Laser Lights - Two Concerns

mugsy

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Aug 15, 2005
Messages
136
Purraise
3
Location
new york
After hearing all the wonderful stories about cats enjoying laser lights, I decided to try it out on my two babies. They absolutely LOVE it. It had them captivated for hours. I'm left, however, with two 'moral concerns':

1) I feel bad that they can never actually 'catch' the thing. They chase and chase and chase, but are never actually rewarded for the 'kill.' I find this sort of mean.. am I just crazy?


2) How do you end the play session? After my boyfriend and I got tired, after over one hour, we just stopped. For the next 20 minutes, Shorty and Little Pete ran around frantically trying to locate the little red dot. Looking in every corner high and low as fast as their tiny feet could take them. After a while they gave up, but for that 20 minutes, my heart broke
! Again, am I just being a bit overly sensitive? Any suggestions on how to end a game that may not break my heart, or, more importantly, theirs? Playing until they are too tired doesn't seem a viable option, as they've got the energy to go on for HOURS!
 

laureen227

Darksome Duo!
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 3, 2003
Messages
19,260
Purraise
387
Location
Denton TX
Hissy posted a link to an article about these, & it suggested you shine the light on a toy they can capture to end the session.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

mugsy

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Aug 15, 2005
Messages
136
Purraise
3
Location
new york
Originally Posted by laureen227

Hissy posted a link to an article about these, & it suggested you shine the light on a toy they can capture to end the session.
Great idea, thanks!! I'm going to look for that article right now!
 

hissy

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 19, 2001
Messages
34,872
Purraise
76
Also, under the toy you are shining the light on- leave a meaty treat, the reward for the prey time
 

squirtle

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Nov 29, 2003
Messages
5,544
Purraise
1
Location
Sunny Florida
That's why we quit playing with ours! When I was tired of playing with it I couldn't get her to understand it was gone. She would wonder around in search of the red light for quite some time after we were done playing. I would try to end the light at the couch and then I would sit down, hoping she would realize it was gone. What a great idea about the toy with a treat underneath it Hissy
I might need to find the laser light in the closet tonight. Dori would very much enjoy that, and I am interested to see how Brody would react as well.
 

solaritybengals

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Oct 31, 2005
Messages
2,359
Purraise
5
Location
Raleigh, NC
I like that idea too.

I currently make my light go hide under the sofa or a piece of furniture. They hang out by there a little while to see if it will come back out but will soon lose interest. Sort of like a bug that alluded them.
 

menagerie mama

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 5, 2005
Messages
4,720
Purraise
3
Location
Wisconsin
I would think it might be the same disappointment they feel when watching a bird out the window and the bird flies away....They don't know where it went, just that it went away...Maybe?
Mine love it too, except Timmy, who doesn't understand it so he's scared of it.
 

ahem

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Nov 25, 2005
Messages
57
Purraise
1
During the first play session, Piccolino liked the laser and played a lot .. then when I did not pay attention he jumped to my hand, so that I make the laser move. I liked that. Later on I showed him how it works from a small distance on my palm and on the top of his paw, so there is not much mistery left to it. Knowing how it works does not always spoil the fun. This could be a solution to end the search, but there is no doubt that Hissy's solution is much more elegant.

Cheers.
 

dawnofsierra

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 24, 2004
Messages
16,678
Purraise
24
Location
Loving my beautiful baby girl
This really is excellent advice, Hissy. For Serenity, she must receive a little treat to end the play session or else she will wander around crying mournfully as she searches for her "prey".
As for Sierra, though, she has never been less impressed with any toy and won't even acknowledge its existence.
 

sharky

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
27,231
Purraise
38
Originally Posted by dawnofsierra

This really is excellent advice, Hissy. For Serenity, she must receive a little treat to end the play session or else she will wander around crying mournfully as she searches for her "prey".
As for Sierra, though, she has never been less impressed with any toy and won't even acknowledge its existence.
Kandie knows it is just a light ( i use a flashlight) ... Zoey on the otherhand thinks it is a great game , I will have to use the treat thing if I can find something that she likes and Gigi wouldnt eat first...
 

rang_27

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 28, 2002
Messages
4,304
Purraise
5
Location
Milwaukee, WI
I like the idea of a treat at the end, but I couldn't keep it with me. My cats are very food motivated & they would do nothing but try to get the treat. I had to laugh when I saw this post because I just bought a new one (My old one was from the dollar store & wasn't very bright) it's the one in the shape of a cricket. Oh my gosh, we were having such a good time. They all joined in, it was great. I was hoping it would tire them out, but they still woke me up at 3:30 AM this morning. I guess a half hour isn't long enough, but I started to worry the guy downstairs would get irritated by 4 cats running back & forth over the top of his head.
 

carolpetunia

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Oct 25, 2005
Messages
9,669
Purraise
17
Location
Plano, Texas
Hissy IS brilliant! I've been making the light vanish under a throw rug, so the kitties can enjoy destroying the rug while they search for the light... but a toy and a treat is a MUCH better idea! Thanks, Hissy!
 

baileynyc

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 2, 2006
Messages
50
Purraise
1
Location
NYC
only had my baby two days, but have experieced the same thing......he doesnt look around too long after tho.....like 3-5 minutes tops.............


Robb
 

shambelle

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Mar 15, 2005
Messages
327
Purraise
1
Dumb question: for those of you with cats that keep searching for the dot after you stop showing it, are your cats young? PJ is 11ish, and she will often end the session by losing interest, or when we shut the light, she just gets up and plops down somewhere else - and she doesn't always restart when we turn the light on again.

I figure it's because she's older...

Our other cat has no interest in the laser unless we run it up one of our chairs.
 

naz-drala

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Nov 9, 2005
Messages
13
Purraise
1
I just got a light for my cat and he has no intrest what so ever
I think he is too smart for it. He looks at the light and sniffes and then quickly losses intrest. Oh well back to the string
 

mom2salemisis

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Oct 20, 2005
Messages
1,844
Purraise
1
Location
Orig. from Texas.. Currently in Minnesota (again)
my cats go crazy (they don't have that far to go trust me lol) they will even try to catch it when i run it across the ceiling. its so funny to watch them try to jump up like that NO one can sit on the floor when i pull it out. they know its play time all i have to do is jingle the keychain it is on and they play for hours. when i turn it off they will come jump in my lap and paw at my hands cause they know where it is.
 

pombina

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 13, 2005
Messages
4,945
Purraise
4
Location
The cats house, we just pay the mortgage..
Originally Posted by Mugsy

After hearing all the wonderful stories about cats enjoying laser lights, I decided to try it out on my two babies. They absolutely LOVE it. It had them captivated for hours. I'm left, however, with two 'moral concerns':

1) I feel bad that they can never actually 'catch' the thing. They chase and chase and chase, but are never actually rewarded for the 'kill.' I find this sort of mean.. am I just crazy?


2) How do you end the play session? After my boyfriend and I got tired, after over one hour, we just stopped. For the next 20 minutes, Shorty and Little Pete ran around frantically trying to locate the little red dot. Looking in every corner high and low as fast as their tiny feet could take them. After a while they gave up, but for that 20 minutes, my heart broke
! Again, am I just being a bit overly sensitive? Any suggestions on how to end a game that may not break my heart, or, more importantly, theirs? Playing until they are too tired doesn't seem a viable option, as they've got the energy to go on for HOURS!
I bought a laser last night and had these exact questions in my head after using it.
TBH at first when Mark was shining it around I was literally on the floor laughing at Sleeves, whos usually 'too cool' for such toys but he was running around like crazy after this thing I was out of control.
He and Nismo were addicted and after we eventually turned it off I got the cat dancer out and started playing with that, Nismo played but Sleeves just kept looking for the red dot, he wouldnt play at all so I gave him a treat instead.
Will definately try the treat under the toy though, brilliant idea as I did feel kinda bad.
But what a laugh
 

foxyfantastica

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Aug 16, 2005
Messages
64
Purraise
1
Ah i love it!! Theo loves loves loves this toy.. he sprints around the flat and sits there shaking his head when he can't find it!! Its so funny!!
 

rang_27

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 28, 2002
Messages
4,304
Purraise
5
Location
Milwaukee, WI
OK, I've got a funny story to add to this, but first I have to say I think that Maggie has figured out where the light is coming from because when I shut if off she looks up at it & meows. Now the funny story. Jordan doesn't always play with the laser pointer, but last night he was really getting into it. Every time he would start to chase it he would get his mohawk that he gets when soemthing scares him. Then he started puffing up the hair on his tail too. I was cracking up about
that when as I moved the light across the kitchen floor & over the top of where Isaac was sitting, Jordan takes off across the floor at top speed & ran head first into Isaac almost knocking poor Isaac over.
I just about fell off the couch laughing.
I don't know if he was looking at the floor & didn't see him, or if he thought Isaac would move.
 
Top