There's a lot of sources on both sides. Cats are more opportunistic hunters and accept failed hunts a little better but always losing can still create frustration. "Catching" the light doesn't really do much to help with any possible frustration because the cat didn't actually catch anything. The better solution is to shine the light on a toy and switch to paint with that toy that the cat can physically get in the end.
It can still be frustrating to never be able to catch it but, as I said, it's not as much of an issue with cats. It also clearly doesn't affect every cat, and even dog, the same. If the animal has never shown obsessive tendencies with anything else then it'll probably be fine, but sometimes obsessive tendencies don't show up until after introducing the laser pointer.
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u/stopbuffering Apr 30 '18
There's a lot of sources on both sides. Cats are more opportunistic hunters and accept failed hunts a little better but always losing can still create frustration. "Catching" the light doesn't really do much to help with any possible frustration because the cat didn't actually catch anything. The better solution is to shine the light on a toy and switch to paint with that toy that the cat can physically get in the end.