Have you ever trained a cat to fetch? How do you do it?

Question

I have three cats and they all love to chase things like balls and toy mice when I throw them, but they never bring them back to me so I can throw them again. My nextdoor neighbor has two Golden Retrievers and they love to play fetch. They always bring the ball back. In fact when I walk into their house, the dogs often come up to me with a tennis ball in their mouth wanting me to play fetch with them. Of course, they don't call them "retrievers" for nothing. How can I get my cats to do this? Is it hopeless?

Wow! These are all great (and encouraging) answers. Thanks. I'll leave this open a while longer to see what else I get.

I know that you're not supposed to answer your own question, but I got so psyched by all the answers that I decided to do a little research. Check out a few of these:

Web search for { train a cat to fetch }:
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=train+a+cat+to+fetch

Web search for { teach a cat to fetch }
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=teach+a+cat+to+fetch

Search for { cat fetch } on Yahoo! Answers:
http://answers.yahoo.com/search/search_result?p=cat+fetch

A few good/interesting results:

Teaching a Cat to Fetch
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A625592

"Has anyone ever heard of a cat that plays fetch with a ball?"
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=20060615150408AAyQLSi

Training a Cat like a Dog
http://www.simonteakettle.com/training.htm

Videos of "My Cat Annie" playing fetch.
http://www.zefrank.com/annie/navigation.html

Hi, I'm Orion, and this is how Brendan taught me to play fetch!
http://www.polylith.com/~orion/fetch.html

Answer 1

Cats can be trained, but they are different than dogs. Dogs do what you want out of a desire to please you. Cats do what you want as long as you make it interesting. That means keep your training sessions short and reward successes---but NEVER punish failures.

I've had a few cats who would fetch. There was no real trick to it. I found something that they loved (my current cat is enamored of bottle caps, so hopes are high that he'll start fetching soon) and would toss it for them. They would enjoy chasing it, and as soon as they'd get it in their mouths, I'd start coaxing them toward me. Of course, it didn't work at first, but each time they got closer, I'd lavish them with praise. It didn't take long for any of them to catch on. Once they got the idea, and realized it was all fun for them, there was no stopping them.

Just don't turn it into work for them and you'll be fine.

Answer 2

One of our three cats fetches. I have only ever seen male cats fetch, and we trained this one as a kitten. He loves chasing little foam rubber balls. I suggest going to PetStmart and looking for these balls. A cat won't bring it right back to you, and will lose interest quickly, so don't be bothered if it doesn't work. Be sure to reward the cat after he brings it back (make em do it 2 or 3 times, don't reward right away). Patience is the key, that and repitition. Good luck.

Answer 3

Yes, my sister taught her cat to fetch by tying a string on a ball and throwing it across the room and pulling it back. Before long the cat was fetching the ball for her. Good luck with yours

Answer 4

My cat also plays "fetch", he can go on for an hour without getting tired of it. I think he knows I cannot play with him _all_ the time, so he makes the most of what he has - when I throw the mouse, or small ball, away, he chases it, then slowly walks back to me and drops it someplace close to me.

What I started doing, though, was first play with the mouse a bit, make him chase it around me a bit - dingle the mouse around him, make him stalk and then catch it, etc. - then I throw it, and he brings it to me to play some more...

Answer 5

One of my cats fetches. Every time I take medicine that comes in foil and plastic like cold meds he hears the snap as the pill comes out of the foil and he sits and waits at the end of the bed for me to throw it. I pitch it off the bed and he jumps down to get it and brings it back on the bed for me to throw again. He only does it with this pill wraps ask me why I really don't know but he loves it.

Answer 6

We never trained or expected our cats to play fetch because we never thought it was possible.

Because we have multiple cats, we found a way to play with them all. We gathered all of their toys and threw them back and forth like monkey in the middle. My husband would stay on one end and i at the other end of the hall.

some of our cats would take the toy and hide it. we would then take it from their mouths and throw it again. this is how I think they were trained. so throw a toy, let them chase it , and when you cat is bored , pick it up and throw it again and again. some of my cats love braided or twisted pipe cleaners and they're cheap..

Answer 7

My cat fetches too. But it only lasts for 3 times. Cats aren't easy to train(something about pride) They don't do things unless they want to. You can teach her how to fetch a ball: swing it back and forth. Then let her smell it, put it on her head, bug her with it. Then swing it again. roll it away and hide. She'll start to chase it, Then bite it, then look at you, put it where your standing/ sitting. This usaully works for my cats.

Answer 8

Our Kittie sometimes plays fetch when she wants to. She plays with 3 fuzzy colorful T-Balls. We usually just keep picking up the T-balls and throwing them, eventually she started to bring them back to us. But we didn't teach her, she did it on her own. It's possible to teach your cats. Once they have a ball in thier mouth try to call for them, they may bring it to you.

Answer 9

I have trained my cats to vacate the premises when I snap my fingers. Really handy when putting them out for the night. They are also trained not to go into the bedroom. They can sit for hours watching the curtains sway but (almost) never enter.

How to make them fetch is a riddle to me too.

Answer 10

My Cat Cali Catzin taught herself to fetch. She doesn't any more but she is 18 years old and is now blind. I think it started one day when I threw a piece of paper toward the trash can and missed, and she brought it back to me. She would also knock stuff over that I had stacked up for her to knock over. (trash) that was light and also paper. Good luck
RMD