Da bird cat toy
This is a cat tease, no more and no less. But it is a very popular one and it proves that the good old cat tease is probably still the best cat toy. Its full title is "Da Bird Feather Teaser". It was or still is recommended by the ASPCA on their site.
Cat teases come in all shapes and sizes and it is easy to make one up yourself. All you need is a stick and feather - bottom line.
The Da Bird cat toy, however seems to have a special attraction to the domestic cat. This is because it replicates the bird in flight better than most other teases.
"...you make it 'fly." It spins as it flies which obviously sends the correct message to the cat that says this is a bird, catch it!
You can see that bird flight appearance in this video:
You can also see that as cats like it so much, when they catch it (as they invariably will), they kill it!
That means destroying it. Pulling the feathers off and doing exactly what they would do to a real bird.
What then is the lifespan of this excellent cat toy?
It receives a 4.5 out of 5 customer rating on Amazon.com (North American market) from 105 customer reviews. This is about as good as Amazon reviews get.
What can we glean from these reviews (remember by the way to treat reviews with caution as some are commercially produced). Here is a small selection of extracts
"Da Bird, however, has them in an absolute frenzy...something about Da Bird drives my cats wild.."
"Using this toy say 15 minutes a day with your cat will provide it with plenty of exercise, mental as well as physical, and this in turn will keep your cat happier..."
"they love it, i have to hide it when in between playtime.."
Apparently this is quite a large toy (length of rod). You need about 12 feet of space to use it. One reviewer/user says that it is advisable to get the three sectional rod and use one section.
Damage will occur. The Da Bird Cat Toy will have a limited life span. You will need to buy another one! Apparently you can buy a couple at a discount.
One customer said that the rod (wand) at the handle end splintered. This he says is not an isolated incident but there may be an element of misuse here. The person as well as the cat might get a little over excited.
I could not see this product for sale on Amazon.co.uk so it seems to be only available on the USA and Canadian market.
