I get this question all the time: are cats and laser pointers a good combination? Is it okay to play with cats using a laser pointer? These are great questions because when you understand a few things about cats, you’ll know the answer. And it’s always good to understand more about the tiny, adorable, carnivorous, semi-wild, predatory beastie that’s living in your home, right? So let’s find out: does The Red Dot make a good prey item for your kitty?

Cats and Laser Pointers: The Good Stuff
As with many things cat-related, the issue of cats and laser pointers is not always black and white. Many cats LOVE to chase The Red Dot because it’s quick, moves randomly, and resembles one of felines’ favorite prey items: flying and crawling insects. Laser pointers can get your cat running, jumping, and leaping into the air and provides them with a great form of exercise…plus, it’s FUN for them and the humans who take joy in watching them. Especially for indoor cats who may not get enough exercise, laser pointers can provide cats with much-needed work-outs. Additionally, hunting The Red Dot can be a form of mental enrichment that cats miss out on if they aren’t given the opportunity to “hunt” on a regular basis. Where did the dot go? Oh, it’s under the chair! No, wait, it just went behind the sofa…maybe I’ll stalk it here…and, you get the idea. Hunting The Red Dot is all about mental strategy, and that keeps your kitty’s mind active and healthy, too. So, there are many positive reasons for incorporating the laser pointer into your cat’s play routine, if she enjoys chasing (or even watching) it!

The Prey Sequence: How well does The Red Dot measure up as prey?
To answer the question regarding whether or not cats and laser pointers make a good team, it’s important to understand something about the prey sequence. This is the sequence of actions every cat takes when they hunt for a prey item. Cats who live outdoors spend about 30% of their time hunting, and eat about 8-10 small meals per day, so they hunt A LOT! They are among nature’s most efficient predators, but feral “domestic” cats still only catch (on average) about 32% of the prey that they go after. The prey sequence consists of four steps: 1) staring, 2) stalking/chasing, 3) pouncing/grabbing, and 4) performing a kill bite. When cats hunt, they go back and forth among the steps in the prey sequence until the prey escapes, or it dies and they decide that it’s lunchtime (or that their guardian would like a gift).

Iwanted to know the exact amount of time I spend ruminating on the inner lives of my cats, so I did what most people do in times of doubt, and consulted Google. According to my search history, in the two years since I became a cat owner I have Googled variations of “cat love me – how do I tell?” and “is my cat happy” 17 times. I have also inadvertently subscribed to cat-related updates from the knowledge website Quora, which emails me a daily digest. (Sample: Can Cats Be Angry or Disappointed With Their Owner?)

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How do I love my cats? Let me count the ways. The clean snap of three-year-old Larry’s jaw as he contemplates me with detached curiosity is my favourite sound in the world. I love the tenor and cadence of my six-month-old kitten Kedi’s miaows as he follows me around the house. (High-pitched indignant squeaks means he wants food; lower-pitched chirrups suggest he would like to play.) I love the weight of Larry on my feet at night and the scratchy caress of Kedi’s tongue on my eyelid in the morning.

But how do I know what these little tykes really think and feel? I fear the authors of online listicles written in cursive fonts are unlikely to provide me with the latest scientific research – and are probably just saying what they think I want to hear. To truly journey into the feline soul, I will have to go to the fountainhead.