Some cats are smart enough to know it's humans controlling it and enjoy chase as a bonding exercise. In fact the often repeated arguement that cats are solitary creatures who don't enjoy companionship can be quite far removed from the personalities of some cats.

Indeed. Please do not do this to your cat. It will frustrate him/her, if you don't believe me, ask your vet.

This was written in the article:

> Some cats don’t like lasers. They find it far too upsetting when they can’t catch what it is they’re chasing. If your cat starts to pant while chasing lasers, don’t assume it’s just exhausted. Panting can be a sign of stress in cats, and stressed is something your cat shouldn’t be. Exercise caution when playing with your cat and laser toys, and consult a vet if you’re unsure whether their behaviour is normal.

I kinda want to setup a laser play toy for my cat, but have it "end" at a box that opens with a servo with some treats.

That or maybe some steppers to move a stick around that has a string at the end (my cat's favorite). Hmm....

Is the consensus that as long as they have something physical to play with, or in the case of a laser have a reward after - then it won't stress them?

What I do is I let the cat catch the dot, and right where the dot was, throw a treat. So it's almost like the treat came out as a response to cat catching the dot. I could automate this, but I won't because it's so much fun for me too.

She loves it. I also make a 'buzzing' sound with my mouth whenever the dot is out. This does an amazing job at training the cat to come running to me whenever I make that 'zzzzzz' sound (which can save their lives at times).

I get what you are saying, but one of my cats is really fucking lazy so the only time she runs around is to chase the damn laser pointer. Yeah I guess I could also give her treats. But she's so fat, I don't know if that's good either.

Well if a child loves to play mario kart with you, but very rarely plays mario kart against the AI, the key takeaway should not be "I will lock myself in a room to build a mario kart AI that plays like me". Just spend time with the living creature if you love it.

My two offspring take up every breathing second of my life after my wife & work.. cat comes after all that which doesn't leave much time.

Not a treat, but even a toy works. Something they can "get". You want to complete the hunt/catch routine.

Even better is to then only feed them after this. The have a very repeatable hunt/eat/groom/sleep cycle.