This is exactly the kind of thing the internet was made to share for. Made me lol. But I can‘t help thinking that the cat will eventually get bored of the fish it can‘t eat, and the you end up with a weird looking aquarium.
I've heard that excessive laser pointer chasing is cruel as the cat activates their hunting instinct, but is never able to catch it leading to a build up of frustration.
Place a treat out the way but where you can hit it with the laser, play with them for 10-15 and then point it at the treat and as the cat arrives kill the laser.
Can confirm, both from experience and consulting with veterinaries. Don’t play with cats with laser pointers. Had one cat who became so obsessed (and we didn’t even play that long) that for years afterwards would react to any light reflection, like the sun bouncing of the phone screen and onto the wall. Thankfully it subsided significantly later in life, but it took a lot of care and vigilance.
I suspect this is bunk -- the vast majority of feline stalking sessions in nature are unsuccessful, and these are often motivated by hunger, so failure is more meaningful than it would be for a domestic cat. Also, how does one measure feline frustration? Cortisol levels? Brain activity? Is it distinguishable from the stress/excitement of the hunt?
Regardless, my approach has been to start by putting together one of those 3V lithium battery LED assemblies, wrapping it up in clear tape, and hiding it under the dog bed. This takes about 30 seconds of preparation.
Then I run the cats around with the laser pointer for a few minutes, and finally let them watch the dot "hide" under the dog bed, so that they reach in and pull out their prize.
Which they then attack for a few seconds, but lose interest in pretty quickly, because it doesn't run away or smell edible. But their predator success desire is met, I think.
This chase-catch-abandon cycle is their MO for flying bugs and mice as well, FWIW. They seem to enjoy it, although I am not sure it's any easier to measure feline pleasure than feline frustration.
I feel this is just a cat being a cat. Cats are hardwired to chase any small thing moving quickly. Their eyes are great at detecting contrast, and a bright light has a lot of contrast to interest a cat. They chase it because they don't really understand it's not prey and just a reflection. That the cat lost interest as it got older is perhaps it just being old and less exuberant.
Ive always been taught that fish bowls are cruel because they leave the fish feeling really exposed and stressed. Wouldn’t this create the same effect?
Bowls specifically are worse than large, filtered, rectangular aquariums because they're typically too small (causing stress), unfiltered (resulting in waste buildup which causes stress), round (which can act as a lens if the bowl is small, which provides an unnatural, constantly-changing view which causes stress, and which also offers no corner to hide in or rest), and open at the top (so things can fall in, fish can leap out, and cats can attempt to catch them).
Reminded me of the “bonsai kitten” hoax of the 90s, maybe one of the first mass outrage events on the WWW.
If I recall correctly, it was an MIT student prank. This looks to be an early copy:
https://public.websites.umich.edu/~rsc/Humour/www.bonsaikitt...
This is exactly the kind of thing the internet was made to share for. Made me lol. But I can‘t help thinking that the cat will eventually get bored of the fish it can‘t eat, and the you end up with a weird looking aquarium.
True :P On the other hand, laser pointers seem endlessly entertaining.
I've heard that excessive laser pointer chasing is cruel as the cat activates their hunting instinct, but is never able to catch it leading to a build up of frustration.
Place a treat out the way but where you can hit it with the laser, play with them for 10-15 and then point it at the treat and as the cat arrives kill the laser.
Can confirm, both from experience and consulting with veterinaries. Don’t play with cats with laser pointers. Had one cat who became so obsessed (and we didn’t even play that long) that for years afterwards would react to any light reflection, like the sun bouncing of the phone screen and onto the wall. Thankfully it subsided significantly later in life, but it took a lot of care and vigilance.
I suspect this is bunk -- the vast majority of feline stalking sessions in nature are unsuccessful, and these are often motivated by hunger, so failure is more meaningful than it would be for a domestic cat. Also, how does one measure feline frustration? Cortisol levels? Brain activity? Is it distinguishable from the stress/excitement of the hunt?
Regardless, my approach has been to start by putting together one of those 3V lithium battery LED assemblies, wrapping it up in clear tape, and hiding it under the dog bed. This takes about 30 seconds of preparation.
Then I run the cats around with the laser pointer for a few minutes, and finally let them watch the dot "hide" under the dog bed, so that they reach in and pull out their prize.
Which they then attack for a few seconds, but lose interest in pretty quickly, because it doesn't run away or smell edible. But their predator success desire is met, I think.
This chase-catch-abandon cycle is their MO for flying bugs and mice as well, FWIW. They seem to enjoy it, although I am not sure it's any easier to measure feline pleasure than feline frustration.
My understanding is this is 100% true for dogs but not for cats, and the reason for the difference in level of obsession is unclear.
I feel this is just a cat being a cat. Cats are hardwired to chase any small thing moving quickly. Their eyes are great at detecting contrast, and a bright light has a lot of contrast to interest a cat. They chase it because they don't really understand it's not prey and just a reflection. That the cat lost interest as it got older is perhaps it just being old and less exuberant.
Ive always been taught that fish bowls are cruel because they leave the fish feeling really exposed and stressed. Wouldn’t this create the same effect?
Bowls specifically are worse than large, filtered, rectangular aquariums because they're typically too small (causing stress), unfiltered (resulting in waste buildup which causes stress), round (which can act as a lens if the bowl is small, which provides an unnatural, constantly-changing view which causes stress, and which also offers no corner to hide in or rest), and open at the top (so things can fall in, fish can leap out, and cats can attempt to catch them).
If that was true, I feel like it would be surprising that fish towers/elevators/view-tubes often fill with fish.
I mean, it's a fish, how would we know?
Can’t the cat just sit directly beside the fish tank and watch?
Make the platform removable and it becomes a hat aquarium.
I'm a bit perplexed: the "Bottom Entrance Cat Aquarium" looks like a fucking trap to stun and kill the cat with its own carbon dioxide...
The cat jumps up through a hole in the bottom of the table.
Was expecting something more like kitten-bonsai.
Hmm, aren't cat eyes largely unable to focus on objects less than 30cm/12inch away? I wonder if this is more like colourful a blur to them.
Please do not tap on the glass. It distresses the fish, and gives the cat ideas.