NPR has often been recognized for its method of reporting and people turn to the organization for prompt, accurate and unbiased news. That is why a recent headline on NPR.org may have caught some people by surprise. It compared the ability to fetch between dogs and cats and went against something that many cat owners already know, some felines are able to fetch quite nicely.
The original headline said: ‘Cats Don’t Fetch, But Know Their Names As Well As Dogs, Researchers Say’ but some readers were taking exception to the statement. That was especially true of those who had cats that were not only able to fetch, they did so quite nicely and in some cases, are even obsessed with it.
“In what world do cats not fetch?” Kate Haffey commented on Facebook.
“Artemis knows her name and fetches,” Brandi Whitson said on Twitter. “She’s obsessed.”
“My cat fetches, but only when he wants to,” commented Charlie Whelan. “Which is why I like cats.”
If it is true that cats are able to fetch, why do they have a reputation for avoiding the practice compared to dogs?
“The success of dogs is built around their ability to please people — this is how they get their food and shelter,” Jeff Podos, an animal behavior specialist at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, told NPR. “This is what dogs are all about. The more they please their owners, the more benefits they gain. Whereas cats just don’t have this same imperative.”
Not all cats will play fetch but mine sure does! pic.twitter.com/3nh5BZAHzm
— onetoad3 (@onetoad3) April 5, 2019
In a more natural state, “cats are actually probably more prone to fetching things, and bringing things to you, than dogs,” said Andrea Tu, medical director at Behavior Vets in NYC. Perhaps you have come home and your cat left you a little present of a half-eaten critter that was unfortunate enough to wander by. This is natural behavior for cats and it is similar to a game of fetch. Dogs don’t do this very often.
Something else that needs to be considered is the fact that dogs have been domesticated for much longer than felines. We even have a particular breed of dog that is known as a retriever, just because they have the ability to go get something and bring it back to us. In other words, the dog was bred for that specific purpose but don’t let it fool you. Not all dogs are going to fetch but they are more likely to do so than a domesticated cat.
Tu goes on to talk about the ability to train cats. Click training is perhaps her most successful method. It is a behavioral training method that causes the feline to perform every time a distinctive sound is made. They may not run after a ball when you throw it but when you click the clicker and give them a treat, they will look at the ball when it rolls past. It is then just a small hop skip and a jump until you’re able to get them to fetch for you.
Interestingly, NPR has also said that with enough effort, perhaps even a bumblebee could be taught to fetch. At the Queen Mary University of London, Clint Perry, a behavioral biologist taught bees to roll a ball to the center of a platform. They did so for the reward of sugar water.
In order to teach the bees how to do it, they would perform it with a puppet to show them how it was done. They caught on quickly and eventually, were even looking for an easier way to get to the ball. “This all shows an unprecedented level of cognitive flexibility, especially for a miniature brain,” Perry said.
You can see it in this video:
“There are certainly lots of animals who could fetch, but for whom it would never cross their mind,” said Podos. “Most any primate could in theory do it — but they have no motivation.”
Dogs tend to have more of an attention span than cats according to Tu. Cats only tend to focus for a few minutes and then they need a break. If you work at it for a few days, however, you might be able to teach a cat to fetch.
The cat might think: ” ‘Humans are weird,’ ” she said, ” ‘but I get treats!’ ”