The Good: Keeps cats entertained for hours and hours, Clean, Easy to use
The Bad: Potential laser damage problems? Uses batteries?
The Basics: A simple red laser emitted from the Vroom Around The Room Kitty Laser keeps both my cats entertained for hours!
As my wife and I sat down last Christmas to begin reviewing all our great gifts for one another, it seemed fitting that I found myself starting with a pet review. And as readers think of Christmas gifts for their pets, this might be the perfect gift! Last year, our pets made out like bandits during the holiday season! The day started out with our geriatric cocker spaniel, Mitzie, getting so gorged on treats that she has conked out to take a nap at our feet. But while Mitzie may have become the queen of treats around the house, I think my boys - my cats Brillo and Gollum - did well with toys. Chief among these was the Vroom Around The Room Kitty Laser Toy.
The Vroom Around The Room Kitty Laser Toy was, frankly, a winner from the concept up. I knew my morbidly obese Siamese, Brillo, used to chase flashlight lights, so I had a feeling the laser would be even better. And it was. But the real thrill was how quickly Gollum, our sleek black cat went for it! The Vroom Around The Room Kitty Laser Toy is going to keep Gollum fit and sharp-witted for years. The reason for this is simple: this is a nonaddictive, cool and keeps the hunting instincts of the cat sharp. As well, we're discovering that our cat is learning some pretty good boundary issues with this toy!
The Vroom Around The Room Kitty Laser toy from Fat Cat is a remarkably simple product. It is a laser pointer designed to be used to entertain house cats. As a way to keep this distinct as a cat toy, the Vroom Around The Room Kitty Laser is shaped like a little cat! Three inches long, 1 3/4" tall and 1 1/4" wide, this toy appears to be a hard plastic cat. It is yellow and orange with big, open eyes and a black nose. It is detailed like an animated cat, so it has its tongue sticking out playfully and it is quite cute.
But the real toy is not the physical cat toy that one holds easily in their hands. No, between the cat's raised ears is a big orange button that is very easy to press with one's thumb. This activates a laser beam which comes out of the cat toy's nose. The laser shoots out as an invisible (unless one has dust, steam or chalk falling through the air) red laser beam. When the beam comes into contact with a solid surface (wall, floor, curtains, etc.) the laser light coalesces into a small red dot. This dot becomes a source of fascination for the common house cat and they will chase it. Ours, both Brillo and Gollum, instantly responded to this. The dot appeared and they were on the hunt!
The Vroom Around The Room Kitty Laser is simple to use; activate the laser, get the cat's attention and then move your hand. This causes the beam (and dot at the terminus point) to move and your cat will chase it. Given how lazy Brillo is, it is hard to imagine any cat not chasing this around. Cats will chase this and this helps keep cats fit. As well, it is simple to use (simply remove the tag that comes in the battery pack when it is shipped and the product may be activated) and one is done, there is no cleanup. Also, this provides good bonding time as while one is playing with their cat with the Vroom Around The Room Kitty Laser, they have to pay attention to their feline. The cat will run, jump and (I can't believe how long my wife made Gollum do this!) chase its tail until it is utterly exhausted.
The Vroom Around The Room Kitty Laser can be dangerous to cats when the laser is shined directly in the cat's eyes, so pet owners ought not to do that (it's just mean to the cat!). Outside that, one needs only to consider where they are shining the laser and if they truly want the cat running or jumping up the item. It would be, for example, cruel to shine the laser along a wall and onto a window so the cat jumped up and smashed their face into the window (don't do that!). As well, Gollum refused to "attack" the laser dot when it was shined on Mitzie's sleeping body. As a result, this can be good for teaching cats boundaries.
The Vroom Around The Room Kitty Laser works best under circumstances where there is high contrast: dark rooms white walls or in daylight conditions on dark carpeting, running it along dark wainscoting. I've tended to end each play session with Gollum by training the laser on a small pile of treats, so he ends up associating the hunting instinct with something we want him to do and that he will be rewarded for. His instincts are sharp as ever, though (our Christmas Eve viewing of "A Muppet Christmas Carol" was interrupted by the shrieking of a mole that Brillo and Gollum had somehow caught and were toying with), but as he gets older, I am certain that the Vroom Around The Room Kitty Laser will keep him our prime hunter.
We used this for only about five hours on Christmas last year and the batteries did not fade at all. When they do, they are easy enough to replace with a pair of LR44 hearing aid batteries. The battery compartment on the bottom requires a Phillips head screwdriver to open, but is easy to get batteries changed in.
This toy is a great idea from Fat Cat and it is a wonderful execution as well as concept. Cat owners will find the initial investment will pay off for years with this toy!
For other cat toys, please check out my reviews of:
Mews Ments Krinkle Mouse Toy
Spotnips Crazy Cluster Glow In The Dark
Lipiderm Liquid Catnip
10/10
For other pet product reviews, please check out my index page by clicking here!
© 2010, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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