Gadget: FroliCat DART

The gadget boffins have run out of ideas for us humans so now it's the turn of our cats to be entertained. My newest non-electronic arrival is a Siamese kitten.

Maddy is cute, but has the energy reserves of a nuclear Duracell bunny. As I write this, she's claw-climbing my leg with a crazed expression. Fellow feline fanatics will know the perils of a bored moggie – from shredded furniture to claw attacks; it's definitely something to be avoided.

The FroliCat DART promises feline entertainment for the 21st century. It's a reasonably hefty brute out of the box, standing just below knee height. After inserting the 3xAA batteries, it sprang to life with a grating whirling sound. The premise is relatively simple – a laser rotates 360 degrees spinning and stopping at various times.

A dial on top of the FroliCat lets you determine the speed of movement and duration of feline fun, from five to 20 minutes. The slight problem with cat toys designed by humans is that cats tend not to like them.

Maddy prefers a basket of washing to her luxury heated igloo and an old earplug to a catnip mouse. I'm sorry to say it was the same with the FroliCat DART. Whether it was the rather intermittent hard-to-see laser light, overzealous rapid rotation or off-putting grinding sound, the end result was very little feline frolicking.

I wasn't keen on the thought of a laser possibly shining in my kitten's eyes, either. So while the FroliCat DART did spark a few carpet capers, they were fleeting. Maddy is currently playing happily in the FroliCat's box.

• This article was first published in The Scotsman on January 30, 2011