Question
I'm looking for some automatic cat toy for proper entertainment. I bumped into automatic laser toys and I'm a but surprised they exist since you're not supposed to hit the cat's eyes with the laser. If it's automatic this might very easily happen. Are the lasers of these toys way below 5 mW? And even then, is it safe enough if the laser somehow points directly at a cat's eyes?
I don't find much relevant information on Google and I don't want to rely on the information provided by the producers of such toys.
This question is very related: What level of output laser pointer is safe for a cat?
Answer
A categorical answer doesn't really fit, as there are several different types of these toys and more may be created at any time.
Frolicat has two automatic laser toys, the BOLT and the DART. I could not find the power settings for these toys on their website, so I contacted Petsafe (the owner of Frolicat) and recieved the following response via email on Sept 5, 2014.
The FroliCat BOLT, Dart, and Dart Duo contain a Class II or IIIa laser, which is considered a low-power laser safe for animals & people when used in accordance with the instructions included with the product.
The email then cites definitions for different laser safety classes, which can be found on Wikipedia.
This tells us the FDA does not regard class II as an acute skin hazard (class IIIb and class IV may have skin damage potential), merely a viewing hazard, against which the product has an appropriate warning label. To the point whether there is any radiation from mere proximity to the unit, we can reassure you that per the FDA information above, the only radiation emitted is through the beam.
I found another similar toy on Amazon, the Ethical Contempo Bella Laser, and was able to zoom in on the packaging to see the warning label for a Class IIIa laser.
According to the Wikipedia article on laser safety,
Class II: The blink reflex of the human eye (aversion response) will prevent eye damage, unless the person deliberately stares into the beam for an extended period. Output power may be up to 1 mW.
Class IIIa: Lasers in this class are mostly dangerous in combination with optical instruments which change the beam diameter or power density, though even without optical instrument enhancement direct contact with the eye for over two minutes may cause serious damage to the retina. Output power does not exceed 5 mW. Beam power density may not exceed 2.5 mW/cm2 if the device is not labeled with a "caution" warning label, otherwise a "danger" warning label is required.
(The Bella Laser has the "danger" warning label, I'm unable to find a picture close enough of the Frolicat products to see the warning label).
From these definitions, we can see that laser toys can be harmful if a cat looks into the beam for a long period of time. These laser toys incorporate movement so that the likelihood of your cat staring into the beam for over two minutes is low. However, when I used to play with laser toys with my cats, one cat was smart enough to stop chasing the dot and would just stare at my hand. I do not know how he would react with a toy controlling the laser, or if the beam was pointed directly at him.
Personally, I do not use laser toys because I believe that structured play time is a bonding experience between me and my cats. I also believe that play should be structured around meal times to enforce the hunt-eat-groom-sleep cycle that cats naturally fall into. While occassional hunts may fail, I believe a cat should not be constantly frustrated by hunting sessions that never give the cat the satisfaction of a "kill".
Answered By - Zaralynda