It’s commonly associated with dogs…but cats play fetch too, according to a study. Researchers have discovered four in 10 cats also enjoy retrieving toys and objects for their owner, with breeds that have links to the Far East most likely to want to play.
An online survey of more than 8,000 cat owners revealed that 41 percent reported their cat would sometimes, frequently or always retrieve items that they threw – significantly higher than previous estimates.
Scientists found that cats are more likely to display fetching behaviour if they are generally more active and playful, and if they live indoors.
Although cats of all breeds sometimes engage in fetching, it is more common in Burmese, Siamese and Tonkinese cats, they discovered.
These breeds originated from cats that were taken to the Far East early during cat domestication, making them genetically distinct from other cat breeds.
Meanwhile, of nearly 74,000 dog owners surveyed, 78 percent said their pooch would sometimes, frequently or always attempt to fetch sticks, balls or other objects.
They found the dogs that fetch tend to also have a higher overall trainability score.
Fetching was reported for most dog breeds, but some including labradors, golden retrievers, border collies and English cocker spaniels were more likely to engage in the behaviour.
Overall, dog breeds that were developed to herd livestock or as hunting companions are more likely to fetch than other breeds, they found.
The survey also showed that in both cats and dogs, fetching behaviour was less common in females, older animals and individuals with health conditions.
The researchers, from Purdue University in America, said: ‘Although cats and dogs are very different in many aspects of their behaviour and in how they ended up being companion animals, we find it fascinating that so many of them share this very interesting behaviour – fetching!
‘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.’
Although fetching shows many similarities to natural hunting behaviour, the results suggest that it is more closely related to play than predation, the authors said.
The domestication process selected for many juvenile behaviour to be retained into adulthood, and this might also have been the case for playful fetching behaviour that would have helped wild animals learn how to hunt.
– Daily mail.uk
