Yes, some cats like to play fetch. It’s science!
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Cap'nAwesome
Ars Centurion
Same. Piglet has been gone for nearly 20 years but he was a sweet, loving cat who loved playing fetch with wads of paper his entire life. When he was young I tried to throw a wadded up sandwich wrapper from the couch to the distant trash can in another room. I missed, of course, but the orange streak going after the wad and then returning it to me started a game we played his entire life. Still miss that guy.
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And in case you needed a study to remind you:
"The Murderous Creature You Live With is a Murderous Creature, Study Confirms"
Also, a relevant if gruesome anecdote from The Lounge:
"The Murderous Creature You Live With is a Murderous Creature, Study Confirms"
Also, a relevant if gruesome anecdote from The Lounge:
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IncorrigibleTroll
Ars Tribunus Angusticlavius
I have a longhair who loves those too. If you start whipping them around on the floor first, she gets SUPER amped up for it. Cats also appreciate the buildup of anticipation.
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Oddly enough we participated in this study when my SO had noted on a cats facebook page that our now 3 year old cat loves to play fetch. We have a dog in the house but didn't play fetch inside and the cats behavior was seemingly done on its own. Just like in the study, he'll show up with a toy mouse ready to fetch for 5-20 mins but only if he initiates.
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We had a "matched pair" of rescue cats, two visually identical brothers, half siamese, half British shorthair. One of them loved fetching so much we nicknamed him the Silver Retriever. The other showed no interest whatsoever despite our futile efforts to train him.
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My cat loves playing fetch with crumpled up paper balls. If I initiate, a couple to three fetches. If he does, it goes until he's tired.
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IncorrigibleTroll
Ars Tribunus Angusticlavius
Look, you can make up whatever excuses you want, but there is never any valid reason for leaving the food bowl empty.
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I had a cat that woke me up one night dropping a little foam ball on me while I slept. I kept throwing it, at first unaware of what was going on. Then I woke up enough to realize that the cat was playing fetch and had woke me up to entertain him 
I thought it was a fluke and that he’d only do it that once, but he continued to play fetch frequently until he passed.
When I got my first dogs, I tried to get the dogs to play fetch. I’d throw the ball and the dogs would watch as the cat ran to get the ball and bring it back. The dogs never caught on. They just weren’t interested.
I thought it was a fluke and that he’d only do it that once, but he continued to play fetch frequently until he passed.
When I got my first dogs, I tried to get the dogs to play fetch. I’d throw the ball and the dogs would watch as the cat ran to get the ball and bring it back. The dogs never caught on. They just weren’t interested.
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Our youngest cat loved playing fetch for about the first 18 months we had him (although he does still occasionally like it).
But he preferred to play it with a stick rather than any of the toys about and he had to bring the stick to us first to start the game, he wouldn't play if we tried to start it, and he would only stop if he got bored before us. The amount of times we were woken up in the night by him dragging a stick (often bigger than himself) up the stairs for us to play with.
But he preferred to play it with a stick rather than any of the toys about and he had to bring the stick to us first to start the game, he wouldn't play if we tried to start it, and he would only stop if he got bored before us. The amount of times we were woken up in the night by him dragging a stick (often bigger than himself) up the stairs for us to play with.
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I had a husky that played "fetch" like a typical cat. He'd chase the ball, pick it up, drop it where he found it and come back to you expecting you to throw it again. He would play "Crazy Dog" and run all over the house just by telling him "Go!" A 90lbs husky running like a mad dog in a 1600sf house...
Meanwhile, this is how my newest kitten plays. Her name is Pepper, short for Pepperoni Cat. I found her as a 6-week-old kitten crossing a dark street while delivering an order for Pizza Hut.
Meanwhile, this is how my newest kitten plays. Her name is Pepper, short for Pepperoni Cat. I found her as a 6-week-old kitten crossing a dark street while delivering an order for Pizza Hut.
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Sounds like someone who doesn't like cats.
Dogs can be just as opportunistic, and will eat the flesh off their owners if trapped and need to survive. I would imagine most omnivorous or carnivorous pets would if it comes down to survival.
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Reminds me of the Lovecraft story, "The Cats of Ulster."
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According to Samantha Martin of The Amazing Acro-Cats, you can train moggies using the clicker method.
Fur-ther reading.
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I didn’t know this about cats until years and years ago. When I moved into my first apartment, my new neighbor told me that his cat played fetch, and I was extremely skeptical. Until he called the cat into the room, tore out a piece of paper from a notepad, crumped it into a ball, and started to play fetch with it right before my eyes! I was blown away.
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When I met my wife 30 years ago she had a delightful black cat that loved to play fetch with pushpins, always carrying them with the points sticking out from her mouth. When we attached art to the wall with them, she’d jump up, pull them out and deliver them to us for a game. When we re-hung the art higher, she’d sit and howl at the pins she couldn’t reach (though of course we had others handy to play with).
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We had two fetch cats, which ironically were the two that I couldn't teach to sit on command or other tricks. One would fetch anything, but was incompetent at it (brought stuff back, but maybe or maybe not in arms reach). They other had OCD. Woe unto anyone who played fetch. She would bring it back until you got sick of game, then follow you around with the toy for days (usually about 3), plopping it at your feet or lap. If it went under or behind furniture, she would meow for days until you dug it out.
Her OCD compelled her to keep a consistent schedule, which applied to everyone in the house. She enforced bedtime for the kids with an iron paw. But also demanded we read to them first.
Her OCD compelled her to keep a consistent schedule, which applied to everyone in the house. She enforced bedtime for the kids with an iron paw. But also demanded we read to them first.
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Surprising it took this long to do a study on this, but I feel like anecdotal evidence was enough for something like this. "Fetching" isn't exactly a "there's an invisible dragon in my garage" sort of claim, and frankly I would expect cats to be MORE likely to play fetch than dogs, since "playing fetch" is pretty much how cats teach kittens to hunt.... except instead of throwing an inert ball, they bring a live mouse in for the kittens to fetch.
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My little girl loved to play fetch when she was younger. It was something I discovered by accident. She probably would have played until older if I responded each time she wanted to play. I would use a golf club to chip her mylar scrunchy ball to the other end of our house. She would bring it back so I could hit it again. She lived to be 17 years old but didn't make it past 12/23 last year. She was a rescue from the SCPA when about 6 months old. I miss her every day.
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I had a black Persian and she loved playing fetch with the ping pong size soft foam balls. I throw it down the stairs and she’ll always bring it back up. She’ll do it for probably 30 minutes straight before getting bored. She’d also bring the ball sometimes in her mouth to ask us to play. Funny though after a while sometimes she would scold us with loud meows after a while. Maybe she wanted us to stop and keep the ball upstairs
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My wife taught our cat to shake paws before getting food.
+1 on the anecdotal evidence for one of our cats. A better fetcher than my mom's dog. The other prefers to ambush the first cat as she goes running by.
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It can be done. Even AGT has had a trained cat act. Training a cat is similar to training any animal. You find out what they are motivated by (usually food) and use that to reward preferred behavior. Of course, cats are cats so ... you know.
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No. The toilet I trained him on was one of those efficiency ones with the 2 buttons on the top, not even sure he would have the strength to be able to push them (and they were half-buried under a shelf so he wouldn't be able to get straight on top of them).
I've also heard that teaching them to flush is a good way to increase your water bill, as this lets them figure out a new source of fresh water on demand, so they flush every time they want a drink, or just flush because it is fun to watch the toilet water swirl down.
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I hear that trope from quite a few re "they'll eat you when you're dead". Well, for one thing, if I'm dead, I don't need those eyeballs anyway & what, are they supposed to starve to death as well? lol For the other, I'm pretty confident my cat won't eat me because they done messed up and didn't make me fish flavored.
I think why some people don't like cats is that cats are the only animal we've domesticated (opinions vary re domestication and who did it) that isn't a pack/herd/flock animal. They're social, but they are solitary hunters. Their socialization behaviors and drives are not the same as any other animal we interact closely with. So, some people misread that different behavior in a negative light.
That being said, every. single. damn. cat. I have ever seen had a unique personality and you cannot make broad generalizations about the species, beyond - cats are weird.
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Can confirm. Clicker-training mine made it significantly easier to get him to do multi-step tricks (roll over requires lie down first, then roll). You do get weird looks, though, when you ask the pet store if they have any clickers that aren't shaped like a bone as that design doesn't really suit cats...
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Never had a cat that played fetch, sadly.
Over the years I've developed low-grade "talent" at conditioning animals (and people) just by understanding the basics of behaviorism and trying things out. Ironically I learned this when dealing with insufferable relatives before trying it with animals.
It's a lot easier with dogs, of course, but I'm pleased to say that with great patience I've successfully trained both my roommates' skittish cats that they can hang out on my bed. It took well over a year, especially with the smarter one who is very skeptical about being on any piece of furniture which also contains a human. I think someone rolled on him while asleep when he was a kitten, so it took a great deal of patience to get him to curl up next to me.
One thing that helps a lot with training cats is to put effort into learning not only cat behavior, but the individual cat's preferences and responses. They're not as pliable as dogs, but if they sense that you respect them, they become easier to work with.
Over the years I've developed low-grade "talent" at conditioning animals (and people) just by understanding the basics of behaviorism and trying things out. Ironically I learned this when dealing with insufferable relatives before trying it with animals.
It's a lot easier with dogs, of course, but I'm pleased to say that with great patience I've successfully trained both my roommates' skittish cats that they can hang out on my bed. It took well over a year, especially with the smarter one who is very skeptical about being on any piece of furniture which also contains a human. I think someone rolled on him while asleep when he was a kitten, so it took a great deal of patience to get him to curl up next to me.
One thing that helps a lot with training cats is to put effort into learning not only cat behavior, but the individual cat's preferences and responses. They're not as pliable as dogs, but if they sense that you respect them, they become easier to work with.
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OrangeCream
Ars Legatus Legionis
Try different things to throw?
We've used rubber bands, hair ties, crumpled up paper, toy mice, scrunchies, gatorade rings (milk rings work too), and sparkly feather/tinsel balls.
We found our cat prefers rubber bands and hair times, will chase but not retrieve paper balls, toy mice, or scrunchies, and will sometimes play fetch with rings. He ignores the tinsel balls.
The thing about rings though is that he will chase it, bap at it, pounce on it, and then drag it over to his water dish and drown it, so clearly it triggers a different reaction than the hair ties.
My previous cat would play fetch with paper balls but ignore the other toys, though we hadn't thought to try rubber bands, rings, or hair ties at the time.
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IncorrigibleTroll
Ars Tribunus Angusticlavius
That sounds less like training and more like the cats have learned that you are trustworthy and safe. I guess that could be considered a form of training, but it feels categorically different to me.
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OrangeCream
Ars Legatus Legionis
I've found cats to be far more expressive than dogs, but that requires you be receptive to their message in order to understand and respond.
I have both a dog and a cat, and this is my third cat. My neighbor also had a dog, and my wife had a dog before we got married. Essentially dogs have enough facial muscles that you can almost read their mood by watching their face. Cats don't have that evolutionary quirk (yet) so have to use their voice, their posture, their paws, their mouth, and their body language to get you to listen to them.
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I sometimes suspect that cats have a kind of codex that requires each single cat to do something very individual and not typical, just because. Or love some kind of food that is otherwise totally untypical for cats. They are just prone to such idiosyncrasies.
A cat isn't a typical cat if it hasn't at least one preference that is totally untypical for cats.
A cat isn't a typical cat if it hasn't at least one preference that is totally untypical for cats.
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Yup. The people I've found who dislike cats are all the ones who expect the cats to behave like other animals. The truth is that you have to adjust your behavior to the cats, rather than the other way around. If you do, they can be the most loving & affectionate animals you've ever seen. But trying to force them to behave like other pets just results in an animal that wants nothing to do with you, because you behave more like a predator to them than a companion.
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Out of perhaps a dozen cats over the years, three have been avid fetchers. To the point that we had to “lock up” their favorite retrieval objects in a drawer overnight to prevent getting woken up in the middle of the night. Only one is still with us, but he will wake from an apparently sound sleep and run to the ball safe / junk drawer every time we open it to get anything out — and, of course, we then have to throw the ball for him until he tires of the game.
Also, and I’m surprised no one else has mentioned this, each of the three would refuse to chase a lame throw, and would stare at us until we walked to the ball, picked it up and threw it far enough to be sufficiently challenging.
Also, and I’m surprised no one else has mentioned this, each of the three would refuse to chase a lame throw, and would stare at us until we walked to the ball, picked it up and threw it far enough to be sufficiently challenging.
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From the Science News article linked to that youtube video:
“Ultimately, I think the cats are in control”
Aren't they ever.
“Ultimately, I think the cats are in control”
Aren't they ever.
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There's an X-Files episode where Scully gets a dog because the owner died and the dog ended up eater the owner's face.
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