Cats purrfectly happy to play fetch, research finds

Playing fetch is part and parcel of a dog's life - but now scientists have found many cats enjoy it just as much.

A first-of-its-kind survey of 1,000 cat owners has thrown up new information about feline play habits.

Academics at Sussex and Northumbria universities said the findings suggest owners should keep an open mind about the stimulation their cats might respond to.

The research was first published in the science journal Scientific Reports.

Many cats instinctively like to play, the report says, and owners are being urged to think more about the types of activities they could do to keep their pets happy and active.

It found cats generally prefer to be in control of the game and do not require training to play.

The survey gathered information from 924 owners of 1,154 cats (994 mixed-breed and 160 purebred) that play fetch

Jemma Forman, a doctoral researcher at the University of Sussex School of Psychology, said: "Cats who initiated their fetching sessions played more enthusiastically with more retrievals and more fetching sessions per month.

"This perceived sense of control from the cat's perspective may be beneficial for the cat's welfare and the cat-owner relationship.

"I'd encourage owners to be receptive to the needs of their cat by responding to their preferences for play - not all cats will want to play fetch, but if they do, it's likely that they will have their own particular way of doing so."

The survey gathered information from 924 owners of 1,154 cats (994 mixed-breed and 160 purebred) that play fetch to better understand the behaviour.

The vast majority of cats (94.4%) showed an instinctive ability to play fetch from a young age, whether it was retrieving toys or common household items.

The Siamese was the most reported (22.5%) purebred to play fetch, followed by Bengal (10%) and Ragdoll (7.5%).

Study co-author Dr Elizabeth Renner, a lecturer in psychology at Northumbria University, said: "We think it's important because it demonstrates how much this behaviour is led by cats themselves, since very few of the owners surveyed explicitly trained their cats to fetch."