cats and laser pointers
 

I'm sure that many of you who have cats have played the laser light game with them. Cats love chasing stuff, and laser lights make it so easy because I can sit and relax and just point the laser around the room.

However I had 2 problems with this.

The first problem was that every laser pointer I could find used weird batteries (watch batteries or hearing aide batteries) which didn't last very long and were expensive to replace. The laser pointers that took these types of betteries were also very small and sometimes hard for me to hold with my carpel tunnel and tendonitis.

So I had ben looking for a laser pointer that was larger and easier to hold, and that takes normal batteries -- and I found one! It's called the Critter Bug Laser cat toy. It's big and easy to hold (and it also doesn't get lost like the small ones do) and most importantly it takes normal batteries (two AAA batteries).

The second problem I had with cats and laser toys was that my cats would be paranoid for quite a while after the game was over -- looking and searching for the little red dot.

To solve that problem I started doing a countdown before i turned the laser on, and a different countdown before I turned it off.

To start the game I say "Ready, set, GO" and I turn the laser on when I say GO!.

To finish the game I say "3, 2, 1, bye bye" and the light disappears when I say bye bye.

All 3 of my cats now understand that the game is over and they don't act all paranoid by looking and searching for the little red laser dot after it is turned off.

So I thought I would share this with all of you, because so many cats love playing the game, and it's good exercise for them without making us tired and worn out :)

who are you kidding. I might try this with my kids!:eek:

These are fun toys...
 

My son's apartment cats go nuts with one..esp the younger one.

And my youngest of the three here plays with it some.
But since my cats do have the option of going out...they find it less
exciting...you know, hohummmm... no wings, etc!

Another game that is hugely popular here is a pipecleaner rolled into a spiral,
on your finger, then flicked into the air, for them to leap up and jump on.
When this homemade toy hits the ground it bounces in an unpredictable manner and the cats love that! I turn in the ends where the sharp metal is --I just fold it over a millimeter or two.

But we do that "READY" business as well. I will call out "READY" and count to
3 and flick the pipecleaner up into the air and you should see the leaping...
it is fantastic. They carry them off eventually and I guess every nook and
cranny is filled by now with them! One pak of the soft white ones, lasts a long time tho. Our middle kitty even sneaks up to the pak and pulls them out with her teeth. (a little disappointed tho, that they are straight and not
in the spiral form!). Since my husband smokes a pipe, they are always around here. But many people don't have experience with pipecleaners, so wouldn't know how much fun the cats can have with them!

LOL! My kids have one of those larger laser pointers and have a ball with their cats.

I'll be sure and tell them about the 3,2,1... part of the game.

LOL :D

And a few more characters to bring it up to enough characters to allow me to post my LOL. :D

When my lab was a small puppy (she's a little over one and she still acts like a puppy) she loved that thing! We used to tease her with it, and a few times she's ran into a door or a wall. :( <-- for her, but it was so cute, she never cried about it. She'd just get up and chase it again! BTW, seh a mixed lab (choclate/black) but she's choclate in color and her name is Cocoa.

You folks should check
.
out!

Too funny!

Much love and

I*hic*laughing so m*hic*uch I got *hic* the *hic* hiccups!:D

i had ever done it.just a laser pointer made my cat so happy.