The cats we've had have always known, and responded to, their names. Haven't ever gotten one to fetch, though. Oh, they'd go after anything you tossed, but you'd wait until forever and they wouldn't bring anything back to you (unless you wanted a dead mouse).

My most recently dearly departed cat, Pounce, knew his name and would come when called. Before he became too old and too vulnerable to wander outside, he always came running at a gallop when called. And followed the dog and I on neighborhood walks. And was always waiiitng for me at the top of the walk when came home from running errands or from work and with a very verbal greeting :-) He was really much more dog-like than cat-like.

He was never big on any toys but he did play fetch or catch with whatever creatures he managed to snag on his outdoor forays.......

Both my boys play fetch. Parker (he's my profile pic) knows both his name and the other cat's name. He can tell the difference between when you're talking about him or to him. If we are talking to Duke, Parker will look at Duke (the other cat) as if to say "Hey dummy, they're talking to you". Parker also answers questions I ask him....I don't know what he's saying but he knows we're conversing.

All of the kitties we've had have known - and responded - their names. And we've had several who've played fetch, including the current baby of the family who steals hair elastics and brings them to be thrown for her. She also loves spring toys and will play fetch with them tirelessly. So definitely not news to this household. :)

We had many cats when I was a kid and a young adult. They all knew their names. The one being called or talked to would respond while the others went about whatever they were doing unless food was involved. In that case, everyone wanted to be involved whether their name had been called or not.

As a young married couple, we had a dog and cat who grew up together. They loved to play with each other. One of their favorite games was to have one of the humans throw a soft ball down the hallway. Both dog and cat would run after the ball and whichever one grabbed it first would bring it back to the human. It was hilarious. Sometimes, the cat would lose interest in playing fetch and decide that a much more fun game was to hide just inside the bathroom door (the dog had to run past this door while chasing the ball) and jump out and pounce on the dog. That was beyond hilarious. No matter how many times the cat ambushed the dog, the dog always acted shocked and surprised.

They also had a game where the cat would get inside an empty twelve pack box, poke it's paws out of the holes and grab the dog when it walked by. The cat never went after the humans when it was hiding inside the box, only the dog.

All of my cats have always known their names. For that matter, the wild raccoons I used to feed here, also knew their names and would come when called.

When I was going to school to be a vet tech, we had to teach an animal a conditioned response...a trick in other words. I taught her to sit up on command...and all the other cats that were watching, learned to do it also.

This dude is trained to sit, sit up, come when called. Enjoying a box in the sun

All my cats knew their names. But I only had one who played fetch and would come to me with his stuffie and drop it at my feet. I only have one cat now, down from the five I had two-plus years ago and he is a slug. He sleeps in the sunroom and gets up to eat and then back to his chair. I'm looking to rescue another cat. I can't stand having just one. I want a teenager.

Our cat knows her name and sit. She also responds to calls for treats.

Milo and Meeko both know their names and respond when being called. I throw Meeko his treats and he chases to get them. Milo is too lazy to do that. LOL But Milo is the one to bring me his toy mice. I will tell him "Bwing mommy a mousie to pway wif" and he does. (I have to speak his language. LOL)

Linda, you remind me. I asked that cat where his helicopter (his favorite toy) was. He left. I thought, ok, I'll go do something else. I came back to the helicopter laying at the foot of my seat. He knew where it was and if he brought it I would fling it for him. I guess he does play fetch.

Our cats know their names. Choosing to answer to them is on their terms.

We used to have a cat who played goalie. We had a U-shaped kitchen and she would crouch down at the U end and then we would slide pennies along the floor down to her and she would stick out her paws to stop them. She could do that for hours and she had very quick reflexes and could cover the 9-ft width so fast.. I wish we had thought to take a video.

In the Fellini movie The Clowns, there is an animal trainer (Franco Migliorini) who talks to the lions/tigers in German, as he says that German is the only language that beasts can understand. However, since he only speaks to them in German, that is what they understand.

My cats knew their names, and my cat Eichendorff (whom I called Eich, or Ike) for short would respond to both names. There was only one toy that he would play with, which was a pipe cleaner that had been formed into a spring and therefore would bounce and get away from him. He would still chase it, but the pipe cleaner always got away. He and my other cat Tina would also chase beams of light from a flashlight, but Tina was better at it.

I taught a cat to come when I called back in the 80s. It can be done about as easily as with a dog. Of course they have to be starving before the training session.

We have one cat and he loves to play fetch with rolled up balls of paper.

We have one of those laser light things and Meeko will chase the light all over the room. If we shine it on a toy, he will pounce on the toy. Shine the light near my lazy baby Milo by his paw and he will reach out his paw to touch it. Milo's favorite toys are those little foam balls. He will carry them around in his mouth, squeaking the whole time. His favorite one is "pinkie ball" which has seen its better day and he keeps hiding it. Today the boys got a hold of two of those silica gel packs that came with a desk my husband got. I hope they didn't eat any, but I quickly did a search to find that they are "not toxic" to cats but may cause an upset stomach.

Yes, I have three cats. Two, the males, know their names and sometimes variations of that name. For instance, Peach also answer to "Peachy Pie", "Petey" or "Sweet Pie". Thomas comes to "Thomas", "Tom" and also "Boots", which I think is his real name as he was a stray and I named him Thomas. However one day he was laying in the chair and out of curiosity I said, "Boots!" (since he has two white back paws that resemble tall boots). He turned his head immediately. Plus, I can also open the back door and call out, "Boys!" and they come running.

Unfortunately Pretty is deaf, so she doesn't know her name is Pretty.

While all my cats have known their names and at least one nickname one of them, Agatha knew her name and at least half a dozen nicknames. She was that sort of cat. I once had a cat who chose a couple of personal toys, one was a big red onion skin that he used as a sort of sled, he put his front feet on it and slid around the floor and the other was a scrap of slinky cloth a friend gave him. He would hid them between uses and I never did find where he kept them. When we moved I had to leave them behind. My cat Lewis would not only get his toys out of the storage place but also put them away.

Amateurs! Amateurs, I say! All of my cats over the years have responded to their names and played fetch. But I had one, a prim and proper tabby who would play chess!

We always kept a chess game going on the coffee table to be played whenever the mood struck. Debbie (the cat) got into the habit of jumping up on the table, sitting down patiently across from the human on the other side of the board, and sliding a chess piece in response to every move made.

If you waited too long to ponder your next brilliant move, she would stare at you unflinchingly, then begin twitching her tail. It was extremely funny, people wanted to come over just to 'play chess' with Debbie. We were in college at the time and she was always a hit.

Sure, my cat knows his name and all his nicknames. He also knows a few phrases ( ones that benefit him ). He responds to "Nom-Nom", "Where's the birdies?", " Who wants to purr?", "No", "Get down" etc.

Every cat I had knew its name. My DD's 3 cats do, too. They all have also always come when a particular whistle was used. I don't mean a whistle one puts in ones mouth - a "tune" whistled by pursing ones lips. My first husband started this whistle when we were first married and he would enter the courtyard coming home from work. The cats would fly to the window to see him. We've continued this "whistle tune" now for over 52 years and many different cats.

All our cats have known their names, though they don’t always respond. Sometimes they just look at you like, “What?”

Most have been keen on “fetch”, especially the current pair. One in particular loves anything crinkly and recognises the bag of Lindt chocolate ball truffles we occasionally share in front of the TV. As soon as you touch the bag she whooshes to your feet in anticipation of a crinkly wrapper to play with. She also loves foil particularly if you roll it into a little ball for her to chase and comes racing if she hears it crinkle.

They also understand simple sentences. “Dinner time for kitties,” brings them to the kitchen. “Bedtime for kitties,” has them scampering down the hall. If bedtime doesn’t come soon enough for Nadia, she will stand in the living room door and meow :-). Usually if I am petting Katya and have to leave the room, she follows me, but if I say, “Back in a minute,” she stays put. “What are you doing?” usually halts bad behaviour heard in the next room (they love to open cupboards and explore).

Both cats will come and sit on the vanity while I’m showering, and want cuddles when I emerge to dry off. Katya (the smarter one) stands on her hind legs, puts her paws on either side of my head, and nips my hair. I finally realised this is her imitating me holding her head in my hands and kissing the top of it. She also rubs her face on the vanity tap so I will turn it on for her to drink from, and taught herself to wee down the drain in the laundry sink if the litter tray is occupied.

Both cats recognise the red milk carton and will clamour for milk when they see it.

They love chasing moths but are terrible at catching them. Similarly, the one time they found a mouse, DH had to dispatch it after it got away for the third time.

I wonder if there is any relation to cats who like to play fetch and cats bringing gifts of dead or live prey to their humans. Perhaps the ball/toy is a substitute for the gifted prey?

Of course cats know their names, but they don't always come when called. My Maisie knows her name even when she hears me saying it in a conversational tone to someone else (I can see her ears twitch towards me), and she knows the word I use for food, and the word "porch" when I ask her if she wants to go onto the screened in porch.

Forgot to mention that Katya also sits at the door or window and meows if I’m outside, hanging out the laundry or taking out the trash. A couple of times I’ve gone to the grocery while DH was home and he reported that she meowed the whole time I was gone.

We had a cat that used to play hide and seek. But they definitely know their names and each others...especially Mila who is jealous of Misty.

I guess cats had people fooled that they didn't know their names, their secret has been found out!

My cat used to play fetch with me. It was he who decided when it was over though.

This reminds me. A friend had to go out of town for a few days and while gone, the house was to be shown to several potential buyers. When the realtor came with the people, the cat wouldn't let them in! I haven't heard yet what happened ! Lol