iPad apps for cats

Friskies has just unveiled a line-up of three free games for Android and iPad ... for your cat. But it's not the first developer to do so by a long shot.

A number of feline-targeted games have been released for the iPad since that first video surfaced on the web in April of last year. If you're looking for a way to keep your cat distracted from spelunking your furniture, read on...

If you thought a laser pointer was the height of cat toy laziness, think again: Game For Cats even takes pointing the laser away, letting you sit and giggle while your cat chases a dot on the iPad's screen. You can also purchase an additional level with a mouse instead of a laser pointer.

By the same developer, Paint for Cats follows a similar principle, with a mousie running around your iPad's screen; this time, though, your cat's paws will leave smears of "paint". You can then share your feline Fragonard's masterpieces via Facebook or email, or even print them out and adorn the fridge like any doting parent.

Actually, we may as well 'fess up now and admit that all of these apps involve things moving around on screen in a haphazard, cat-attracting fashion. With App for Cats, it's bugs. Any time your cat manages to "catch" one, it will make an enticing noise and speed up.

Catch the Mouse Cat Game is exactly that: a squeaky mouse running around a black background, with a running tally of how many mice your cat has nabbed.

Cat Game, the intro reads, can also be played by humans! Catch that laser pointer! Catch it! It is just a laser pointer, but you can choose from a number of different backgrounds if you cat cares for such things, and you can either choose a timed, 30-second game or just play and play and play and play.

Cat Fishing deviates from the norm: it has your kitty catching fishies instead of dots or mousies. Each time a fish gets caught, the next fish will be faster, and some pretty ripple effects keep the game visually interesting.

Note: the Friskies games are not downloadable from app stores. To play, visit the Games for Cats website via your iPad or Android tablet and click the chosen game.

A number of tasty flavours (presumably available also in Friskies food) whirl about the screen; your cat must catch them, one by one.

Note: the Friskies games are not downloadable from app stores. To play, visit the Games for Cats website via your iPad or Android tablet and click the chosen game.

Each time your cat catches the moving cat biscuit, it will spawn two more cat biscuits, until the screen is a flurry of cat food. Yummo!

Note: the Friskies games are not downloadable from app stores. To play, visit the Games for Cats website via your iPad or Android tablet and click the chosen game.