Many people have seen dogs fetch, but cats like to get into the game too. Despite their very different hunting and play styles, fetching appears to combine elements of predatory and social behavior for both species.
Although their domestication histories and natural behaviors are very different, cats and dogs share many similarities. Both species are predators, live closely with humans and are capable of enjoying rich social experiences with us.
In our newly published study, we found that more than 40% of cats described in our survey data played fetch, compared with almost 80% of dogs. We also outlined several possible reasons for fetching, including play, selection during domestication, and learning effects.
Fetching reinforces the bonds that dogs and cats form with humans.
Scant research
Our research group sat up and took note when British researchers published a study in 2023 that explored some key characteristics of fetching in cats. The scientists surveyed 924 owners of cats that fetched, and they found that the cats would retrieve a wide variety of objects, from pet toys and balls of paper to pens, bottle caps and even shoes.
Perhaps most intriguing was the fact that the cats generally were not trained to fetch – they offered the behavior spontaneously. Cats also preferred to be the one to start the fetch game and were more likely to play when they brought a toy to their human, rather than the human tossing a toy.
Prior to this study, fetching behavior in cats hadn’t received much scientific attention. But because this review surveyed only owners of cats that fetched, there was no way to compare those animals with cats that didn’t. We wondered whether there was something about the cats themselves that made some more likely to fetch than others.
And what about dogs? Fetching is one of the most common forms of play between dogs and humans. Many dogs have been bred and selected specifically for assisting human hunts by retrieving prey. We expected to find abundant research about fetching behavior in dogs, but we learned that it was rarely addressed in dog behavior studies.
Fluffy, get the ball!
To help fill this gap, our group teamed with University of Pennsylvania researcher James Serpell, who developed two survey-based tools to assess dog and cat behavior. The surveys include basic questions about each animal’s breed, age and living environment, followed by dozens of questions about their behavior, including traits such as predatory behavior, sociability with humans, activity level and fearfulness. Both surveys also included questions about fetching.
Using these survey results, we analyzed data from thousands of cat and dog owners to explore just how common fetching is and what characteristics of a cat or dog and their environment are likely to predict fetching.
We found that fetching was much more common in cats than we anticipated….
