Laser-Guided Cat



As you know (at least, from Half-Life or Zipang), there are guided munitions that try to hit a target painted with a laser dot. As you may know (at least, from funny cat pictures), there are cats who try to act like they work this way, too. Or just mistake laser dots for fireflies - the result is exactly the same. The same principle may work on other sufficiently catlike creatures.

Fan Works

 * In the Harry Potter fanfic The Arithmancer, Hermione Granger invents a spell to generate a (weak) laser at the end of her third year. Although she tries to explain the value of lasers to her roommates, the first thing she does with it is entertain Crookshanks and her roommate's cat Wendelin.

Web Animation

 * In V2E6 of RWBY, Yang uses a laser pointer to get Blake to come to her as part of an intervention over her obsession with Roman Torchwick and the White Fang.

Web Comics

 * Evil Inc. had a shapeshifting hero trapped this way.
 * The GaMERCaT once ran into a smart turret.
 * Girl Genius had Agatha using flashlight and glasses to the same effect on a Fun-Sized Mobile Agony And Death Dispenser.
 * Head Trip discussed a possible problem Catwoman may encounter during the burglary. If she really was this catty, that is.
 * Chuckle-A-Duck depicts a cat smug over successful capture of the Laser Point.
 * Something*Positive had it used to get rid of a murderous catgirl on this page.
 * xkcd has a page where a cat caught and ate the dot.
 * The Oatmeal had a bobcat invited to a presentation.
 * "Foolproof plan" -- fan art from JagoDibuja has this attempted on Catwoman.

Web Video

 * A simple YouTube search will turn up dozens, if not hundreds of examples.

Web Original

 * Fake Science advises: build a laser to facilitate escape, if you are in a prison guarded by cats.

Real Life

 * In 1995, someone actually patented the "process" of using a laser pointer to "exercise" a cat. It's as ridiculous as it sounds -- Kevin T. Amiss and Martin H. Abbott claimed to have jointly invented the idea of shining a laser pointer where a cat can see the dot, and then moving it to induce the cat to chase it.  Fortunately the patent trolls never figured out how to detect when someone was infringing before the patent expired.  But no few "key fob" laser pointers have been marketed and sold as cat toys anyway.