It is entirely possible to see your cat bring us an item. The basic rule is: let the cat take the initiative. This is evident from a study conducted by researchers among more than 900 cat owners on this “fetch/return” game.
If it is the owner who decides to throw an object to his cat so that he can go and look for it, it is not always successful, and if this is the case, the cat will run 3 or 4 times and then that’s it .
On the other hand, when the cat starts playing, that is, he brings you a toy or accessory by himself, this reflects a real desire for him to interact with you, and in this case he is more likely to play for a long time. And the more you respond to his requests to play like this, the more he’ll be grateful to you, the more he’ll want to play, and the more it will help strengthen your bond.
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I can only encourage you to respond to your cat’s requests when he wants to play, when he wants hugs… to gain his trust. Unless of course it’s the middle of the night.
One cat owner in the study said that his cat would come and drop a small toy in his face every night so he would throw it at him because he’d had the misfortune of responding to it a few times, then it was ruined for him. Hi M. So these are the limits to establish.
There is a real difference with the dog because observations have shown that when we respond to the requests of the dog that wants to play, this gives a kind of “power to the dog” and it is often associated with a dog that requires attention or food.
Spontaneous play behavior
Purebred cats (Siamese, Bengal, Ragdoll) are more likely to have this “retriever” behavior than so-called alley cats. It is a behavior that often occurs in cats under 1 year of age and is “innate”, initiated spontaneously by the cat without having undergone any training.
Also fun: in more than half of the play sequences, the cat does not offer to play with one of its toys, but will place at the feet of its pet parent an everyday object such as crumpled paper, an earplug, a barrette, a bottle cap… And finally, cats like to play this… on the stairs.
So pay attention to your cat: maybe he is a retriever at heart, but if this is the case, I remind you that it is when he wants, where he wants and with what object he wants it.
