Laser pointers???

[u/coyote43dx]

What is your alls views on laser pointers? It is thoroughly engaging, but in the end, they will never catch the little red dot. Is it fun or is it cruel? I haven’t used it yet, but I’ve accidentally introduced the reflection off my watch or phone. Please give me some pros and cons……

[u/coyote43dx]

That is what i was thinking. I won’t purposely entice them with an object they cannot catch.

[u/CrazyCatLady1127]

What I do with the laser pointer (I’m disabled and it’s the only way I can really play with my cats) is I wait until they step on the dot, so they can see their paw on it, then I turn it off and make happy noises. ‘Yay, you killed the light. You’re so clever, you’re such a good hunter’ and so on and so forth, combined with a good fuss and some kisses. Then my cat generally wanders off and finds something else to do. Usually they head straight to the food bowl 🙂

[u/coyote43dx → u/CrazyCatLady1127]

Ohh..I like that. Thank you!

[u/CrazyCatLady1127 → u/coyote43dx]

You’re welcome 🙂 I hope it helps. Something else you could try, that I used to do, is I land the dot on a toy, a catnip mouse or something like that, and then when the cat pounces on the toy and the light disappears they still have the toy in their paws so it’s like they caught the light. I had one cat who really enjoyed that. After she’d ‘killed’ the light she’d pick up the toy in her mouth and wander around the house, yelling with pride about her hunt 🙂

[u/IntelligentTale7550 → u/CrazyCatLady1127]

I play in a similar way. Every cat I have owned has loved it except my bengal. But she's a pirate (1 eye removed) so that may be why. They really loved the blue light one I got with glasses once (to prove they blocked blue light).

[u/No_Significance485]

I always give them something to actually catch at the end of a play session with the laser pointer

[u/spacec4t]

All my cats, bengal or not have played for a short while and have stopped the moment they understood it was a scam, that they would never catch the red dot. Once past that moment of disillusion, I've never been able to get their interest back except for a few instants. Long flexible canes with a tuft of feathers on the tip is what they have had the most fun with.

[u/Acgator03]

Laser pointers are not recommended, as they can cause mental frustration because the cat never feels or catches anything tangible. They’re great for training a cat to run on a cat wheel, as there isn’t anything to catch and break their stride, but I would not use them for anything else.

[u/MsChickpea]

I did read but I can’t quote as I can’t remember the source. As said above they are not recommended. I read it’s partly as they can, with long term use cause the cat depression as they can’t finish the hunt. There is nothing for them to “catch”
After reading that I’ve never used them.

[u/Additional-Art-1964]

It caused my cats a lot of frustration so we stopped using it in favor of things they could actually catch