# My cat can fetch **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 23, 2003, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-can-fetch/220581 "2003-12-23T02:40:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sugaree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@sugaree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugaree)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-can-fetch/220581/1 "2003-12-23T02:40:16Z")
Yeah. Well. What else is there to say? My cat plays fetch. I’m so proud. ---
**Author:** ![Abdominal\_Snowman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f04885/32.png) [@Abdominal\_Snowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abdominal_Snowman)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-can-fetch/220581/2 "2003-12-23T02:48:33Z")
Well done. My cat is primarily good for laying on the floor, staring at the wall, and occasionally, warming my feet. On the con side, she begs, eats food off the floor if I leave it there, and once, she even drank a puddle of whiskey that spilled on the floor, unbeknownst to me. While this might sound funny, trust me, following a vomiting cat around a small apartment is nobody’s idea of a good time. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-can-fetch/220581/3 "2003-12-23T02:52:17Z")
My cat can fetch, too. Getting her to GIVE me whatever she fetched, now, that’s a trick she has yet to get the hang of. That she’s admitting, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![luluBahrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e5b9ba/32.png) [@luluBahrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luluBahrain)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-can-fetch/220581/4 "2003-12-23T02:59:58Z")
My cat fetches the little round things you have to take off gallon milk containers and he brings them to me and drops them right by my hand or sometimes foot. But I got him overseas. Maybe your silly Americanb cats do not have the mental power of my dear Ahmed Cat. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-can-fetch/220581/5 "2003-12-23T03:07:18Z")
My cat Tybalt plays fetch. It’s one of his favorite things. We have an artificial tree. (allergies) and a broken off branch is just his favorite thing to play with, and a game of fetch is his favorite thing. However, he is never fooled when I fake the throw. Never. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-can-fetch/220581/6 "2003-12-23T03:11:52Z")
My cats, well, Scout occasionally picks up one of the soft balls in her mouth and brings it to me. It’s not associated with fetching though, since I didn’t toss it first. Jake will knock the jingly ball at me and expects me to knock it back to him so he can continue to chase it like an insane creature. This is an especially fun game at 5:30 AM, as happened this morning. I ignored him, but he continued to tear around the apartment like those jingly balls were some fantastic prey that he was going to capture. He was so loud that I was awake. So I got up and he took a nap. Typical. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-can-fetch/220581/7 "2003-12-23T03:19:27Z")
Pfeh! Amateurs! Fatcat used to play fetch, now he flushes the toilet! Granted, he doesn’t _use_ the toilet, but all in due time… ---
**Author:** ![sugaree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@sugaree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugaree)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-can-fetch/220581/8 "2003-12-23T03:22:55Z")
Yep. That’s what he was fetching tonight- the little plastic strip off the cap of the milk bottle. He’d jump on the couch and give it to my husband, my husband would toss it, and he’d run and grab it and bring it back. He doesn’t flush the toilet, but he drinks out of the bowl. Wait a minute. Could the shelter have lied about his species? Or his country of origin? ---
**Author:** ![luluBahrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e5b9ba/32.png) [@luluBahrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luluBahrain)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-can-fetch/220581/9 "2003-12-23T03:24:18Z")
How old is he? If he’s 10 then maybe he’s my cats brother? ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-can-fetch/220581/10 "2003-12-23T04:22:59Z")
My cat Squash fetches. Brings the toy right back to me and releases it into or near my hand. If it’s not a fuzzy ball, it’s a plastic spoon or knife. Or a crumpled-up Hershey’s Kisses wrapper. If he can’t find any of those, he’ll bring me a wilted leaf from my umbrella plant, and can’t understand why I don’t get any distance with my throws. His favorite fetch time is when I wake up in the morning and go to bed at night – he drops the fetch toy on my face then. I’ve had previous cats who fetched. Generally they figured it out as fun-loving adolescents, and lost the idea when they became lazy adults. Squash is now a small but mighty adult and shows no signs of giving it up. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-can-fetch/220581/11 "2003-12-23T04:59:52Z")
I misread the subject line :o ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-can-fetch/220581/12 "2003-12-23T05:00:39Z")
Misty will play catch and bat it back. It’s the cutest thing-you throw her a rolled up paper ball and she’ll either catch it in her paws or bat it right back to you. It’s a hoot! ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-can-fetch/220581/13 "2003-12-23T05:59:37Z")
My sister was good at teaching cats things. Her last cat used the toilet. We kept her fetching cat while they went on vacation. At night he would jump up on the bed with the ball and drop it on the floor trying to entice us into playing fetch with him. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-can-fetch/220581/14 "2003-12-23T06:05:18Z")
**The Dominator[sub]TM[/sub]** used to play fetch with me when he was a kitten. That was until he realized that he had grown up and is now a **CAT**. ---
**Author:** ![LadyMack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4491bb/32.png) [@LadyMack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LadyMack)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-can-fetch/220581/15 "2003-12-23T06:20:37Z")
Purr Dragon taught me to play fetch when he was a wee thing. The older He gets, the lazier. Only when the babies are getting more attention, will He break out his hidden toys. Missy still plays fetch with her fuzzy meece, several times a day. I’m not sure She is a cat, tho. More likely, a fur covered raptor. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Serpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@Silver\_Serpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Serpentine)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-can-fetch/220581/16 "2003-12-23T07:24:51Z")
The cat I had when I lived in Tx, Plop, would play fetch for hoooouuuuuurs. I’d throw her fuzzy mouse (or pencil), she’d go get it, hop up on my chair, and drop it in my hand. Repeat. For up to 3 hours (I seriously played fetch with her for 3 hours once). I miss having a cat that plays fetch. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-can-fetch/220581/17 "2003-12-23T08:45:03Z")
My daughter’s cat will play fetch, but only with my daughter. His favorite toy is the ever-popular milk jug ring. He likes to gather them up in the night, and put them on her desk. He initiates games by dropping a MJR on her lap, or on her face if she’s asleep. One time, our hamster (not the SDMB hamster, but the Bodoni hamster) got out in the middle of the night. Achilles, the cat, caught the hamster and dropped him right on my daughter’s face. She HAD been sound asleep. Apparently having a live warm thrashing rodent dropped on your face wakes you up REAL fast. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-can-fetch/220581/18 "2003-12-23T12:06:10Z")
20 years ago, we had a Himalayan kitten who loved blueberry cake donuts from Dunkin Donuts, and he’d fetch a balled-up dunkin donuts bag. We lived in a little townhouse and we could sit in bed, throw the balled-up bag out the bedroom door, and it’d ricochet off the wall and bounce down the stairs. Wendell would chase it and bring it back for another go. Once he was a bit too enthusiastic. We heard him crash at the foot of the stairs. He didn’t bring it back that time. He cracked us up! ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-can-fetch/220581/19 "2003-12-23T12:10:10Z")
Cookie Monster also fetched little pieces of rolled-up paper, but only until she was about 1 year old. Now she carries a little piece of plastic round the house when she’s in a jovial mood, but she’s decided that she’s the only one who’s allowed to play with it. She throws and fetches it for herself. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-can-fetch/220581/20 "2003-12-23T12:23:23Z")
My best friend’s cat can fetch. I’ve spent many an afternoon hour tossing a little wadded-up piece of paper across her living room for Sparky to run after and bring back to me. The most I can say of my own cats is that one of them is a great catcher; if I throw something at Austen, she’ll field it (if I throw things at Lucia, she only runs and hides under the sofa). Austen, however, is not very good about throwing things back–sometimes, I’ll get the toy or paper or whatever batted back at me, but that’s really more an accident than intended on the kitty’s part. So our games of “catch” are rather one-sided. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-can-fetch/220581.md?page=2)