Hubby Thinks Laser Pointers are Cruel

I recently purchased a laser pointer to play with our cats. Taxi gets so wound up that he seems to lose his mind, chases the dot like a maniac and starts panting after a few minutes. I think it's from physical exertion, so I'll quit using the pointer until he calms down.

My husband thinks it's cruel for me to use that because Taxi can never actually "catch" it and thinks that's why he gets so panicky. I don't like when he pants, but seeing him go nuts over the dot is kind of funny.

Do you guys use one with your cats? Do they get this excited about it?

ALL my cats pant after playing real hard (ecspecially with the laser pointer) and the first time it happened (panting) I did make a vet apt, thinking something was wrong and the vet said it was perfectly normal after playing hard!My cats love the laser light it is thier favorite toy

Cleos breeder uses them and tol me to get one for Cleo.
My cats never pant from using it.
Thye love it though.

Well, I'm going to keep using it then!

The funniest part is when I take it out of the drawer, Taxi knows what it sounds like. He starts darting around, his heading bobbing around like a weeble wobble, looking for the dot. It's just hysterical! I have to be careful or he'll knock over furniture and whatever is in his way. He would climb the walls to catch that dot if he could!

Has your husband ever watched a cat chase a fly? I've never seen one of ours catch one!

Some people think they're cruel because there's nothing to catch. All of our kitties are feral rescues, and we used to watch them play outside, chasing butterflies, flies, moths, crickets - rarely did they catch anything, and the bug just disappeared, just like that red dot.

However, if it really bothers hubby, sneak a couple of treats under a handkerchief or something without him seeing - and make the game end there.

Laurie

My dad thought they were cruel at first...It's just the fact that not only is there nothing to catch but also because it ends a bit teasing when u move the light all over the room and the cat is running like crazy after it when in fact there is nothing there...I stopped using it because Jake doesn't know when to stop, he will start panting but still chase after it and run. I'm thinking one day it might all get too much for his tiny heart...Sometimes though I will use it and not move it around on huge distances like from one side of the house to the other...

I bought one a couple weeks ago for our cats and I have a hard time telling who likes it the most, them or DH! In all, they are hilarious to watch!!

Mine love the laser pointer - my girls starts that chittering noise when I take mine out. But, I do try to make sure they always get a treat after they've chased the dot under the couch, or into the closet or somewhere so they can feel they've 'captured' something.

They love it. Stanley knows there's nothing there, but he doesn't care he loves to chase it around and I'm glad that he's getting a good amount of exercise to burn off his energy and keep him in shape.

I believe that a lot of destructive & unwanted behavior is the result of under stimulated cats, and the laser pointer is a big part of our plan to keep them happy.

Little guy just gets so darn excited even when I just go near the drawer we keep it in, I feel it would be more cruel to stop using it.

Mine don't get THAT excited over the laser pointer - they do over Da Bird. The panting is normal after intensive playing! Obviously he keeps chasing it and having fun so Taxi doesn't care he can't catch the dot. I wouldn't stress it and just have fun!

Bodhi doesn't get too interested in the laser pointer, but Siddha goes bananas when he sees that little red dot on the wall! He runs and tries to jump up as high as possible on the wall to catch it. Part of me feels sorry for him because he can't , but the other part of me CRACKS UP from watching him go berzerk over that thing! I think it's great exercise and Siddha doesn't pant or anything after playing with it. He seems to be a perfectly happy cat so I'm not really worried about the laser pointer affecting him negatively.

Kody seemed to like the laser pointer, but my husband also thinks it is cruel. So we don't play with it much. Then I read that Marilyn Krieger the cat behaviorist doesn't recommend them, so that just reinforced his opinion. It does seem to give them quite a bit of exercise though.