5 iPad games your cat will love

ByABC News

February 11, 2012, 4:11 PM

 -- The iPad is a handy addition to the lifestyles of humans, but it can also be a great way to get in some activity and exercise for our four-legged friends of the feline variety — especially if they're indoor-only. While anyone who has a cat knows that their paws can interact with any iPad app (usually when you're trying to get something done), there are actually quite a few apps that are designed especially for, or at least lend, themselves particularly well to pets. We've got a rundown of the five best pet apps we've found, so cozy up with your kitty and let the fun begin.

If you're worried about your cat's claws leaving permanent marks on your precious iPad screen, you don't have to be; the screen's actually quite sturdy. However, if you have any sort of screen protector or film over the display, there's a good chance it'll get scratched by kitty's play time, so remove it if at all possible.

1. Game for Cats

Price: Free; $1.99 for additional content

Download: Game for Cats for iPad

One of the original and most popular iPad games for cats, Game for Cats might not have the most imaginative title, but it's a hit with the feline set. Free to download, it features three different games, two of which are available after an in-app purchase of $1.99. The laser pointer game is free and displays a bouncing, zipping red light for your cat to chase. If cats are able to smack it, they receive a point. The two other games function much the same way but feature a mouse and a butterfly. Game for Cats allows you to upload your cat's high score to Game Center or share it on Twitter and Facebook. If you purchase the additional games, you can even control the pointer, mouse, or butterfly using your iPhone.

2. JitterBug

Price: Free

Download: Friskies JitterBug for iPad

Created by cat food brand Friskies, Friskies JitterBug is a free universal app for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad that features creepy, crawly bugs moving around the screen. The goal is to smack the insects in five 15-second rounds. There's an option to share your cat's high score via Facebook. The game also offers an endless mode that's not restricted by a time limit. It's a simple game, but cats still get a kick out of it, even if the "smack" sound the insects make when they're hit might bug owners.

3. Cat Fishing 2

Price: Free

Download: Cat Fishing 2 for iPhone and iPad

Also by Friskies, Cat Fishing 2 for iPhone and iPad features fish that swim around the screen hypnotically, just begging to get pummeled by your pet. Initially presenting one fish to hunt, the game adds more as your cat successfully paws them, up to a total of three at a time. When the game ends, your have the option of sharing your kitty's score on Facebook. Because there is more than one fish to smack, this free game actually works well with multiple cats — as long as said cats work well together.

4. Paint for Cats

Price: $1.99

Download: Paint for Cats for iPad

From the creator of Game for Cats, Paint for Cats is exactly what its title suggests: an app that lets your cats play with paint using the iPad screen. Like Game for Cats, this app features a mouse that cats chase around the screen, but as they swipe at it, they're actually drawing images, albeit very abstract ones. There are 10 different paint palettes to choose from, including Psychedelic, Shadow Cat, and the dubious Litter Box.

5. Magic Piano HD

Price: $1.99

Download: Magic Piano HD for iPad

Our final pick isn't actually designed with cats in mind, but we've found that they have a lot of fun playing with it. From Smule, creator of the famous I Am T-Pain sound app, Magic Piano HD is a $1.99 music-making program that lets you play along with 45 different standards and classic pieces by matching rhythm with them. It's fun for humans but seems even more enjoyable for cats, who love to tap and swipe at the three different keyboards while hearing music come out of the iPad's speaker. It makes for great video moments, too, ripe for posting to YouTube.