Laser Toys for Cats

In response to this post, I have a question.  My cats love playing with the red dot of a laser pointer but I am concerned about the safety and health of their eyes.  I don't point it at their eyes...but they do stare at it for over 10 seconds and sometimes run into the path of it. I am wondering if a LED pinpoint flashlight (one that focuses as small as a laser beam would)....would be safer? If so where could I purchase one?

There is no risk to your cats' eyes from staring at the spot a laser pointer makes on the ground, even if they stare at it for a long time.  The only concern would be if you aimed the laser pointer directly into their eyes and held it there a while.  And it is likely your cat would find this unpleasant and turn its eyes away.

If you are still concerned, a LED or incandescent flashlight would be even safer since the beam will not focus as tightly even if the beam gets directly in your cats eyes.

Unfortunately, I am not sure where you would find a LED "pinpoint" flashlight.  Typically you want a flashlight to have a wide beam and a laser pointer to have a small beam, so that is the way they are manufactured.  Also, lasers are inherently narrow beamed while it would require additional components to make an LED have a small beam.

You could try one of the cat toys that keep the beam moving, like this one at Think Geek.