WEBVTT - Why Do Cats Chase Laser Pointers?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren Voge obamb here It's hard to say

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<v Speaker 1>whether a human wielding a laser pointer or a cat

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<v Speaker 1>chasing the light is having more fun. While you sit

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<v Speaker 1>chuckling on the couch twitching that six dollar device around

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<v Speaker 1>in your hand, your cat is experiencing real moments of

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<v Speaker 1>heroic desperation as she leaps over the ottoman and scrambles

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<v Speaker 1>up the wall after that tiny speck of light she's

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<v Speaker 1>never able to catch. It's great exercise for indoor cats,

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<v Speaker 1>But why do cats find this activity compelling? First starters,

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<v Speaker 1>cats are attracted to anything that allows them to stalk prey,

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<v Speaker 1>even just for play. We spoke with Dr Stephanie Bourne's

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<v Speaker 1>wheel and animal behavior specialist at the Cummings Veterinary Medical

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<v Speaker 1>Center at Tufts University. She said the laser simulates the

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<v Speaker 1>movement of prey, so it attracts the cat's tension and

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<v Speaker 1>gets the cat to chase and pounce on it. It

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<v Speaker 1>is certainly a play behavior in young cats and maybe

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<v Speaker 1>in older indoor cats as well. However, it may also

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<v Speaker 1>be an abrant expression of the predatory behavior. That is,

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<v Speaker 1>if you will hijacked by the laser movement. Wild Cats,

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<v Speaker 1>feral cats, and even your sweet spoiled indoor outdoor kittens

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<v Speaker 1>who sleeps under the covers with you are all single minded,

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<v Speaker 1>solitary predators. They're wired to spend a significant portion of

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<v Speaker 1>their waking outdoor hours stalking their food, and since indoor

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<v Speaker 1>cats are often woefully understimulated in this regard, playing with

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<v Speaker 1>a laser satisfies that predatory urge. But it's just a

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<v Speaker 1>moving point of light, insubstantial and obviously not a mouse.

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<v Speaker 1>Cats know that right. For many cats, the laser pointer

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<v Speaker 1>is compelling in a way that makes you wonder if

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<v Speaker 1>you too are at the same party. Well, in some

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<v Speaker 1>ways you're probably not. We also spoke with Dr John

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<v Speaker 1>Bradshaw at the University of Bristol School of Veterinary Science

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<v Speaker 1>and author of the Trainable Cat and Cats Sense. He

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<v Speaker 1>said it's unlikely that cats perceived the light from a

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<v Speaker 1>laser pointer in the same way we do, because in

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<v Speaker 1>several ways their eyes work differently to ours. We both

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<v Speaker 1>have eyes that point forwards, giving us similar abilities and

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<v Speaker 1>perceiving how far away something is, but the similarities pretty

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<v Speaker 1>much end there. According to Bradshaw, although cats react strongly

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<v Speaker 1>to the red dot produced by a laser pointer. It

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<v Speaker 1>almost certainly doesn't have anything to do with the color.

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<v Speaker 1>That's because cat eyes are not sensitive to the color red,

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<v Speaker 1>so they most likely see the dot of light as

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<v Speaker 1>white or yellow. But cats are more sensitive to movement

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<v Speaker 1>than we are because their eyes connect to their brains

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<v Speaker 1>differently than ours. Bradshaw said, I suspect this is the

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<v Speaker 1>main attraction of the pointer for the cat. The movement

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<v Speaker 1>is really exciting, and even when we think we're holding

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<v Speaker 1>the pointer steady, the slight tremble in our hands probably

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<v Speaker 1>generates enough movement to keep the cat interested. So a

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<v Speaker 1>laser pointer interests kitties obviously because it gives them something

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<v Speaker 1>to pelling to hunt and play with. But some that

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<v Speaker 1>are in arians think laser playtime might be psychologically taxing

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<v Speaker 1>for a cat, as it has them constantly chasing after

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<v Speaker 1>something they'll never be able to catch. Some vets say

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<v Speaker 1>this can lead to neurosis, which can lead to symptoms

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<v Speaker 1>like over grooming, but Bradshaw thinks not. He said, I

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<v Speaker 1>don't agree that using a laser pointer to amuse your

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<v Speaker 1>cat will make it neurotic. Cats hunt their toys all

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<v Speaker 1>the time, and the fact that they never actually succeed

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<v Speaker 1>in killing any of them doesn't seem to do the

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<v Speaker 1>cat any harm. There may be a few cats that

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<v Speaker 1>become obsessed with laser pointers, and for those it would

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<v Speaker 1>probably be best to ration their exposure. But for the

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<v Speaker 1>average Maggie, a few minutes of chasing a red dot

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<v Speaker 1>around the apartment should simply provide some of the mental

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<v Speaker 1>and physical stimulation the indoor cats especially need. Boyne's Wile

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<v Speaker 1>agrees that the main concern should not be what you're

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<v Speaker 1>using to exercise your indoor cat so much as whether

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<v Speaker 1>you're doing it at all. She said, insufficient stimulation is

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<v Speaker 1>a serious problem for indoor cats. Cats are highly territorial,

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<v Speaker 1>solitary hunters that spend much of their day's foraging for

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<v Speaker 1>small prey animals. I'm not advocating letting them outside to

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<v Speaker 1>be killed by predators are hit by cars, but I

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<v Speaker 1>do advocate managing their environment as one does any captive

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<v Speaker 1>wild animal, so that they have the opportunity to do

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<v Speaker 1>what they've evolved to do. What does that entail A

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<v Speaker 1>Boyin's while explained regular opportunities for predatory play and exercise,

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<v Speaker 1>feeding with foraging toys, safe opportunities to monitor wildlife from

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<v Speaker 1>window seats, plenty of vertical space, and hiding spots should

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<v Speaker 1>all be part of a cat's environment. Cats are not,

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<v Speaker 1>or rather should not, be, low maintenance pets. To keep

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<v Speaker 1>a cat requires effort and understanding to be able to

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<v Speaker 1>provide a satisfactory life in an indoor context. I think

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<v Speaker 1>that laser play can be included in an overall plan

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<v Speaker 1>of enrichment. Today's episode was written by Jesselyn Shields and

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<v Speaker 1>produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is a production of

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<v Speaker 1>I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. From one, there's lots

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