Study - Dog owners need to be strong now - cats can fetch too
When it comes to fetching sticks, most people probably think of a dog run in the park, where Bello eagerly runs after a stick or ball and delivers it to his mistress on command. But cats can also fetch - and without any laborious training. Jemma Forman and her team from the University of Sussex have discovered this. They have published their findings in the journal "Scientific Reports".
However, retrieving is slightly different for cats than for dogs. Cats don't even think about carrying out simple commands from humans. Nor would they allow themselves to be forced to retrieve a ball like a dog. No, as a rule, cats decide for themselves which toys they carry from A to B and which person is allowed to play with them. Some cats also use different objects for different people.
Cats play with their owners and not the other way around
"Our results show that cats dictate this behavior to directly influence how their human owners respond," Jemma Forman, lead author of the study, told Northumbria University. A total of 924 cat owners of 1154 cats were interviewed for the study to better understand retrieving behavior in small felines. Most of the cats had already shown the retrieving behavior as kittens or when they were young. And they have obviously not copied it from dogs - most cats who play fetch do not live with a dog. For 94 percent of cats, fetching seems to be simply their instinctive behavior.
However, not every object is suitable for playing fetch from a cat's point of view. The overwhelming majority of house cats like to carry one of their toys from A to B, followed by spherical objects such as Christmas tree baubles or crumpled up paper and cosmetics. Not only the shape is important for some cats, but also the size. This is how one cat owner described it in the questionnaire: "The size of the pompom is important. I bought her a larger pompom and she rejected it. I also tried other objects of about the same size - but she didn't want them either."
Fetch game: cats want to be in control
Sometimes a game can start unexpectedly for the owner: "When opening a newspaper, the rubber band slipped off and flew down the hallway. Waldo chased it, brought it back and dropped it at my feet. I 'shot' it again, and again he retrieved it." Study author Jemma Forman wants to encourage cat owners to respond to the play preferences of their cat(s). It's just stupid when your own velvet paw develops a real obsession: "I think my cat is obsessed with fetching. He drops toys on my face in the middle of the night. I don't want to encourage this because I value my sleep!"
Depending on the cat, retrieving also looks a little different: Some bring the object back to their owner, others only half the distance and some drop it further and further away from their human. The velvet paws also usually decide when the game starts and when it has to stop. Cat owners also describe in the study that the cats play fetch more often and for longer if they initiate it themselves rather than their humans. "This feeling of control from the cat's perspective can have a positive effect on the cat's well-being and strengthen the relationship between humans and animals," said Jemma Forman. Not every cat enjoys fetching, and those that do do it in their own unique way, the researcher continued.
The seemingly atypical behavior for cats is apparently something they are born with. But a cat that brings its ball to its owner on command is probably still something of a miracle - after all, the cat wants its human to respond to its command.
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In some unique cases, a cat might bring its favorite toy to its owner, demonstrating a commanded fetching behavior. However, this is not the usual case for most felines, who prefer to exert control over the fetch game by deciding when and how to retrieve their toys with a preference for velvet paws bringing the object only halfway or further away from their human.
Source: www.stern.de
