Playing with the cat

The two best cat toys you can have:

A laser pointer.

A 3' flexible stick with 3' of string fastened to the end.


The secret:

Let her catch the toy frequently. Have you ever played a game and figured out that you could not ever, EVER win? Either because you just weren't good enough, or because it simply wasn't possible to succeed? How long did you continue to play the game after that?

Same thing for your cat. She's not going to stay interested in a prey she can't catch. So let her catch it frequently, and she'll stay interested.

Letting her catch the string is easy, but how do you let her catch a dot of light?

Simple. As she's pouncing on it, turn it off. Point it somewhere behind her, turn it on, and bring the dot up onto her back and hold it there. She should be looking at her paws, thinking she's got it pinned. Watch for her to let up a little bit, then bring the dot forward, across her paws.

She'll think it just got out from under her paw and is getting away, and will chase it that much more intently.

This technique may not work as well with more then one cat. Putting the dot on one cat may just produce a pile o' cats. In that case, just keep it pointed near her paws. When she starts "checking", turn it on and run it away from her paws, same as above. And just let whoever caught it last be the one that "triggers" the escape.

Note: NEVER let the laser hit her eyes. Cats' eyes are much more sensitive than ours. An irritating flash to us is a blinding explosion to them.