Why Cats Go Crazy Over Laser Pointers

Here’s Why Cats Go Crazy Over Laser Pointers

If you’ve ever pointed a laser pointer at the ground in front of your cat, you’ve probably been privy to the hilarity that ensues. They can’t give it up. Sometimes dogs get in on the fun, too. They’ll scurry around wherever the light shines, acting like they’ve had just a touch too much catnip. Who cares if they’ll ever catch it?

But why do they act so crazy about laser pointers? There’s no rhyme or reason, is there? According to HowStuffWorks, there actually is. Cats are naturally attracted to things they can stalk, and that laser pointer is offering that very kind of experience. It “simulates the movement of prey, so it attracts the cat’s attention and gets the cat to chase and pounce on it,” according to Dr. Stephanie Borns-Weil, an animal behavior specialist at Tufts University.

Of course, it’s easy for humans to look at the laser pointer and understand immediately that it’s just a light and nothing to be concerned with, but the reason cats don’t immediately process this information is because their eyes aren’t prepared for it. In fact, cat eyes don’t register the color red, so they see the light as white or yellow. So it’s not the color that’s goading them. Though it’s easy to look at a laser pointer and assume the love the light thanks to the color red.
The conclusion is they see the light as a predator, and it gets them hopping, and that means they’re getting exercise. That’s extremely important when it comes to keeping your cats healthy, so regardless of why they’re freaking out about the laser pointer, if they’re having fun it’s probably a good idea to keep playing with it. Plus, they get to fulfill their big cat relatives role of Big Bad Predator.