1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,559 --> 00:00:10,120 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Voge obamb here It's hard to say 3 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:13,200 Speaker 1: whether a human wielding a laser pointer or a cat 4 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:16,520 Speaker 1: chasing the light is having more fun. While you sit 5 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:19,320 Speaker 1: chuckling on the couch twitching that six dollar device around 6 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:22,400 Speaker 1: in your hand, your cat is experiencing real moments of 7 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:26,079 Speaker 1: heroic desperation as she leaps over the ottoman and scrambles 8 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:28,440 Speaker 1: up the wall after that tiny speck of light she's 9 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:32,040 Speaker 1: never able to catch. It's great exercise for indoor cats, 10 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:36,839 Speaker 1: But why do cats find this activity compelling? First starters, 11 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:39,880 Speaker 1: cats are attracted to anything that allows them to stalk prey, 12 00:00:40,159 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 1: even just for play. We spoke with Dr Stephanie Bourne's 13 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:47,280 Speaker 1: wheel and animal behavior specialist at the Cummings Veterinary Medical 14 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:51,159 Speaker 1: Center at Tufts University. She said the laser simulates the 15 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 1: movement of prey, so it attracts the cat's tension and 16 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:56,440 Speaker 1: gets the cat to chase and pounce on it. It 17 00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:59,680 Speaker 1: is certainly a play behavior in young cats and maybe 18 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:03,200 Speaker 1: in older indoor cats as well. However, it may also 19 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:06,120 Speaker 1: be an abrant expression of the predatory behavior. That is, 20 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: if you will hijacked by the laser movement. Wild Cats, 21 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:15,120 Speaker 1: feral cats, and even your sweet spoiled indoor outdoor kittens 22 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:18,400 Speaker 1: who sleeps under the covers with you are all single minded, 23 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 1: solitary predators. They're wired to spend a significant portion of 24 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:26,840 Speaker 1: their waking outdoor hours stalking their food, and since indoor 25 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:30,600 Speaker 1: cats are often woefully understimulated in this regard, playing with 26 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:35,320 Speaker 1: a laser satisfies that predatory urge. But it's just a 27 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 1: moving point of light, insubstantial and obviously not a mouse. 28 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:43,680 Speaker 1: Cats know that right. For many cats, the laser pointer 29 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 1: is compelling in a way that makes you wonder if 30 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:49,040 Speaker 1: you too are at the same party. Well, in some 31 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:53,360 Speaker 1: ways you're probably not. We also spoke with Dr John 32 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:56,640 Speaker 1: Bradshaw at the University of Bristol School of Veterinary Science 33 00:01:56,680 --> 00:02:00,160 Speaker 1: and author of the Trainable Cat and Cats Sense. He 34 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 1: said it's unlikely that cats perceived the light from a 35 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 1: laser pointer in the same way we do, because in 36 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 1: several ways their eyes work differently to ours. We both 37 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 1: have eyes that point forwards, giving us similar abilities and 38 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:16,120 Speaker 1: perceiving how far away something is, but the similarities pretty 39 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:20,880 Speaker 1: much end there. According to Bradshaw, although cats react strongly 40 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:23,480 Speaker 1: to the red dot produced by a laser pointer. It 41 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:25,880 Speaker 1: almost certainly doesn't have anything to do with the color. 42 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: That's because cat eyes are not sensitive to the color red, 43 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:31,600 Speaker 1: so they most likely see the dot of light as 44 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:35,960 Speaker 1: white or yellow. But cats are more sensitive to movement 45 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:38,560 Speaker 1: than we are because their eyes connect to their brains 46 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:42,240 Speaker 1: differently than ours. Bradshaw said, I suspect this is the 47 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:45,400 Speaker 1: main attraction of the pointer for the cat. The movement 48 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:48,320 Speaker 1: is really exciting, and even when we think we're holding 49 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:51,360 Speaker 1: the pointer steady, the slight tremble in our hands probably 50 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 1: generates enough movement to keep the cat interested. So a 51 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:59,800 Speaker 1: laser pointer interests kitties obviously because it gives them something 52 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:02,600 Speaker 1: to pelling to hunt and play with. But some that 53 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:06,280 Speaker 1: are in arians think laser playtime might be psychologically taxing 54 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:09,040 Speaker 1: for a cat, as it has them constantly chasing after 55 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:12,079 Speaker 1: something they'll never be able to catch. Some vets say 56 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:14,520 Speaker 1: this can lead to neurosis, which can lead to symptoms 57 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:18,760 Speaker 1: like over grooming, but Bradshaw thinks not. He said, I 58 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 1: don't agree that using a laser pointer to amuse your 59 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:24,079 Speaker 1: cat will make it neurotic. Cats hunt their toys all 60 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:26,560 Speaker 1: the time, and the fact that they never actually succeed 61 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:28,800 Speaker 1: in killing any of them doesn't seem to do the 62 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:32,000 Speaker 1: cat any harm. There may be a few cats that 63 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 1: become obsessed with laser pointers, and for those it would 64 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:37,560 Speaker 1: probably be best to ration their exposure. But for the 65 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:40,119 Speaker 1: average Maggie, a few minutes of chasing a red dot 66 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 1: around the apartment should simply provide some of the mental 67 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: and physical stimulation the indoor cats especially need. Boyne's Wile 68 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: agrees that the main concern should not be what you're 69 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:53,800 Speaker 1: using to exercise your indoor cat so much as whether 70 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:57,400 Speaker 1: you're doing it at all. She said, insufficient stimulation is 71 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: a serious problem for indoor cats. Cats are highly territorial, 72 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:04,520 Speaker 1: solitary hunters that spend much of their day's foraging for 73 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 1: small prey animals. I'm not advocating letting them outside to 74 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 1: be killed by predators are hit by cars, but I 75 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 1: do advocate managing their environment as one does any captive 76 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:16,680 Speaker 1: wild animal, so that they have the opportunity to do 77 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:20,640 Speaker 1: what they've evolved to do. What does that entail A 78 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:25,080 Speaker 1: Boyin's while explained regular opportunities for predatory play and exercise, 79 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: feeding with foraging toys, safe opportunities to monitor wildlife from 80 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:33,280 Speaker 1: window seats, plenty of vertical space, and hiding spots should 81 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:36,280 Speaker 1: all be part of a cat's environment. Cats are not, 82 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:40,479 Speaker 1: or rather should not, be, low maintenance pets. To keep 83 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:43,120 Speaker 1: a cat requires effort and understanding to be able to 84 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 1: provide a satisfactory life in an indoor context. I think 85 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: that laser play can be included in an overall plan 86 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:57,440 Speaker 1: of enrichment. Today's episode was written by Jesselyn Shields and 87 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:00,040 Speaker 1: produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is a production of 88 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:02,719 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. From one, there's lots 89 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 1: of other stimulating topics. Visit our home planet, how stuff 90 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:08,359 Speaker 1: Works dot com, and for more podcasts from my heart Radio, 91 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:11,440 Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 92 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:12,640 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.