A method for inducing cats to exercise consists of directing a beam of invisible light produced by a hand-held laser apparatus onto the floor or wall or other opaque surface in the vicinity of the cat, then moving the laser so as to cause the bright pattern of light to move in an irregular way fascinating to cats, and to any other animal with a chase instinct. |
Citations|
| US3877171 | Jul 23, 1973 | Apr 1, 1975 | | FLASHLIGHT AMUSEMENT DEVICE | | US4208701 | Mar 10, 1978 | Jun 17, 1980 | | Luminous toy | | US4231077 | Dec 27, 1977 | Oct 28, 1980 | | Light toy | | US4757515 | May 14, 1985 | Jul 12, 1988 | Hughes Technology Pty Ltd. | Laser tube casing | | US4761715 | Mar 25, 1987 | Aug 2, 1988 | Beede Electrical Instrument Co., Inc. | Laser pointer | | US4926438 | Aug 29, 1988 | May 15, 1990 | ARSOC S.p.r.l. | Laser pointer | | US4985029 | Jun 2, 1989 | Jan 15, 1991 | | Laser apparatus for medical treatment | | US5056097 | Oct 1, 1990 | Oct 8, 1991 | | Target illuminators and systems employing same | | US5194007 | May 20, 1991 | Mar 16, 1993 | The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy | Semiconductor laser weapon trainer and target designator for live fire |
Referenced by|
| US6505576 | Mar 15, 2001 | Jan 14, 2003 | Barbara Nathanson | Pet toy | | US6557495 | Jul 5, 2001 | May 6, 2003 | | Laser pet toy | | US6651591 | Dec 9, 2002 | Nov 25, 2003 | | Automatic laser pet toy and exerciser | | US6701872 | Oct 30, 2002 | Mar 9, 2004 | | Method and apparatus for automatically exercising a curious animal | | US7066780 | Mar 25, 2004 | Jun 27, 2006 | | Pet entertainment device | | US7357421 | Sep 9, 2005 | Apr 15, 2008 | | Page or book for interacting with an animal | | US7900386 | Nov 26, 2008 | Mar 8, 2011 | Patent Category Corp. | Collapsible structures supported on a pole | | US8065978 | Jun 2, 2009 | Nov 29, 2011 | Tri-Tronics, Inc. | System and method for tracking, monitoring, and locating animals | | US8181265 | Sep 15, 2005 | May 15, 2012 | Microsoft Corporation | Secure machine counting | | USD469197 | Feb 12, 2001 | Jan 21, 2003 | | Ornamental laser pointer system | | USD582615 | Jan 19, 2007 | Dec 9, 2008 | Konami Sports & Life Co., Ltd. | Exercise equipment for pets | | USD646443 | Sep 7, 2010 | Oct 4, 2011 | Lucky Litter LLC | Pet laser light toy |
Claims1. A method of inducing aerobic exercise in an unrestrained cat comprising the steps of: - (a) directing an intense coherent beam of invisible light produced by a hand-held laser apparatus to produce a bright highly-focused pattern of light at the intersection of the beam and an opaque surface, said pattern being of visual interest to a cat; and
- (b) selectively redirecting said beam out of the cat's immediate reach to induce said cat to run and chase said beam and pattern of light around an exercise area.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein said bright pattern of light is small in area relative to a paw of the cat. 3. The method of claim 1 wherein said beam remains invisible between said laser and said opaque surface until impinging on said opaque surface. 4. The method of claim 1 wherein step (b) includes sweeping said beam at an angular speed to cause said pattern to move along said opaque surface at a speed in the range of five to twenty-five feet per second. |
