# BIG Cats and Laser Pointers **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 9, 2011, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cats-and-laser-pointers/595689 "2011-09-09T03:03:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cats-and-laser-pointers/595689/1 "2011-09-09T03:03:26Z")
> **[VIDEO: Do Big Cats Like Laser Pointers?](https://cheezburger.com/25533441)** > > VIDEO: Do Big Cats Like Laser Pointers? - World's largest collection of cat memes and other animals Asks the fascinating question – do Big Cats care about laser pointers? Some do, and some don’t. The Tigers seem much more interested in the guy doing the pointing. He’s edible. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cats-and-laser-pointers/595689/2 "2011-09-09T06:13:09Z")
That is a GREAT idea! Next time I go to a zoo… I wonder why it was all done at night. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cats-and-laser-pointers/595689/3 "2011-09-09T07:05:26Z")
Must try this with hippos. From a distance. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cats-and-laser-pointers/595689/4 "2011-09-09T09:47:18Z")
There’s also the catnip video. I wonder if there is an association with species, as is suggested by the small sample size. One thing I learned is that the bigger the cat, the more they seem to be humorless jerks. The ocelots and caracals were all about that stuff, the tigers and especially lions not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cats-and-laser-pointers/595689/5 "2011-09-09T14:27:44Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I wonder why it was all done at night. Because the dot from the laser pointer doesn’t show up as well during the day. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cats-and-laser-pointers/595689/6 "2011-09-09T14:42:45Z")
Re: size. Presumably, the cats are chasing the pointer has some part of their prey instinct. Maybe the small dot is such that the big cats don’t respond to it as something worth chasing? ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cats-and-laser-pointers/595689/7 "2011-09-09T15:55:54Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > Re: size. > > Presumably, the cats are chasing the pointer has some part of their prey instinct. Maybe the small dot is such that the big cats don’t respond to it as something worth chasing? You’re right. You don’t see lions hunting meerkats…Or living with them, come to that. Once again Disney lies to our children! Damn you _Lion King_! ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cats-and-laser-pointers/595689/8 "2011-09-09T16:07:31Z")
I think I want a much bigger laser for dealing with the lion. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cats-and-laser-pointers/595689/9 "2011-09-09T16:38:17Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > You’re right. You don’t see lions hunting meerkats…Or living with them, come to that. Once again Disney lies to our children! Damn you _Lion King_! Meerkats are found in the same habitats as lions in some parts of their range 🙂 They don’t exactly live together, but lions can’t really fit down meerkat burrows, and they’d be all heavy and break the furniture, so it’s not too surprising. I’ll have to try the laser pointer with my parents’ snow leopard (they have a wildlife park, they didn’t just get a dodgy cat from craigslist) when I go up to visit in a few weeks- if I remember, I’ll see if I can film it… ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cats-and-laser-pointers/595689/10 "2011-09-09T16:47:45Z")
Man, I hope the next time I’m trying to solve a problem at work that I don’t hear that music start playing in the background. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cats-and-laser-pointers/595689/11 "2011-09-09T17:47:54Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > Re: size. > > Presumably, the cats are chasing the pointer has some part of their prey instinct. Maybe the small dot is such that the big cats don’t respond to it as something worth chasing? That was my guess. Servals are small and typically hunt rodents, so a quick little thing on the ground is going to attract attention. Lions and tigers and leopards oh my hunt much larger game, so a quick little thing on the ground is beneath notice. The human controlling the light is _far_ more interesting. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cats-and-laser-pointers/595689/12 "2011-09-09T18:19:17Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > Re: size. > > Presumably, the cats are chasing the pointer has some part of their prey instinct. Maybe the small dot is such that the big cats don’t respond to it as something worth chasing? Again, my sample size is very small, but it seems to me that dogs such as terriers (rat and mouse dogs) are more interested in laser pointers than those that hunt larger prey, even if they are smaller breeds. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-cats-and-laser-pointers/595689/13 "2011-09-09T18:25:28Z")
Anecdote: My ferrets never showed much attention to the dancing dot. They would, however, sometimes appear to track the beam from the dot up its length to the sight of the human holding a laser pointer in his/her hand.