Is this bad for my cat.

TX123

I have a 3 yr old cat and he still acts like a kittten the way he plays and acts around us. He loves chasing things so i tried out him chasing a laser pen. The second he hears the chain on the laser he immediately jumps up and is ready to pounce when he sees it but he seems to squeak alot as in a sign of distress. He runs like mad to catch the laser dot and im just worried that it mite be making him stressed out . all help would be much appreciated.

FranknFurter

Probably best not to use it, specially if you think its distressing for him.

I know its difficult coz he loves it so much, but the risk of blinding him would be much worse. He will probably be rather peeved at you for taking his favouirte toy but there have been quite a few cases of cats being blinded by the laser-pen things, they have extremely sensitive eyes, very different to ours, and one single brush of the beam from one of those laser-pen devices can result in a permanantly blind cat.

b

Dave!

indeed, do you think the laser is going in his eye at all? cos that might explain his distress, since their eyes are ALOT more sensitive than ours, they're much more prone to damage if you shine a laser into them. it's probably best if you replace it with a different toy!

Sigma Force

If you feel he's stressed then try another toy bumabey he's excited about it some cats make funny noises when they see something they would like to chase esp little birdies out a window

Arcadian

Are you sure he's distressed? Cats get very excitable at the prospect of hunting and have several vocalisations to accompany it.

Ruu_Old

I think they get distressed because when you turn it off they get confused and spend the time looking for it, so maybe you could distract them with another toy afterwards. I use the laser pointer for training my cat.

Dave!

what have ya trained your cat to do Ruu? i don't know where i'd start to train mine! he's not very willing to learn

Ruu_Old

Sit, beg and move from one spot to another..with me just pointing to it.

Alun

They're called laser pointers because they're used for pointing at things on whiteboards and projector screens for presentations. These are classified as Class 2 or sometimes Class 3 laser devices and very definitely not toys! These things are very dangerous if they are shone directly into an eye, regardless of whether it's a cat, dog or human involved. So, in short, unless you want to risk blinding your cat, stop it at once!

Ruu_Old

Well several vets and professional trainers said its fine, so thats good enough for me

Alun

Ruu wrote:

Well several vets and professional trainers said its fine, so thats good enough for me

If there are warnings on the things that say they shouldn't be shone in the eyes (of humans) because of the danger of causing blindness, why should cats be any different? I'm not saying you're deliberately shining it in the cat's eyes, or anything, but it could certainly happen by accident.

Read this, for example http://vision.about.com/od/eyesafety/a/laserpointereye.htm

tk123

If you're worried abt using a laser a small mag light or similar torch will do the same job - my cat will play with either..

Tabitharose

I use lazer pointers to play with my foster kittens - I wouldn't worry about it as long as you don't shine it at the cat's face - they love to chase them

FlutterinBantam

Seems kinda crazy to me to be using lasers to entertain/train cats... C'mon.. a torch ,as someone pointed out, or a light of some sorts would do just as well... get a grip...

CookieCat

*******Quote*********

Sci/Tech

Eye expert challenges laser pen 'danger'


A leading eye specialist has dismissed as "absolute rubbish" claims that laser pens can cause blindness.

Professor John Marshall, who runs the ophthalmology department at St Thomas's Hospital in London, said the worst that could happen if a laser pen were shone directly onto the retina was a very temporary loss of vision followed by a few minutes of disorientation.

He has written to the Consumer Affairs Minister, Nigel Griffiths, to complain about the effects being exaggerated.

"These devices absolutely do not cause permanent blindness ... they have been around for over 30 years," he told us.

The "James Bond" effect

There has been an increasing level of public concern over commercially available laser pointers after they were alleged to have caused serious eye damage in a number of cases.

The pens are intended as a replacement for the old-fashioned pointing sticks used by lecturers.

But there has been a spate of high profile cases where top sportsmen and pop stars have complained of laser pens being shone in their eyes.

Prof Marshall, who is also laser safety officer at Moorfields Eye Hospital, said that public concern over laser pens had more to do with James Bond than scientific fact.

"People should think of CDs and checkout scanners rather than Goldfinger," he said.

Prof Marshall, who has worked in the field of laser safety since the 1960s, said he was particularly incensed about a recent report from Tyneside about a cat being tortured and blinded by a laser pointer.

He said that it would be "virtually impossible" to blind a cat in this way, even with a surgical laser, because of the way their eyes reflect the light.

He said that the new widely available laser pointers had a radiant emission of five milliwatts, which even if shone directly into the eye would cause less dazzle than a bright flashbulb.

While there have been many claims for ocular injury as a result of misuse of the pointers - none had so far been upheld.
un quote*****


There are cats toys which are laser not pens but silly little gadgets that emit shapes based on the same principle they were passed a s safe by vets in the US and UK So...It's up to the individual I suppose. More likely to drive the cat batty trying to catch the light and there is no "end product" so you do get pent up frustration which could present as the vocalisation noted above. And or in one case cat slipped out a window so I suppose they are dangerous.:eek:

Claire

FlutterinBantam

Uhhhmm ....right....

TX123

well all that advice was great. Im gonna continue making my cat enjoy the joys of lasers

Sysiphus

Laser pointers are very dangerous when cats are about. I tried it with my cat the other night when I was in bed, after using one on the wall for a while all was fine, then when the fun was over and the light put out and cat milk given, the little wench attacked my feet in the dark, I nearly fell out of the bed so, it was very dangerous for me!!!

RotalicaV

Its the same as the sun, if you're stuipid enough to star blindly at the sun it'll have the same effect. The cat wouldn't be looking at the source of the beam, just chasing the output so it wouldn't do any harm. (I work with lasers)

I'd say your cat would figure it out and stop chasing before she ever got stressed

fabcat

I'd say your cat would figure it out and stop chasing before she ever got stressed [/QUOTE]

I don't know about anyone else, but my cat would never work it out, she still chases rain on the window, I almost feel sorry for her, then laugh again 'cos she looks so daft and cute:) .

Ruu_Old

At the end of the day its up to the owner. I have been using other cat toys as of late as putting the laser pointer aside, which as I mentioned use it mostly for training now.