pursuit predators, chasing prey over longer distances.

Breed development has changed the typical sequence of predatory behaviour in dogs, which runs as follows: orient, eye, stalk, chase, grab-bite, kill-bite.

Dog breeds selected for exaggerated or increased “chase and/or grab-bite” behaviour, such as pointers and retrievers, are more likely to fetch and less likely to complete the predatory sequence and “kill-bite”.

Both cats and dogs, however, carry prey away from the site of a kill. This may also partly explain how a behaviour such as fetching could arise.

Cats are often regarded as independent and aloof, but recent studies have found that they can form attachments to humans, pick up human social cues and even recognise their owner’s voice.

We hope our study further encourages people to understand that cats are capable of loving relationships with humans, particularly when these popular pets are well socialised and given a safe, enriched environment. That can include fetching, if your cat is so inclined.

Despite all the differences between dogs and cats, we find it charming that they have converged on a similar behaviour: fetching. The game also highlights the effect of the human-animal relationship. Humans clearly play an important part in fetching behaviour, even if dogs and cats simply see us as the thing that makes a toy move so they can chase it.

Mikel Delgado, Senior Research Scientist, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, and Judith Stella, Senior Research Scientist, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.