Just in time for the holiday season, Mac app developer Nate Murray has designed an iPad application that combines the touchpad functionality of the iPad and the “chasing a thing” video game genre to create the not-so-creatively titled Game For Cats.

“This crazy fast action-packed game will keep your cat (and your guests) entertained for hours,” Murray promises.

The app, available through iTunes, offers two choices: cats can chase a laser or chase a cartoon mouse. The goal of each game is to “catch” the laser or the mouse by batting the iPad screen. The cat’s score increases as it successfully hits the target.

Although the app is free to download and the laser level can be played free, the mouse-chasing level requires a 99-cent in-app purchase.

The promotional video from Hiccup, Murray’s app development company, shows that the game definitely appeals to its intended audience: the cat is fascinated by the imaginary mouse and tries to catch it numerous times.

Several other videos are available that show cats taking delight in the game. In one of those videos (embedded below), you can also hear that the mouse makes real squeaks when the cat hits it with its paw.

“It’s not clear exactly how much damage a frustrated cat could inflict on an iPad,” says a columnist for metro.co.uk, “but we’d probably advise checking to see whether Apple Care covers Acts of Cats before trying this out.”

Game for Cats promises lots of fun for your cats, so if you think it would be a great idea to let your cat swat your $500 iPad around the floor and potentially scratch up the screen in pursuit of a virtual mouse … well, there’s an app for that.

[Sources: The Unofficial Apple Weblog; metro.co.uk; iTunes Preview]