Go CatDa Bird Pull 2 Piece Pull Apart Rod & Bird, Handmade in The USA (1 Bird)

If you're a cat owner like us (and we have four!) then toys on strings are not new to you. We've all bought them, used them, offered them to our cats! So what makes this one worth five stars? What makes this one worth paying what is - for a cat toy - quite a lot of money for it? Why do our cats seem to love it more than any other 'toy on a string' they've ever played with? I hope I can answer these questions, and more, in a way that makes some kind of sense to anyone reading this who is wondering if they should bother buying one!Perhaps I should go back a step and say that we have discovered a wonderful man called Jackson Galaxy on Animal Planet, who - despite the rather hyberbolic title of his show ('My Cat From Hell') - actually speaks a lot of sense about how to look after, and play with, cats. Not just 'problem' cats (who, to be honest, more often are the victim of problem owners) but any cat. The 'Da Bird' toy is the one that Jackson uses most when he's seen trying to engage a cat in play with a toy on a string/wand and he also recommends it on his excellent website (JacksonGalaxy.com). We all think we 'know' how to engage a cat in play, but he's taught even us, with our four cats, that there's more to it than just dangling the stick and expecting the cat to do all the work!Which brings me back to this particular toy. Our cats have used (and destroyed!) loads of this type of toy over the years - three out of the four of them are 'outdoor cats' by choice, the other is mostly and indoor cat by choice, but all of them have their hunting skills finely honed! We must never forget that cats are just finely honed hunting and killing machines who have somehow fooled us humans that they're sweet and need looking after... but they are like any other member of the cat family; they stalk, hunt and kill (including the all-important 'four leg wrap-around' action), followed by eating, grooming and sleeping. And it's those six steps that all cats need to go through every day to be happy cats who are not a pain in the neck in terms of scratching/biting their human carers - something that, as Jackson has to point out with alarming regularity, is the reason why owners think they've got a 'problem' cat; they haven't, they just don't understand their cat's need to go through those stages around twice a day!So, you know how to engage your cat in play with a toy on a stick - you have to make it 'become' the prey they are naturally programmed to hunt. If you have an indoor cat it's even more important to allow your cat this time each day, otherwise they'll go for feet, hands and furniture instead! Even if you have outdoor cats, they probably won't want to go out much on a day like today (as I write, the rain is hammering down, and all four have said 'no thanks' to going out in that!) but they still need to go through their cat motions as they would outside. We'll be using our 'Da Bird' a lot today!The toy itself (sorry it's taken so long to get to that bit!) is very well made. The want is extra long and very thin with lots of 'bounce' in it. It comes in two parts, which you then join to together. The string is also thinner than most other toys I've used of this nature - its thinness seems to help the cats think it's a more authentic approximation of a bird as they concentrate on the end bit instead of getting wrapped up in the string. It's also much longer than most, which means you can stay still, but give the cat a real workout as it chases the toy around and over the furniture.The 'business end' is where this toy really comes into its own. I've never had a toy of this type (a cheap one, anyway) with real feathers attached to it, but this one has two large/long pheasant-type feathers as the main feathers on this toy. The other feathers are artificial, as is normally the case, but the real feathers make all the difference - you can almost make the toy 'walk' on the ends of the feathers, which makes it seem more real to the cat, and they seem to appreciate/recognise the fact that it bears at least some resemblance to the feathers they encounter attached to the real thing! The 'give' on the string means you can replicate the real action of a bird trying to make a getaway from the cat's paws, which adds to the fun (for the cat, anyway!) and when you swing the toy around the configuration of the features means that it really does look like a bird in flight. It's attached to the string by means of a short link of bracelet-type links, which means it's strongly attached, and so far (and they've used it a lot in the three weeks since we've owned it!) it's only lost one artificial feather. If you saw how much fun, and how hard, all four of our cats play with this toy you'd know how impressive that is!You can get replacement ends for the toy - to be honest, and this might sound mad (we've adopted four cats in four years - yep, we're pretty [cat] mad!) initially, having seen how 'actively' our cats played with the toy, we thought we'd be looking at replacing the end very soon indeed, even as frequently as the end of the first month. To us, having found a toy that works so well, it would be better to spend £7.50 (the cost of a replacement feather end) than spend a bit less money on a toy they won't play with as much in such a brilliant cat way. And, believe me, once you've owned a 'Da Bird', you'll see why other wand toys are but a pale imitation! But, so far, three weeks in, the end is showing no signs of needing to be replaced, so our initial estimates of the end of the first month were a bit off! However, it's inevitable that we will have to replace it eventually, and will be happy to do so withing whatever that time scale ends up being!Apologies for the long review, but this toy is expensive relative to others of a similar kind you can buy in your local pet shop, so if you're going to buy one you want to know it's going to be worth the money. We were lucky, we'd seen the toy in use on 'My Cat From Hell' many times, and had read on Jackson Galaxy's website how to use a toy like this properly, so we already knew we were making a considered purchase on behalf of our cats. But not everyone has those advantages, so I hope this has helped make up your mind if you were unsure.Your cats will love it, that much is guaranteed!

I bought one of these a while ago and it finally had it's day, so I just bought another one! My cats love it!One of my cats loves it much more than the other 4, she will jump up in the air, catch it and growl, it is hilarious! She will then carry it out through the cat-flap, as I hold on to the rod and follow! Then I let go and I see the rod disappearing out through the cat-flap! We have as much fun with this as the cats! This is certainly the best cat toy we have ever bought; and very reasonably priced for the enjoyment both the cats, and we, get out of it!After play we hide it away, but this one cat always knows where it is hidden and will not give up trying to root it out! We have to hide it very well now, as she will find it no matter where it is! It is like she smells it ;) The growling she makes is so funny and she really thinks she has a live bird in her mouth! The movement of this toy is so life-life, just like a real bird. It gives them the great exercise they need; especially being indoor cats. After the play we do the treating - this satisfies the whole 'hunt-kill and food-reward'! I always make sure I have enough replacement feathers in, as after a few weeks of using it, they do become a bit tatty and worn, especially if they take it outside when raining!This really is in my opinion, the top cat toy. Buy it, you will not be disappointed, unless your cat is lazy and boring ;)

Never thought I’d be so pleased about a cat toy. I have an indoor cat and he loves toys like this but unfortunately he doesn’t let go of the feathers once he’s caught them. This has resulted in the feathers falling out of previous toys or even him snapping the rod.This toy however is super robust. He still pulls at the feathers and tried to take his kill away but none of the feathers have come out and the rod has a bit of bend to it so it is nowhere near fragile enough for him to snap doing this.I was concerned I was paying over £10 for something I can get at a pound shop but this is far superior in the way the feathers flap about when moved fast and the durability. All of the times I’ve purchased those disposable versions add up and I wish I’d just invested in this sooner!My only issue with this is that I wish the heads of the toy were a bit cheaper as I’d like some other versions but the only ones I can find cost almost as much as the toy and whole rod again!

I’ve had one of these before for my previous cats who also enjoyed it.Now I have 2 hyper kittens, this is proving useful. Play, then eat then sleep! It really does mimic a bird in flight which gives it the edge over other wand toys and they run and leap after it.Kittens are pretty so destructive so it lost a feather on its first outing and on its third, it appears to have lost its bird flying action. They still love it though and you can buy replacement feathers which I will be doing.Little tip if you have kittens or agile cats, take care not to let them see where you store it. My Maisie spied it on a high shelf so has taken to leaping up there to try to find it. This was one of my few remaining kitten free zones!Also agree with person who pointed out the inaccuracies in the description. The wand does not separate into two pieces and is made of plastic.