I’m suspicious of how much thought you put into that experiment. 
Is this “hypothetical” experiment just a tail transplant, or attaching the stump of CatA to CatB to create a Pushmeow-Pullmew?
And to think all these years I thought it was the cat’s own curiosity that killed it…
Did you miss this line in the OP?
It doesn’t strike me as an innocent hypothetical question, but as something he plans to try. Finding out why he thinks the cat should be blind isn’t a bad idea.
Gah! Mine eyes!
Mods, can we have a change in the thread title, something along the lines of “Do cats die if you aim laser pointers at their eyes?”
Everytime I scroll past this thread I get squicked out.
Yes, I considered that fully first. Based on the potential consequences if it isn’t an “innocent question”, but an indicator of something more serious, I concluded that further queries were warranted.
::: shrug:::
I know a number of people who consider lasers to among the best cat (and dog) toys ever.
Not pointed in the eyes of course.
The Infernal Red Dot!
I think that the question is much more likely to arise naturally than from a willful attempt to blind the cat, as you’ve assumed:
- Nephew teases the cat with a flashlight.
- Later, does same with laser-pointer.
- Is told by adult “Don’t do that! You’ll hurt the kitty!”
- Wonders “WTF? A bigger light comes out of the flashlight – why is this little light so dangerous?”
There’s no reason to assume that the kid was playing with the flashlight with the intention of blinding the cat, or that he was planning on finding a better way to blind the cat. It’s not unreasonable to assume that someone told him that a laser could blind the cat, rather than that he deduced it himself. The most natural reason that someone might tell him this was because they were worried about his innocent play. It’s natural that he might wonder why a lasers aren’t allowed but flashlights are.
I’d guess that he noticed the strange reflection that the flashlight made in kitty’s eyes and it’s been fascinating for him. Just try and move him on to something else interesting. Most six year olds have a relatively short attention span.
“Oh, look! Shiny!”
:: wanders off to another thread ::
shagnasty. I’d be interested to know what you’re implying here. If you’re into your usual snarky mode, and it involves injury to animals other than dogs or monkeys, then we need to talk.
If I’m mistaken, then I apologize. If I’m not, then you’d damn well better.
samclem GQ moderator.
And you’re getting an email on this. Please respond.
Since this one never really had a GQ, let’s move it to MPSIMS.
samclem GQ moderator
That was my impression as well. The Na-Baron was using a flashlight to study the irridescent effect caused by the reflective layer of cells in the cat’s eyes. He then realized ‘Mother informed me that shining the flashlight in my eyes would result in blindness, not unlike that created by the detonation of a Stoneburner. Yet, this specimen of felinus domesticus is clearly not blind. Perhaps his different occular structure affords him immunity. Hmm, mother informed me that shining a laser in my eyes (even when unshielded) would result in death. Does the cat’s immunity also extend to lasers? I shall ask my uncle, the Kwizatz Haderach.’
The proper response, IMO, is to tell your nephew to never shine lasers in the eyes of any animal, and to give him a simplified explanation that cats are nocturnal hunters and that the reflective wall in their eyes improves their nightvision.
Well to answer the question in the title.
You stick a razor in one eye and the cat will scratch your face off. So it is impossible to put razors in a cat’s eyes.
(Bold text via me.)
Gotta respectfully disagree, having done just that. I have removed dermoids from the corneal surface of a cat’s eye using a razor blade piece broken off using an instrument called a Castroviejo Blade Breaker (cite: http://www.delasco.com/pcat/2/GSInstruments/RBH13C/RBH13C/)
Here is a picture of one such tumor:
http://www.catvet.homestead.com/Dermoid.html
Note, while it is possible to stick a razor in the eye of a cat, it should be done under a general anesthetic using appropriate surgical technique.
I got this joke.
I’m laughing my frillin’ ass off.
It’s amateurs like you that give Trespassing In God’s Domain a bad name. Try it with Schroedinger’s Cats, where the two conjoined felines simultaneously do and do not exist: then we’re talking science fair experiment.
When’s Q.E.D going to return to tell me if my laser assertions are correct?
I’m actually curious, as laser safety is not my specialty.
Won’t a cat chase a laser beam? Like a dog chases a flash light beam? This might be fairly innocent play.
Some will. My Luna loves to chase the laser bug. I try to make sure the beam doesn’t go into her eyes while we’re playing that game.