Cats like to play fetch just like dogs but when it suits them

There have been a number of studies about domestic cats playing fetch. And I know that you will find thousands of cat owners who attest to their cats' ability to play fetch just like a dog. They thoroughly enjoy it. For the cat it is play-hunting repeated. For the dog it is often a functional behaviour for which they been trained.

But for a cat, chasing a ball is like chasing a prey animal. They catch it, grab it in their jaws and then bring it back to their owner because they want to repeat the process. This is not an example of a working cat but a cat simply replicating the hunting process and in their relationship with their human caregiver they have learned that they can ask him or her to do certain things such as feed them, open doors and engage in a game of fetch.

That's my take on cats playing fetch and I'm going to refer to a study recently published online in the journal Scientific Reports.

They concluded that cats like to play fetch when they're in the mood. I would add to that and say that not all cats play fetch to the same level or at all. But it does come naturally to them provided they have the cognizance to bring the ball or object back to their owner to restart. That's the key because all cats will chase something but can they bring it back to their owner who threw it?

The researchers found that cats are more likely than dogs to have a particular item that they will play fetch with. They tend to reject other objects. And some refused to play with anything other than a cotton bud which is clearly an object which is more likely to elicit a game of fetch for a domestic cat.

In the study researchers also found that cats "only play in certain rooms and only fetch for particular people."

The researchers of the University of Sussex worked with 924 cat owners owning 1154 cats. All of these cats enjoyed playing fetch. The objective was to find out if the cat's behaviour was instinctive or whether the animals required training. They also wanted to find out if the cats initiated the game of fetch or it was initiated by the cats.

They concluded that: "For the vast majority, 94.4%, fetching appeared to be an instinctive behaviour in the cats. They also found that most of the cat started fetching as kittens or young cats with 36.7% reported to 1st fetch under the age of seven."

Note: they have appeared to have missed the point that playing fetch for a cat is playing at hunting with a modification: bringing the 'prey animal' back to the owner to restart as mentioned.

The lead researcher, Jemma Forman, of the University of Sussex said: "Our findings show that cats dictate this behaviour to directly influence how their human owners respond."

I would suggest that normally nearly all games of fetch with a domestic cat are instigated by the owner in a desire to please the cat, to exercise their cat and to mentally stimulate them in what might otherwise be a less than optimal environment by which I mean the full-time indoor cat environment. The game is then continued with the input of the cat playing the game.

But the cats participating in this study normal started the fetching play session as they were trained up to do that. That had got used to these play sessions:

"Cats initiated and terminated fetching bouts more often than did their owners. Thus, cats who fetch demonstrate independent and co-ordinated agency in the onset and maintenance of fetching behaviour with their human partners."

My thanks to The Times  - Kaya Burgess

Kitten makes the cutest 'attack' on a human you've ever seen (plus info about kitten play)

Cute kitten makes the cutest 'attack' on a human you've ever seen (plus into about kitten play). Screenshot.

Just playing. It's a 'play-attack' - the kind of behavior we see between kittens who spend a lot of time roughhousing. This time the target was slightly bigger than normal and it looks very cute.

As the experts say:

"Every living creature needs to play, and cats are no exception".

Play for cats is a release of pent-up energy. When kittens play with each other or perhaps with their mother they are preparing themselves for adult life in learning the movements required for attacking and defending. Interestingly, the video of this tiny and cute kitten shows a behaviour which is both attacking and defending.

When cats play roughly with each other they are well aware that they game of 'combat' is not in earnest and that they will not harm each other.

When you watch their behaviour, you will see that when the dominant cat is holding her mate, if the hold causes any pain, a growl or sharp meow will make the aggressive cat let go.

When kittens play with each other they gauge how far they can go in terms of aggression by the response of the "victim" to that aggression. And in this way, they learn about the limits to their play.

Kittens begin to play at about three weeks of age. This play starts off with the kittens gently pawing at each other. As their coordination improves, they begin biting, chasing and rolling.

Social play increases from 4 to 11 weeks of age and then rapidly declines. By this time, the kittens seem to pair off during play periods, which usually takes place four times a day. At nine weeks, kitten spent almost an hour each day playing.

The importance of play

We know that playing takes up a lot of your kitten's or kittens' time. They stalk each other, launch mock attacks, assume defensive positions, pounce and in general have lots of fun.

Playing encourages the development of coordination, provides a source of exercise and helps to socialise the kittens. And if they are kittens born in the wild without the protection of their human caregiver's home, play is a training ground to learn how to survive.

Limiting kitten and young cat play

One expert says that you should encourage kids to play and enjoy it but don't let them overdo it. They say that playtime sessions should be limited to 15 minutes each day, 2-3 times daily. They also remarkably state that "rough play, in which a kitten nips or scratches should also be discouraged."

Their argument is that "a kitten may begin to believe that aggressive, even violent behaviour is acceptable at home."

Hands are not toys

I seriously doubt that advice. Cats are inherently aggressive as they are top line predators! Kittens play with each other instinctively. And as long as they are playing with each other it's okay. I think the problem arises when a young cat plays with their owner's hands or feet. Then they equate the person's hands or feet to a toy (a prey animal actually) which they can bite and scratch to their hearts content which they can't.

RELATED: 10 facts about using hands as play toys for your cat.

This is about the caregiver limiting play and training their young cat to conduct this inherent behaviour in a way which is acceptable in the human environment.

It is entirely possible that a young cat can learn to attack their owner's hand during their early life and that this behaviour will remain with them for the rest of their life no matter how persistently and carefully their owner tries to discourage it. It can put a stress on the relationship.

Cat ate 38 hair ties and survived

NEWS AND COMMENT: As reported in The State, a cat was abandoned with other cats by their owner when they moved away. And this particular cat was very ill. She was brought to an animal shelter run by the Charleston Animal Society. It is located about 9 miles north-west of Charleston and is a No-kill shelter with a hospital which cares for around 20,000 animals annually.

UPDATE: THE CAT DIED. SIGH

Sick cat after operation to remove 38 hair ties from her stomach. Image: Charleston Animal Society from video (screenshot).

This cat was therefore fortunate to end up at this shelter where she stopped eating. They x-rayed her and found a massive blockage in her stomach. Her stomach was completely full of ties. A domestic cat's stomach is quite small at about the size of a ping pong ball I am told. How do you get 38 hair ties inside a stomach that size!? It must stretch a lot.

The blockage constituted 38 hair ties which she had obviously eaten as if they were edible foods when in the ownership of the people who abandoned her.

The veterinarian who did the operation was very surprised to see that number of hair ties in her stomach. The associate director of veterinary care at the Charleston Animal Society, Leigh Jamison, said: 

"I've never seen anything like that."

The animal hospital was so taken aback by the finding that they took time to photograph the ties and here they are below.

The 38 hair ties removed from the cat's stomach. Photo: Charleston Animal Society Charleston Animal Society

Fortunately, her intestine is were not damaged but the obstruction to her digestive tract caused fat to build up in her liver which resulted in a major health issue. She is currently being fed through a feeding tube.

They are keeping up her electrolytes to ensure that they are in balance and she is improving but she is not out of the woods yet, they report.

Comment: one doesn't want to criticise but for a cat owner to allow their cat to eat 38 hair ties and then abandon them is beyond careless. It is callous and cruel. The woman (presumed woman but it might have been a man) must have noticed her hair ties going missing. She must have seen her cat playing with the ties and eating them but did nothing about it.

And of course, it does bring to mind the dangers of hair ties and objects like them. Cats like to play with small, elastic objects. They are an ideal size as a cat toy. And as cat play is play-hunting, the end result is going to be eating the object if possible. And it is possible for a domestic cat eat a hair tie but of course they remain undigested in the stomach.

The obvious moral to the story is that a cat owner who uses her ties should make sure that they are not left lying around the floor or in any other place which is accessible to their cat. Obvious stuff. Nothing extraordinary in that statement (and it has been said a million times before) but if - as this person was - the owner is careless and doesn't care about the health and welfare of a cat you can end up killing your cat.

It seems purely fortuitous that this cat ended up at a cat shelter where there was an animal hospital attached. The story might well have ended completely differently and tragically but for that simple fact.

Here is a video which might or might not run! It may stop working. But if not great.