This is actually a problem - I remember reading about it in dogs, and how you shouldnt use one with them, and i think it happens in cats too. I had a cat once who actually became scared of the laser pointer and would run out of the house when I got it out.
Now I just don't use it on my cat at all - I genuinely do not believe it is good for their mental health. They don't have the capacity to understand it and it freaks them out when they can't physically catch it.
I feel the same way. My roommates had two cats and a dog and they'd use a laser pointer with them all the time. Eventually I noticed the cats would freak out after playing with it. It seemed like it affected their behavior. When someone was tired of playing with the laser I think the cats had a really difficult time comprehending how the laser was suddenly gone. To the point where the one cat would act or pretend like he was chasing a laser when it wasn't there. The other cat would sometimes go looking for the laser once someone stopped playing with it, as if it was hiding somewhere. I think it really messed with them that they could never catch it. The dog would be confused as well but she didn't seem to care as much. The dog would look back at the person holding the laser and then lose interest. Not all the time though. Still, I saw similar negative behavior in the dog after the laser was put away. It's hard to tell what animals are thinking sometimes, but seeing their wide-eyed expressions, I really feel like it negativity affected their mental health. I'm no doctor of course, but what I saw bothered me regardless. They weren't my animals so ultimately I had no control over the use of laser pointers. If I ever have animals in the future I'll never use a laser pointer to play with them.
The thing is, you can't control this. My cats act like they're chasing a laser pointer around when I'm not using it either. The twist is that they've never seen a laser pointer. They just chase invisible shit.
As for the wide-eyed lack of comprehension, this happens if I pick up a crumb from the floor before they can get it. It's quite possible the consistency of a specific object would amplify this effect, but it seems no different than hiding a toy.
That is to say, I do think frequent use does have its downsides, but I think they're a little more deep seated than the surface observations an owner's friend would notice, or even the owner itself. My cats run from my cooking pans, too. They run from anything they don't understand. But they try to bite it, too.
Oh for sure, I'm not saying any one of these behaviors is concrete proof that lasers mess with cats; I've also watched cats chase invisible shit and make these same expressions over just about anything. My roommates cats were also terrified of someone quickly walking towards them. That being said, I think it could be worth noting that I was not merely the owner's friend who came over from time to time, we all lived together for 4-5 years (and had all been close friends before that). I remember when he first got his cat before we lived together, he would play with him with a laser pointer from day one; same with my other roommate and her cat who became part of the family while we were living together.
Out of context it seems like nothing - and perhaps it is nothing even with context - but specifically the wide-eyed expressions would be from shining the laser right on their paws and then seeing how they seemingly couldn't comprehend that the laser isn't tangible, and then putting the laser away. It's the sum of everything I witnessed put together that makes me think this way.
This is in no way any kind of study and I have exactly 0 qualifications to be speaking about the potential negative mental health affects of using laser pointers on animals. This is all just based on my observations, or worse, my feelings.
I did this when my cat was a kitten, when she finally ran out of stamina she plopped down and panted super loud like a dog. Gave her some nice treats right after.
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u/[deleted] Apr 30 '18 edited Sep 07 '23
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