Calico Cat Entertaining Herself With Mouse-Catching Game Might Just be the Biggest iPad Baby

iPad babies are a real hot topic these days. Everyone wants to talk about the fact that kids can open apps and use a cellphone before they can even read. However, amidst the rise of iPad baby culture came something kind of amazing.

Have you ever heard of an iPad pet? Now, people have made apps that are designed to simulate catching bugs and mice. While these apps are technically marketed toward kids... people have been using them for a different kind of kid. Just watch this video, where one Calico cat has become a total iPad master:

Alyssah's cat is a total genius! I tried to teach one of my dogs to use my iPad, but she's just not built like that...

Related: Turns Out a Cat's Purr Might Actually Hold 'Magical' Powers

This kitty is apparently no stranger to screen-time. Before this, her mom says she'd been allowed to watch videos of mice and birds on YouTube, but that it wasn't working very well. She used to try to bat at the animals on the screen, which is not great, because it meant she was clicking all kinds of ads and links!

So, officially, she's graduated to a special app that allows her to catch all the small animals she wants! When she presses one, they even make a noise like a real animal would after getting "caught."

Screens are a Great Enrichment Tool for Indoor Cats

It can be a little bit difficult for an indoor cat to get proper exercise. We offer them a cat tree and they spend all day running around the house, but it's remarkably easy for an indoor cat to become bored or overweight.

Though sitting your cat in front of an iPad all day is not good, it can definitely be a good tool for a few minutes every day. It helps them sharpen their hunting instincts, which may help to keep them from attacking other things around your home. Your ankles, for one. What's with cats and going for the ankles ?

When you're giving your cat some screen time, make sure the screen's brightness isn't too high. Even if it's a little too dim for your liking, they can see it just fine. Keep it to about 5 minutes at a time; you don't want them to be sitting there all the time. And, if they get aggressive, it's time for a "screen break," just like you'd have for a human kid!