# Laser pointers and cats **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 6, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-pointers-and-cats/363287 "2006-07-06T00:27:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-pointers-and-cats/363287/1 "2006-07-06T00:27:29Z")
A friend gave me a laser pointer recently, and as I have six cats, I was thinking-play time! However, I do have a question-is it really safe to tease them with it? I know you should NEVER shine it directly in their eyes, or your own, for that matter, but are there any other dangers? Just checking. I’m so looking forward to tormenting the little bastards. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-pointers-and-cats/363287/2 "2006-07-06T00:40:39Z")
Mine love theirs so much I have to hide it. I am careful not to shine it in their eyes. I have gotten a few of them six feet up the wall with it! Bill the Cat seems to be the only one who connects it with me. When I turn it off, the others look for the little red dot, while he turns around and looks at me. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-pointers-and-cats/363287/3 "2006-07-06T00:59:17Z")
When I had a working laser pointer, my cats would go crazy just hearing the jingle of the key ring attached to it. I never had to worry about hitting their eyes. They were always focused on where the beam was hitting, not where it was coming from. I did notice once that after about a 2-minute workout, my kitten was panting like a dog. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-pointers-and-cats/363287/4 "2006-07-06T01:00:21Z")
I would avoid using it to cause an cute, energetic young cat to collide with a cranky middle-aged furball. Other than that it’s a lot of fun. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-pointers-and-cats/363287/5 "2006-07-06T01:06:23Z")
They also work on puppies. Puppies who occasionally have wild spurts of energy at 10:30 PM or so, despite being walked and played with. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-pointers-and-cats/363287/6 "2006-07-06T01:08:44Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I know you should NEVER shine it directly in their eyes, or your own, for that matter, but are there any other dangers? Such as what? It won’t set their fur on fire, if that’s what you’re thinking. ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-pointers-and-cats/363287/7 "2006-07-06T01:17:49Z")
Our two cats are either smarter or dumber than the average. They played with it for about 10 minutes, then said “to hell with it” and ignored it thereafter. So it goes. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-pointers-and-cats/363287/8 "2006-07-06T01:24:09Z")
Yeah, my energetic, playful cat that can spend hours playing with the ring from a milk jug, loses interest in the laser pointer pretty quick. Or starts watching the pointer in my hand rather than the dot on the floor. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-pointers-and-cats/363287/9 "2006-07-06T01:41:22Z")
All of our cats figured out that my pointer was ther source of the light pretty quickly. Even if I have not teased them for several months, the sound of that particular keychain will bring them running from all around the house. If I stop shining it too soon, they will start looking at my hand, jumping up on a chair to see where the light has gone. OTOH, my brother has a cat that simply cannot be bothered. It sniffed at the dot a couple of times when my brother first tried it, then wandered off to find something interesting to do. Aside from shining it in a cat’s eyes, I cannot think of anything dangerous about them. (If you race the dot out over the end of the second floor balcony, the cat _should_ be smart enough to stop and go down by way of the stairs.) ---
**Author:** ![Fetchund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Fetchund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fetchund)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-pointers-and-cats/363287/10 "2006-07-06T02:17:27Z")
Or, you could get a cat like ours, who after her first experience with a laser pointer became obsessed with reflections. A common problem in dog breeds, often found in herding dogs… but no-one ever told this cat that she isn’t canine. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-pointers-and-cats/363287/11 "2006-07-06T03:17:26Z")
You also need to worry if you are incurring any legal problem over patent 5,443,036. > [@](#): > > BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION > > 1. Technical Field > > The present invention relates to recreational and amusement devices for domestic animals and, more particularly, to a method for exercising and entertaining cats. > > 1. Discussion of the Prior Art > > Cats are not characteristically disposed toward voluntary aerobic exercise. It becomes the burden of the cat owner to create situations of sufficient interest to the feline to induce even short-lived and modest exertion for the health and well-being of the pet. Cats are, however, fascinated by light and enthralled by unpredictable jumpy movements, as for instance, by the bobbing end of a piece of hand-held string or yarn, or a ball rolling and bouncing across a floor. Intense sunlight reflected from a mirror or focused through a prism, if the room is sufficiently dark, will, when moved irregularly, cause even the more sedentary of cats to scamper after the lighted image in an amusing and therapeutic game of “cat and mouse.” The disruption of having to darken a room to stage a cat workout and the uncertainty of collecting a convenient sunbeam in a lens or mirror render these approaches to establishing a regular life-enhancing cat exercise routine inconvenient at best. > > SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION > > Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method of exercising a cat in normal day and night lighting environments. > > It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method of providing amusing, entertaining and healthy exercise for a cat. > > It is yet another object of the present invention to teach a method of exercising a cat effortlessly at any time. > > In accordance with the present invention, a light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation (laser) device in a small hand-held configuration is used to project and move a bright pattern of light around a room to amuse and exercise a cat. > > The method is effective, simple, convenient and inexpensive to practice and provides healthy exercise for the cat and amusement and entertainment for both the cat and the owner. > > These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings of one specific embodiment thereof. > > BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS > > FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cat owner exercising a cat in accordance with the present invention. > > FIG. 2 is a plan view of a hand-held laser exerciser. > > DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS > > Referring to the drawings, a light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation (laser) apparatus 10 for exercising cats, in the hands of a cat owner 12, emits an invisible beam 14 of light from and along the longitudinal axis of the device barrel 16. Activation of the laser cat exerciser 10 is controlled by spring-loaded trigger 18 energizing the laser mechanism by completing a battery power circuit. A cat 20 reacts to the bright pattern of light 22 occurring at the intersection of the laser beam and an opaque surface, for example, the floor or wall of a room. > > The involuntary and almost imperceptibly slight movements of the hand holding the laser device of the present invention creates a jittery animated effect in the light pattern at the opaque intersection appealing to cats even when the device is held essentially steady. > > Intentional movements of the hand-held cat exerciser cause angular changes in the direction of the beam 14 and consequently the light pattern 22 moves unpredictably about the intersecting surfaces. The cat 20, intrigued by the jumpy movement of the light pattern, experiences a playful and healthy chase impulse and follows the irregularly moving light pattern around the room to the cardio-vascular, respiratory, weight control, and muscle tone benefit of the animal. > > The coherent nature of a laser light beam results in a small intensely bright pattern of light clearly visible in normal day light or artificial night illumination, small enough relative to the paw of the cat to cause interest without posing a threat, and sharply defined over long enough distances (e.g., up to 150 feet) to provoke a full workout with long sprints for the pet. Ideally the bright pattern of light is directed along the floor, steps or wall at speeds sufficient to exert and entertain the cat but not so discouragingly fast as to dissuade against the chase, i.e., typically in the general range of 5 to 25 feet per second. In other words, the angular sweep speed of the laser beam is controlled by the cat owner 12 to effect an appropriate linear sweep speed of the pattern on the opaque surface within the stated general range. It is understood, of course, that the angular beam sweep speed required to effect a given linear pattern speed depends upon the distance between the laser and the surface on which the pattern impinges; specifically, as the distance between the laser and the surface increases, the same linear pattern speed is produced by a slower angular beam sweep speed. Release of trigger 18 interrupts the power circuit and extinguishes the laser beam, whereupon the cat can return to more traditionally feline time passing until cat owner 12 re-initiates the laser cat exerciser. > > The light pattern projected by the laser cat exerciser is invisible until intersection with an opaque surface. Lasers emitting various colors of coherent light can be used and the laser apparatus can be distinctively shaped and colored for easy identification. > > Although particularly suited to amusing and exercising cats, the method of the present invention can be applied to other domestic pets, for instance dogs, ferrets, and any other animals with the chase instinct. > > Inasmuch as the present invention is subject to many variations, modifications and changes in detail, it is intended that the subject matter discussed above and shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. > > Claims: > > 1. A method of inducing aerobic exercise in an unrestrained cat comprising the steps of: > > (a) directing an intense coherent beam of invisible light produced by a hand-held laser apparatus to produce a bright highly-focused pattern of light at the intersection of the beam and an opaque surface, said pattern being of visual interest to a cat; and > > (b) selectively redirecting said beam out of the cat’s immediate reach to induce said cat to run and chase said beam and pattern of light around an exercise area. > > 1. The method of claim 1 wherein said bright pattern of light is small in area relative to a paw of the cat. > > 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said beam remains invisible between said laser and said opaque surface until impinging on said opaque surface. > > 3. The method of claim 1 wherein step (b) includes sweeping said beam at an angular speed to cause said pattern to move along said opaque surface at a speed in the range of five to twenty-five feet per second. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-pointers-and-cats/363287/12 "2006-07-06T03:47:53Z")
When was that patent filed? If recently, I’m sure we can find some prior art to invaldidate it. ---
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-pointers-and-cats/363287/13 "2006-07-06T03:52:51Z")
All but one of mine chase the pretty dot. The dissenting cat plays with the actual pointer itself, but has no use for the dot. Mine much prefer the green over the red: I suspect that it is more a matter of brightness than color. The issue with not hitting their eyes is that lased light presents a potential hazard with respect to the retina itself. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-pointers-and-cats/363287/14 "2006-07-06T04:07:11Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > When was that patent filed? If recently, I’m sure we can find some prior art to invaldidate it. filed: 11-02-1993 issued: 08-22-1995 ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-pointers-and-cats/363287/15 "2006-07-06T04:33:20Z")
[Here’s](http://www.privateline.com/archive/5443036large.jpg) Fig. 1 from the patent. Probably one of the more amateurish patent drawings I’ve hade the pleasure of looking at. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-pointers-and-cats/363287/16 "2006-07-06T05:14:30Z")
I used to use mine exclusively in the living room, and often shone it on the ceiling. The one cat that went bat-shit crazy over it used to think that it “lived” in there. Occasionaly, he’d scan the ceiling to see if it was around even if we hadn’t had it out that day. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-pointers-and-cats/363287/17 "2006-07-06T05:26:54Z")
> [@Beware of Doug](#): > > [Here’s](http://www.privateline.com/archive/5443036large.jpg) Fig. 1 from the patent. Probably one of the more amateurish patent drawings I’ve hade the pleasure of looking at. Nowhere near as amateurish as the damn fool employee in the Patent Office who issued a patent for this! ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-pointers-and-cats/363287/18 "2006-07-06T05:49:42Z")
Hmm. You suppose if I talked to the right person, I could get a patent on cats themselves? I’d be rich! _Rich_, I tell you! Bwahahaha! ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-pointers-and-cats/363287/19 "2006-07-06T06:38:46Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > Such as what? It won’t set their fur on fire, if that’s what you’re thinking. It will if you buy one of [these!](http://wickedlasers.com/) :evil grin: ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-pointers-and-cats/363287/20 "2006-07-06T07:14:43Z")
> [@cerberus](#): > > Mine much prefer the green over the red: I suspect that it is more a matter of brightness than color. > > The issue with not hitting their eyes is that lased light presents a potential hazard with respect to the retina itself. Especially with the green, I expect, because green laser pointers typically have a higher power/intensity rating, plus their wavelength is right in the middle of the range to which human (and probably most other mammalian) eyes are most sensitive. Other novel uses for laser pointers (being careful of eyes, just as you would with a cat, of course); I visited the sealife centre with my kids; the otters were all staying in the corner of their enclosure furthest from us, so I enticed one over wit the dot from my laser pointer. Also works with the fish in the aquarium. I expect it would have got me thrown out of the place, if the staff had noticed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-pointers-and-cats/363287.md?page=2)