Bre Avery Zacharski
The game of fetch and dogs go together like peanut butter and jelly. But when it comes to cats, I’m sure you don’t think about them getting into fetch at all.
According to new research, cats also play fetch, just like canines do, and felines engage in fetch much more than you probably thought.
40.9% of cats like to play fetch, says this research, but scientists are still stumped as to why this is.
The authors of the study surmise that dogs were chosen for their retrieving behavior during the domestication process, which makes sense since humans were hunting with projectile-style weapons back then.
They went on to point out that many different dog breeds are able to engage in a game of fetch, but specific breeds have a higher tendency to do so, namely breeds that shine for their retrieving skills, like gun dogs.
It’s harder to argue that fetching cats comes down to specifically selecting them for their retrieving skills.
“In cats, fetching was correlated with play and activity,” the authors wrote. “In dogs, fetching was correlated with overall trainability.”
“In both cats and dogs, being female, older, living with (other) dogs, and having health problems decreased the likelihood of fetching.”
“Breed effects were observed in both species, with fetching more prominent in cat breeds originating in the Far East (e.g., Burmese, Siamese, and Tonkinese) and in dog breeds from the Retriever, UK Rural, Poodle, Pointer and Spaniel clades.”
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