When you first bring a cat or kitten home, you will probably be thinking of ways to enrich them.  Toys are a huge component of enrichment for cats, since most young kittens and cats enjoy playing with their humans, and it can be a great way to form a bond.  Some of the most common toys that come to mind are probably; wand and teaser toys, track toys, motion toys, crinkle toys, and of course the infamous laser pointer toy.  The laser pointer toy is marketed towards cat parents as a safe toy that stimulates cats hunting instincts.  It also provides exercise and mental stimulation while mimicking their natural instincts to chase prey.  It is said that it can help them satisfy their natural predatory drive. 

Next time you’re in PetSmart in the cat section looking for new toys to bring home to try out with your cat, I would skip the laser pointer, and I’m going to tell you why.  The laser pointer also has a lot of negatives.  Your cat will never be able to “catch” the moving red dot, which can lead to frustration.  The inability to catch the dot means your cat did not successfully catch or “kill” something, which can lead to anxiety and stress for your cat.  Your cat’s heightened prey drive from not being able to catch the dot, may result in redirected aggression towards people or other pets living in the home.

  Unfortunately I’m speaking out of experience with this one; that the laser pointer toy can lead to obsessive compulsive behaviors in your cat. Repeatedly chasing the dot and never being able to capture it can cause cats to develop severe obsessive tendencies in the form of chasing shadows and reflections.  

I have definitely struggled with this with one of my cats, Bean.  Bean never showed interest in playing with wand toys or any of the other toy types I listed above.  I thought buying a laser toy would help bring out her more playful side, and I always felt bad that her brother enjoyed the wands, and she had no interest.  The first time I exposed Bean to the laser pointer was when she was 6 months old, and it was an immediate hit.  I thought it was amazing that she was finally showing interest in playing.  I would laugh as she would jump up the walls, and run all around the apartment trying to catch the dot.  I continued to use the laser with her for years, having no idea the frustration, stress and damage that I was unintentionally causing.  It was all fun and games, until I moved into my new apartment with a lot more natural light that shines through the windows.  Our mornings quickly went from calm to chaos.  Any reflection that shines through the windows onto the walls she will sit and stare at for hours, until the sun moves off the house in the afternoon.  Not to mention when I pick up my phone, it creates reflections which usually project onto the wall or ceiling.  She will chase the reflections coming off my phone screen for hours on end. 

Now, you are probably wondering if there is a solution to this.  The solution is to immediately stop the laser pointer play if you notice these symptoms in your cat.  Also, providing other alternatives for enrichment, like a food puzzle or a different type of toy, and redirecting their obsessive behaviors towards something else.  However, another option is to consult your veterinarian for calming medication if you don’t see improvement with these methods.  

Some cats are more prey driven than others due to a mix of environmental, genetic factors, age, and early life experiences.  Take the time to get to know your cat before you throw a laser pointer into the enrichment and toy rotation.  It may seem like an innocent way to get your cat moving, but the negatives and potential damage you can cause drastically outweigh the positives!