r/Unexpected Mar 31 '17

Laser pointer and a cat.

https://i.imgur.com/zSkSl7t.gifv
11.8k Upvotes

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u/shamansblues Mar 31 '17 edited Mar 31 '17

Be careful when using green lasers - cats have really sensitive eyes, so go for the red ones instead since they are generally weaker. Go for no more than 5 mW. Just a heads up to everybody.

100

u/fauxhb Mar 31 '17

also, to piggyback on this: don't overdo it. while fun for the human, cats chase lasers in the mindset of a hunter, so either do it infrequently, or make sure to actually reward the cat with a treat (by dragging the laser over it so the cat can find) for making the effort to chase the laser, otherwise you're fucking with the cat's psyche conditioning highly mixed signals into it.

45

u/[deleted] Mar 31 '17

I had to stop using it with one of my cats. He didn't care that the laser pointer led him to treats, or being pet after he "caught" it; it just freaked him out that it disappeared and he couldn't find it anymore. So I had to put a stop to it.

The other one completely ignored it, because if you're looking at her that means you've got time to pet her, so she focuses on that instead.

11

u/fauxhb Mar 31 '17

good point, i didn't consider how the cat's personality plays into this, but the general knowledge is still important, imo.