Cat Dancer 3PK

This is *the best* laser alternative if you have a cat with a laser "addiction" - way more tactile and stimulating for the cat. For whatever reason, my cat is obsessed. This 3 pack is the only pack that has value for money as of writing this review. As great as the toy is, any price over $5/toy is egregious. It really is just cardboard and wire. Excellent toy and lasts a long time, but not actually worth over paying for.

Works well; I only wish my cat didn’t suss out that I’m at the other end of it so quickly and disengage. 😞

Overpriced. Worried about using wire with cat. Made me wonder why I didn’t just make something like this and charge $25 for it…

Je recommande ce produit de très bonne qualité et très bien étudié. J'ai offert son 1er cat-dancer il y a 6 mois à une amie pour son chat du Bengal. Il se régale avec, autant quand on y joue avec lui en l'agitant devant et derrière lui (que ce soit au sol, dans les airs) et le chat vire-volte, saute, bondit etc... comme après un animal au sol ou un insecte dans les airs. Son chat du Bengal est capable d'y jour 15 mn d'affilée quand c'est un humain qui joue avec (après il faut qu'il souffle tellement il se dépense, mais il adore ça et peut y jouer plusieurs fois dans la journée, il fait parfaitement le faire comprendre à sa maitresse); mais le plus amusant à voir c'est ... qu'il retourne y jouer TOUT SEUL quand personne n'a le temps d'y jouer avec lui ou que tout le monde dort. Et ouf, c'est un jeu qui ne fait pas de bruit la nuit. Bonne idée pour offrir en cadeau.

I first saw one of these about twenty years ago, and quickly formed the opinion that this is the best cat toy I have ever seen. It’s just little bits of cardboard on either end of a coiled wire, but when you move or twist it, the cardboard on the end flutters like a moth. (We call it “Mothie”.) Every cat I have tried it with is instantly fascinated, even cats that turn their noses up at catnip mice, feather toys, things on strings, and laser toys. Every day, my partner’s cat walks over to where it is and looks at me as though to say “OK, let’s play Mothie”, and other toys are just no substitute. Her previous cat was hard to get to play, but went crazy going after any flying insects that got into the house. When I got her one of these, her eyes immediately lit up and suddenly she wanted to play. The tension in the wire seems just right to allow different types of movement depending on how you hold it – bobbing up and down, swishing from side to side, or (if you twist it just right) fluttering like a real flying insect. I think that’s what makes cats’ eyes light up when they see it: it seems like a real insect that needs to be caught. For a piece of wire and a bit of cardboard, it is surprisingly durable. It will last for months of daily play. I thought a cat would quickly chew the cardboard to bits, but it seems to be remarkably tough. Eventually, the wire will lose some of its bounce or the cardboard bits will separate and slide up the string and it won’t seem alive anymore. But it’s cheap to replace, and can be bought in a 3-pack. I would be cautious about how you whip it around. You don’t NEED to thrash it about hard to get the cat’s attention, and the wire is stiff enough to sting the cat if you accidentally slap it with the wire. The motion of the curved wire is also a bit unpredictable, and I’ve hit both myself and the cat in the face with it a few times, and try to make sure I don’t hit either of us in the eye. And if the cat has it in its claws or mouth, don’t yank it, because it’s wire, not soft string or yarn. Experiment with different motions – little twists with the fingers, and holding the curve of the wire at different angles – to find what generates the realistic motions that your cat responds to. It’s hard to predict exactly how it’s going to move, but with a little practice you’ll learn how to produce different felitropic motions. This is a “chase and catch” toy, and if your cat likes to play at chewing or tearing at its “catch”, you’ll want to have another toy ready for that, as there’s not much to bite and it’s too small to grab with all fours. But the cat I use it with is happy to stalk off to the other side of the room and get ready for another running pounce. Really, if you know a cat that has lost interest in its toys, you really need to try this one