The Puppy and the Cat Toy: A Tale of Mayhem, Madness, and Addiction

FroliCat Pet Toy (warning: highly addictive for some pets)

A few years ago I bought the FroliCat BOLT Interactive Laser Pet Toy, that I can only describe as "the coolest toy ever" as a way to entertain our cat.  The cat enjoyed it for a few days and then, in typical cat fashion, lost interest.  The toy (pictured above) is a battery operated laser pointer that is placed on table and randomly moves the laser all around...from floor to the wall.

Fast forward a few years when I replaced the dead batteries in the long-ignored toy to see if our cat would get interested in playing again.  The cat has gotten pretty fat so I was thinking it could be good exercise for him.  Of course, there is a reason he is fat, and it's because he has no interest in physical activity.  However, when I placed the toy on a table and turned it on a very unexpected thing happened....our year and a half old puppy, Flynn, started chasing the laser light around.  

Flynn 

At first it was pretty funny to watch.  OK, let me be honest, it's still freaking hilarious to watch him run around and chase the light.  He throws himself into this game with reckless abandon.  He runs into walls, tries to climb the walls, slips and slides on the floor, and, when the timer stops the toy, he puts his paws on the table and tries to push it to turn it back on.  So it's continuous entertainment for us.

But we are starting to feel bad about this game because watching  Flynn's obsession with this toy is like watching an addict dig in the garbage for partially filled booze bottles.  He will literally play this game until he seems to be on the verge of collapse.  We have started hiding the toy in cabinets because he knows what it looks like and if he can see it he will just start running around in circles looking for the light.  I've seen him play this game for more than an hour at a time.  Usually when he seems to be getting really exhausted we take the toy and hide it from him just so he will get some rest.

Earlier today we let him play with toy and, as I write this, he is lying on the floor next to the table where the toy is sitting.  Poor thing is just waiting for someone to come turn it back on.  

For your consideration and amusement, see our video of Flynn playing with the laser today: