Fetch. Toy delivery. Sit and stay. Beach rides. A swim in the sea. These five cats have a few hobbies that might make you do a double take.
‘Cats that think they’re dogs’ is our playful description of their dog-like activities, rather than a claim about what they actually think. Each scene features a named pet and an action you can see in the footage. Meet Lettuce, Lola, Didga, Boomer and Nathan before watching the full video at the end.
1. Lettuce: a proper game of fetch
You throw the toy. Your pet chases it, picks it up and brings it back. It sounds like a dog’s favourite routine—until you notice the whiskers.
Lettuce, also called Lettie by her owner, gives us the clearest fetch sequence in this collection. In the original clip from @iamgooseontheloose, she follows the toy down the hallway and returns carrying it in her mouth. Our short edit brings the throw and return together so you can see both parts of the game.
Her precise filming location is not confirmed in the source, but the account handle and original video below make her easy to look up.
2. Lola: the cat who brings playtime to you
Lola skips the waiting around. She walks towards her human with a toy already hanging from her mouth, looking as though the only thing left to organise is the other player.
This clip, shared by @cloudandlola, is about toy delivery rather than a complete throw-and-return fetch. That distinction is part of the charm: Lola is not simply reacting to something being thrown. She arrives with something to do.
It is a small, wonderfully recognisable moment for anyone whose pet has ever decided that work, television or a quiet evening should immediately become playtime.
3. Didga: sit, stay—and keep watching
Didga makes the familiar “cats do whatever they want” line look a little shaky. In archival footage from trainer Robert Dollwet’s @catmantoo account, she responds to a succession of cues, including sitting and a high-five.
Didga is associated with Tweed Heads in New South Wales, Australia, where her earlier trick achievements were recorded. We are showing a short command demonstration here, rather than presenting the old record labels in the source footage as a current world-record claim.
The impressive part is visible without any numbers: she watches her trainer and follows the cues. That is plenty to earn her a place in this dog-like line-up.
4. Boomer: beach-day energy on a skimboard
Boomer’s contribution is a little more unusual than a walk in the park. The Australian cat hops onto a pink skimboard and stays aboard as his human pulls it through the beach shallows.
The board is being pulled; this is not a claim that Boomer is independently surfing a wave. What you can see is a cat taking part in a beach activity that many viewers would expect to involve a dog.
The footage comes from @catmantoo and trainer Robert Dollwet. The exact beach is not confirmed for our selected excerpt, so Australia is the location we can confidently give.
5. Nathan: the swimming wildcard
For the final scene, meet Nathan the Beach Cat, a female cat from Queensland, Australia. She swims through the sea alongside her human, with just her head and the top of her back above the water.
Her owners share her adventures through @nathan_thebeachcat and their website. Our selected clip shows the swimming itself, rather than asking you to take a dramatic description on trust.
We have not verified the exact beach in this particular shot. Queensland, Australia, is the useful starting point if you want to explore her story—and the original account is linked below.
Original clips and creator credits
The photographs above are frames from the original videos used in our edit. You can explore the creators’ work through these original posts:
- @iamgooseontheloose: Lettuce — original video (instagram.com/reel/DQm7KmFjg-5)
- @cloudandlola: Lola — original video (instagram.com/reel/DYe-VPYulE-)
- @catmantoo / Robert Dollwet: Didga — original video (instagram.com/p/BOzRsblg1Xt)
- @catmantoo / Robert Dollwet: Boomer — original video (instagram.com/p/BRcpPBfDJdT)
- @nathan_thebeachcat: Nathan — original video (instagram.com/p/BZp75wbloPt)
For more background, see Nathan’s owners’ website and the Guinness World Records profile of Didga’s earlier achievements. Full source and contact details accompany this article in the upload pack.
Nathan’s story from her owners · Didga’s earlier trick achievements
Want another dose of animal talent? Meet the skateboarder, surfer and other stars in 5 Pets With Ridiculous Skills.