New Research Finds Cats Love to Play a Popular Game Usually Reserved for Dogs

According to new research, there's a popular game dog parents play with their pups that cats really love to play, too.

On September 5, 2024, new research was published that says playing fetch isn't just for the dogs. Here's what we know.

Research from Purdue University's College of Veterinary Medicine in West Lafayette, Indiana, has found that playing fetch isn't just a dog's game.

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“Although cats and dogs are very different in many aspects of their behavior and in how they ended up being companion animals, we find it fascinating that so many of them share this very interesting behavior - fetching!," research team lead Mikel Delgado said, according to U.S. News .

The research was published in PLOS ONE on September 4, 2024, which found that cats really like to play fetch, too. Specifically, "fetching was reported in 40.9% of cats and 77.8% of dogs."

The team analyzed surveys sent to 74,000 dog parents and 8,000 cat parents between 2015 and 2023 to find this out. The research team found that 78% of dog owners said their dog would "sometimes, frequently or always attempt to fetch sticks, balls or other objects."

The dog breeds that seemed to really enjoy playing fets were breeds "often bred to keep track of moving objects, such as herds of sheep." This includes Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Collies, and English Cocker Spaniels.

As for the cats, the research team was surprised that 41% of cat parents responded by saying their cats play fetch, too. That percentage was higher than prior estimates for cats who love the game.

"Indoor cats were more prone to fetching than outdoor cats, and friskier, more active cats tended to like a game of fetch most," U.S. News reported. "Cat breeds where fetch behavior was common included Burmese, Siamese, and Tonkinese cats, the survey showed."

Cats and Dogs Play Fetch, but They Play a Little Differently

This new research builds on a previous 2023 study in which British researchers found some key characteristics in cats who love to play fetch.

In their research, they surveyed 924 cat parents who said their cats would play fetch with various objects, including balls of paper, bottle caps, pens, pet toys, and shoes.

"Perhaps most intriguing was the fact that the cats generally were not trained to fetch – they offered the behavior spontaneously," Science Alert explained. "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."

This differs from dogs that play fetch, which the researchers say was more "correlated with overall trainability."

So, if you have a cat who loves to play fetch, it's a great way to keep them engaged and happy. The newest study did note that female cats tend to play fetch less than male cats, and "behavior declined as animals aged or became ill," so it's good to pay attention to that as well.