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Cats and laser pointers

post #1 of 41
9/18/03 at 3:31pm
Thread Starter 
Oh man, I have never been in so much pain from laughing. My cat will do anything to catch the laser pointer, but can't, then flips out when it goes away with being able to catch it. The best is when she tries to run up a wall chasing it. Oh man, PETA would hate this game. My cat is so pissed at this mysterious red dot.
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post #2 of 41
9/18/03 at 3:39pm
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I discovered the same thing a few years back. My cat went nuts when I got the laser pointer. I remember reading that it has to do with the spectrum of light that cats can see. Like cats see in black and white, but a laser shows up in red, that's why they bug out so much. However my cat would make this weird noise when he chased it. It didn't sound good, so I stopped doing it.
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post #3 of 41
9/18/03 at 3:42pm
Torturing your cats like this is NOT a good idea...Cats have good memories...

They will get their revenge by sitting on your face ( arse down ) when your asleep...
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post #4 of 41
9/18/03 at 3:46pm
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No she loves it though, when I stop she gets up in my lap and starts tapping the laser pointer on my desk with her paw. She goes crazy trying to get it, but when it goes away she knows it's my fault and wants me to make it come back.
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post #5 of 41
9/18/03 at 3:49pm
yeah, my dogs love those things.
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post #6 of 41
9/18/03 at 3:50pm
Sounds fun, have you ever managed to trick your cat into thinking that she caught it
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post #7 of 41
9/18/03 at 3:52pm
My cat basically got bored with it after a while. I tried to let people know not to let him realize that it's not an actual object, but eventually he figured it out. He still gets all exited when I first pull it out, but he just goes and gets his mouse toys soon after.
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post #8 of 41
9/18/03 at 3:54pm
I wonder if Bob would do that.


(F.Y.I. Bob is a cat. A female cat)
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post #9 of 41
9/18/03 at 3:58pm
Thread Starter 
My friend has a female cat named Bob, it's actually my cat's sister... Where in NY are you from? I wonder if it's the same Bob...


But she knows where it comes from, she doesn't know what the hell it is though. She thought she had it once, but it reappeared on the top of her paw, and again, and again.
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post #10 of 41
9/18/03 at 4:11pm
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Matt Danger, I just went to your profile and clicked "Find all posts by this member" and read through some... I definitely know that it's the same Bob. When I got to your post about something involving a kid from your school being videotaped putting Legos in his... ... ... I was sure it was you. Man that's creepy, I didn't know you registered here, or had ever been here, how odd we meet up on a message board because we both know somebody with a female cat named Bob.
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post #11 of 41
9/18/03 at 4:46pm
My dog can't be arsed to chase a tiny red dot. My cat on the other hand, never learns. Another fun thing is tying a string to your cat's tail.
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post #12 of 41
9/18/03 at 6:22pm
Quote:
Originally posted by iBrowse
No she loves it though, when I stop she gets up in my lap and starts tapping the laser pointer on my desk with her paw. She goes crazy trying to get it, but when it goes away she knows it's my fault and wants me to make it come back.

Now that is a smart cat! Up to this point, I've never heard of a cat putting it together that the red dot is coming from a laser pointer.
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post #13 of 41
9/18/03 at 7:50pm
My cat knows it comes from the laser pointer. He actually plays with the damn pointer itself. Even the inaudible noise it produces alerts him. If I turn it on under my hand his ears become alert and he starts looking for it .
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post #14 of 41
9/18/03 at 8:05pm
Don't you find that amazing, at all? If you can just imagine cat-thinking, isn't that quite a leap of cognitive ability? I'd get your cat on the keyboard with that Emode test right away! You never know...
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post #15 of 41
9/18/03 at 8:11pm
I never thought I would have a legitimate use for a laser pointer... until now. My Dad is going to be pissed when I start torturing his massively overweight cat. Damn thing needs a treadmill is what it needs. But a Laser pointer will do...

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post #16 of 41
9/18/03 at 8:27pm
Thread Starter 
I never thought that it'd make a noise that they could hear, that would somewhat explain it. Also, she probably realized that the dot was connected to me holding the pointer because whenever the dot went away she'd look at me putting it in my pocket or back on the desk. Whenever I pick it up now she gets all fidgety.
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post #17 of 41
9/18/03 at 10:37pm
Quote:
Originally posted by Eugene
My dog can't be arsed to chase a tiny red dot. My cat on the other hand, never learns. Another fun thing is tying a string to your cat's tail.

Cats love to play, it's in their blood. My cat love to play, even a simple plug is an amazing toy for him. Cat do not resist to these stimulations. Playing for them, is training and is an essential part of their never ending education.

In other way, my cats where first scared by my new automatic garage door, afterwhile they get used to it and totally ignore it when it's in movement.
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post #18 of 41
9/19/03 at 12:33am
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Only one of my 3 cats cares about a laser dot. And yea, what a ball of claws! I never seen a cat move so fast! But if my cat actually sees the laser pionter while playing he stops. I have to hide the laser all the time.
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post #19 of 41
9/19/03 at 12:35am
Quote:
Originally posted by Powerdoc
Cats love to play, it's in their blood. My cat love to play, even a simple plug is an amazing toy for him. Cat do not resist to these stimulations. Playing for them, is training and is an essential part of their never ending education.


and people say dogs are smarter
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post #20 of 41
9/19/03 at 4:19am
Hehe, I know this.
At first, I had a flexible riding crop with a string at its end. Whenever I moved the tip of the crop over the floor, my cat would chase this until she ran out of breath and fell down, panting. I'd never imagined cats could be this fast.

A year ago, I got a laser pointer as part of a promotion and discovered by chance how my cat would react to it. And react she did... went off like a freaking rocket on steroids, all over the room, furniture, over tables, shelves, one time, she even tried to run up the wall and fell down (much like an animated comic figure).
Didn't take long and she was conditioned to the slight click of the pointers button. Everytime she hears the sound, she jumps up from deep sleep and ogles me.

I believe, it's the coherent nature of the laser light that looks so interesting to them - the sparkling, bright reflected light that is very different to, say, a torch.
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post #21 of 41
9/19/03 at 5:00am
Quote:
Originally posted by Wrong Robust
and people say dogs are smarter

Put a German Shepherd in a small room with the largest tabby you can find, and we'll see who's smarter!
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post #22 of 41
9/19/03 at 6:21am
i had my friends cat convinced that the red dot ran under the sofa and was hiding from it. the cat was sitting there waiting for 5 min for it to come out before getting bored.
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post #23 of 41
9/19/03 at 6:27am
Quote:
Originally posted by Randycat99
Now that is a smart cat! Up to this point, I've never heard of a cat putting it together that the red dot is coming from a laser pointer.

I've never heard of one not. Maybe the cats you hang out with are stoopit.

Most cats are pretty smart and social. A buddy was just telling me how his cat went on a hunger strike for three days because he moved her chair. She wouldn't let him pet her or anything, either. It hit him around day three to move her chair back, and as soon as he did, she jumped on the chair, jumped over to him and started patting his belly and purring(which, apparently, is a game of theirs). Then she immediately jumped down and went and ate some food.

Talking to my cat is basically like talking with a person who doesn't understand most english. Really, what it comes down to are cats are like really, really habitual people.
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post #24 of 41
9/19/03 at 6:57am
I'm glad to read that the general consensus is that this is "play" for the cat. And that there are many cats like mine that recognize the noises of the pointer and make an effort to encourage the owner to start the red dot game. My cat hears me pick it up, jingling the keychain that came with it, and is ready for action. No other keychain gets that response from her... good ears! And like some said here before, it is funny as hell watching the cat madly chase the dot.
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post #25 of 41
9/19/03 at 10:02am
Man, the first time I did this to my cat I pissed my pants it was soooo funny. If the cat ever wises up get on ebay and buy one of those cool new GREEN ones. They will flip all over again. (and they claim to be color blind.....)
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post #26 of 41
9/19/03 at 11:07am
Cats can actually see colors on the oppisite sides of the spectrum, like reds to infra-red. helps them in the hunt. So the green laser may not have the same effect.
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post #27 of 41
9/19/03 at 11:17am
except that the green laser is actually an Infrared laser diode with double-pumping to green wavelengths
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post #28 of 41
9/19/03 at 11:26am
Like I said... worked on my cat.
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post #29 of 41
9/19/03 at 11:42am
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Quote:
Originally posted by iBrowse
My friend has a female cat named Bob, it's actually my cat's sister... Where in NY are you from? I wonder if it's the same Bob...

WTH?!? I thought my girl Bob was the only one!? AAAAAAAAA!

Sorry kitty, you're not unique any more.
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post #30 of 41
9/19/03 at 12:03pm
i dont think i've ever tried this laser pointer idea. i wonder if it could breed new life into my older, fatter, lazier cat.

what i find thats really funny about cats is catnip, and icyhot (i think its icyhot, if not then some kind of rub-creme). they seem to have a similar reaction to both. its like a drug to them. one cat will eat the nip for like a half hour, sprawled out on the floor (or wherever she finds it). then it'll lay there, like a big unemployed whale, drooling all over itself, the nip and the floor. makes quite a nasty puddle too. she'll be quite insistent on getting the catnip (or creme) too. my bro used to put that creme stuff on his arm, when he was a pitcher in h.s. the normally unaffectionate (to him) cat would follow him around the house, waiting for him to sit in some position where she could get to his shoulder.
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post #31 of 41
9/19/03 at 12:46pm
Olives had the same effect on my cat as catnip.

He'd rub his face all over one, make some funny noises, and just flop into a pile on the floor.

Wouldn't eat it, though.

He was good at jumping up walls chasing the flashlight. We started marking his high points, which on particularly energetic days got to over 5 feet.
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post #32 of 41
9/19/03 at 1:51pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally posted by thuh Freak
i dont think i've ever tried this laser pointer idea. i wonder if it could breed new life into my older, fatter, lazier cat.

what i find thats really funny about cats is catnip, and icyhot (i think its icyhot, if not then some kind of rub-creme). they seem to have a similar reaction to both. its like a drug to them. one cat will eat the nip for like a half hour, sprawled out on the floor (or wherever she finds it). then it'll lay there, like a big unemployed whale, drooling all over itself, the nip and the floor. makes quite a nasty puddle too. she'll be quite insistent on getting the catnip (or creme) too. my bro used to put that creme stuff on his arm, when he was a pitcher in h.s. the normally unaffectionate (to him) cat would follow him around the house, waiting for him to sit in some position where she could get to his shoulder.

That's weird about the IcyHot, our other cat will go insane if he smells any type of mint gum in a purse or backpack. If you give him the empty wrappers or any part of the packaging he rubs it all over his face then runs around with it for a bit.
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post #33 of 41
2/19/08 at 10:38am
My cat also loves chasing the red laser dot. Anytime, I reach in my pocket for almost anything, the cat, gets in a crouched, stalking position, just assuming I am pulling the laser pointer out to play with her.

There is no question, that she knows where the dot is coming from. One night, I was walking down the hallway in the dark, shining the dot all over. I could barely hear the cat, and could not see her. Suddenly, instead of chasing the dot, she decided to attack the source of the dot, ROUGHLY, YEOOOOOWW !!!! She drew blood from my hand holding it, probably without realizing she was attacking me. That is the last time I held it in the dark, at waist level, where she could easily jump up and attack it.

There is no question that the stimulation is good for the cat. It gives them play time, a bonding experience with the owner, and provides good excercise for the feline, as well as improving their hunting skills. I make sure I always have one with fresh batteries in my house, as my cat considers it part of her daily routine. When I forget to bring it out, she lets me know, by getting in her crouched, stalking position, that is unmistakeably communicating to me, that she is ready to play with and chase the laser dot now.
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post #34 of 41
2/19/08 at 12:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by iBrowse View Post

I never thought that it'd make a noise that they could hear, that would somewhat explain it. Also, she probably realized that the dot was connected to me holding the pointer because whenever the dot went away she'd look at me putting it in my pocket or back on the desk. Whenever I pick it up now she gets all fidgety.

I thought my cat was the only one that did that. He looks at me and the pointer when I turn it on. He won't chase the dot and seems to say, "You can't fool me with that anymore."
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post #35 of 41
2/19/08 at 1:18pm
Back in the day, we'd do the same thing with our cats... but with a plain old flashlight (or torch for those of you on the other side of the Atlantic.) The cat went just as nuts with that as with a laser dot.
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post #36 of 41
2/19/08 at 4:52pm
We used to use a laser pointer with our cats, but we decided we should stop because they seriously flipped-out when the dot went away. They'd hyperventilate and stuff. They seemed to enjoy chasing the dot, but definitely didn't enjoy it after the dot disappeared.

Any theories about why they flip-out so much when the dot goes? If you get them to chase something else and remove it, they don't do that.
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post #37 of 41
2/20/08 at 9:25am
Does anyone know if looking directly at the laser pointer would harm the cat's eyes? I would think so as I've read that people shouldn't look directly at a laser.
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post #38 of 41
2/20/08 at 10:27am
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yea, I would try to keep that away from the cats eyes too. the accidental flash won't do any harm, but the constant exposure might.
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post #39 of 41
2/20/08 at 10:07pm
This thread reminds me of something. Remember Duddits?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Duddits View Post

Hello Redban and welcome to the forum. I am a cat.

He hasn't been around for a couple of months. Perhaps his owner bought a laser-pointer.
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post #40 of 41
2/20/08 at 11:36pm
If you REALLY want to laugh make the pointer go round in circles and watch your cat sprint at full speed in circles until it gets dizzy. They flop on the floor and their head starts bobbing. And the best part is they get mad at you if you put the pointer away.
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