GoCat Da Bird Pull Apart Rod & Bird, 36 in, Assorted Colors

I passed over Da Bird Cat Toy several times because the photo image of the toy made it seem like it might be too simple for my cat and I wasn't sure it would interest her. Finally I decided to give it a try based on all the great reviews and the enticing price. From the moment I started playing with my cat Misty, I could see what all the fuss was about! I have had this toy for only two days and it stimulates and exercises my cat like no other toy. Do not be deceived by its simple look like I was. When I first swung the toy around for Misty, I was really impressed how the feathers flutter in the air and by the fluttering sound it produces. Misty went absolutely nuts! She was leaping and jumping all over the place to capture "Da Bird". She loves it so much that when she gets a hold of it, she sometimes tries to run away with her "captured prey" and doesn't want to let go right away. Misty is highly intelligent so she tends to figure out toys rather quickly, even the laser pointer bores her at times. However, based on her initial reaction the last two days, I don't foresee boredom with this toy. My tips when using Da Bird: 1.) It is definitely a supervised play time toy. If left unsupervised the feathers will mostly be destroyed quite quickly. 2.) If your cat is smart like mine, do not let your cat see where you store the toy. I made that mistake the first night, and the next day my cat was scratching like crazy at my Ikea cabinet that I stored it in try to get to her new toy, She has never reacted this way about a toy! It was absolutely hysterical and made for a great video to share with my family!. Needless to say though, nobody needs their cat scratching at their furniture. Drawbacks: 1.) If my cat tugs really hard at the feathers the 2 piece pole comes apart, but I just have to put it back together. I may just end up tapping it together at some point to avoid that. 2.) I can tell that she will end up wearing out the feathers pretty regularly, so I will need to have refills on hand. However, these two small drawbacks are completely outweighed by the excitement and exercise it provides for my cat. So I can easily give this 5 stars and I will be getting refills and sticking with this product long term.

My two cats loved the product from the moment I got it out of the box and have been demanding to play with it even after a week. This is the third wand toy they have including one with feathers & other puffs from petsmart and the interactive dancer thing. They like this one A LOT more and will either sit at the closet door meowing or will follow me around the house meowing and as soon as I look at them sprint to the closet door. In fact I've been having to stop playing with them because one was open mouth breathing but still wanting to chase it and jump. They did not really care for the puff attachment though. The wand has not been a problem for me. For those that keep having issues with it disconnecting maybe a little putty in the connector would provide a little more friction and hold? If you're worried about fiberglass splinters a very easy solution would be to wrap the wand in some material that would keep the splinters from poking through. I think even duct tape would do the trick. That being said there are a few things that need work. The line easily gets tangled on the toy and the string gets twisted so much it will kink up (much like those old yo-yos but even more annoying when you're trying to unkink it and there are two cats attacking it). My other complaint is that the line connecting the toy and the wand is still basically no more than a piece of string. One of my cats loves to chew strings and will start chewing on it as soon as she catches the toy. She destroyed one of the other wands this way. It can't be that complicated to use a material that cats can't chew through. I would definately not leave my cats alone, even for 5 or 10 minutes, with this toy because of this. I think they could easily chew the string into a couple pieces and then swallow one and end up with a linear foreign body. 6/30/13 I've had the toy for only about three weeks now, have only played with it for about 20 minutes a day and never left it out afterwards and it is already broken. The string separated from the spinner. I was able to tie the string to the spinner and still use the product, but it is disappointing that a product that appears to be selling well and well liked by both cats and owners is still constructed poorly and unable to last for about six hours of total playing time.

~MAIN REVIEW OF THE TOY~ This is hands down my cat’s favorite toy, which is a feat to accomplish since my cat is so picky! If you have a cat like mine, then you have a closet full of cat toys that you only managed to get your cat to touch once, if at all. I use to constantly get toys for her hoping that the next one would please her, but she was never impressed. Something about this one though, she doesn't get enough of it! I have to quit because I have things to do long before she wants to give up. And this isn't like one of those toys where you get excited because you think that you've finally found one that she likes, and then she doesn't want anything to do with it days or weeks later. I've had to replace one of these several times over the YEARS because she’s worn them out. She likes it best when I'm making the bird thing fly back and forth and I really like that she's getting much needed exercise trying to catch it. ~A LITTLE HINT ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN DO IF YOU'RE BORED BUT YOUR CAT ISN'T~ Sometimes I'm just too busy to play with her so I bought a second one and taped the end of it to the stairs railing so that it hangs a little bit higher than her head when she is sitting. For about a month or two she went at it on her own even though it wasn't moving. She would walk up to it, reach up, and slap it which would cause it to fly all over the place and she would go at it. After that I had to get her interested in it again, by jingling it in front of her or hitting it so that she would go after it, then I could leave her to play with it on her own and I could go back to doing what I wanted. That got a little old as well (Let me be clear that the item itself didn't get old for her, just me not moving it anymore, she is still super excited when I go get the other one and swing it around for her). Anyway, I came up with another trick to keep her interested in the stationary one. I had a little fan on not far from it and I turned it slightly so that it would blow on the stationary one and make it move a little. Every now and then I still hear something and look over to see my cat attacking it like crazy. ~WARNING ABOUT HIDING IT WHEN YOU'RE NOT USING IT~ (Because Your Cat My Still Try To Get At It And Destroy Things In The Process) Which brings me to another good point, be careful where you keep it after you are done playing with your cat. I use to take it apart, twist up the string, and put it in a draw in my closest. One day after playing, I just set it down on the counter in the living room where we had been playing. A little while later, I heard a crash and then my cat comes in the room, the bird in her mouth and the stick trailing behind her. I go in the living room and things are knocked off the counter and a stool is knocked over (my cat has never not once gotten on one of those stools or the counter). She just REALLY wanted to keep playing, lol! ~DOGS LOVE IT TOO (EVEN SICK ONES WILL TRY TO GET IT SO BE CAREFUL!)~ Another note is that dogs really like it as well. When I bought the first one of these I was still living with my mom and she had three dogs. I couldn't play with my cat in the living room because the dogs were trampling all over my cat trying to catch the bird, even my 15 year old dog with severe arthritis that was going through heart failure at the time. She hadn't moved in the last year or so except to the food dish and to her sleeping spot and I couldn't believe the way that she was going at this toy! I made her stop because I was worried that her heart was going to give out right then, but I wish that I had found this toy earlier so that I could have used it to keep her healthier. It’s an amazing toy that I don't know how I ever lived without. I have and will continue to buy it again and again! If my pictures or review helped in anyway, please click the Helpful or Yes button below! If not, feel free to leave a comment letting me know what I could include or ask any question that you may have! Thanks!

My cats are usually finicky when it comes to toys. Usually, they lose interest within seconds, making playtime very quick before they're over it and laying some few feet away just staring at the toy. But there's something enticing about this toy, especially the feathers—they get soo excited! The moment they hear the rustle of the toy, they run out from their hiding places and chaos ensues. The feather attachment's flight-like motion and prey-like appearance tap into my cats' hunting instincts in the most natural way possible. A simple, yet deeply engaging toy, easily one of the best cat toys I've purchased. And if my cats are happy, then I'm happy ❤️ I was impressed by the quality of this toy compared to many similar ones that I've had. The durability of the product and thoughtful design is amazing. Even the packaging for the shipping was sturdy, reflecting the high standard the company holds itself to. Another factor that left a very positive impression was their customer support. Due to a mishap with my local USPS, the package was initially delivered to the wrong address. I contacted the seller that same night, and within less than 24 hours, the package was correctly delivered and I didn't have to visit the post office or do anything else.

5.20.15 My cat likes this quite well! He is sort of an intellectual hunter, sitting alert and still, examining the prey and what it's doing much of the time. Like watching TV for cats, with me doing all the work!! Dragging it spinning through the air, which looks very exciting, keeps it too far away from him most of the time, but it works up his interest, I think. Then when it gets near enough to him in the air, he'll bat at it and sometimes capture and kill it! But if I KEEP it near to him, he gets bored with it! It's a delicate balance! The way I can get him running fast is to have a toy or laser light just ahead of him speeding across the floor—not through the air. So Da Bird is great along with other cat toys on wands, for variety. I wonder if the Da Bird pole still gives off splinters? Anyone know? This hasn't happened to me in the several times I've used it. Should I be careful? Also, my Da Bird pole falls apart in the middle and I can't seem to jam it together hard enough. Probably some glue will do the trick. Does anyone else have this problem? The toy comes with the stick in 2 pieces, and you put them together when you get it. I don't know why it started falling apart. I like to alternate material toys with the laser light. Nothing can duplicate the speed of the laser light! But then there is nothing for him to capture and kill! Also, with Da Bird, I wish the part that holds the feathers together were kind of leathery, b/c my cat doesn't like to chew on hard plastic. But that might be impractical. I just came back to my computer and meanwhile, he has found another kind of prey. A dust mask, with very well stapled-on elastic bands (that hold the mark on your face!) I love the way cats throw their pretend prey up in the air and make it "alive" for themselves!

I work in animal rescue, fostering kittens and cats who need varying degrees of socialization. I also "talk shop" with all the other volunteers in our rescue, so there's a wide range of experience with cat toys, and which ones are safe bets--like hundreds of cats!! The DaBird is the SAFEST bet--I've yet to have one that didn't love this toy (same with other foster homes)!! Some are more drawn to the guinea feather while others prefer the sparkle attachment, but I have NEVER had a cat that didn't love this toy. We own a couple of these, and I strongly recommend it to all adopters (with a recommendation for which attachment their particular new fur baby likes best). As I explain to adopters, there's something unique about how the DaBird is engineered that makes it universally attractive to every cat I've ever had come through my home. It's also one of the few toys where I suggest you actually make sure you buy the actual DaBird brand attachments. Not saying it isn't possible that other, cheaper feather attachments will satisfy your cat, but the sound, fluttering, and shape of the DaBird feather attachment is part of what makes it so loved. If there's any "cons" to the DaBird it's that the cats tend to want to tug at the attachment (because they don't want to give it back, once they get it), and it'd be nice if they could handle a little more force/tugging/pull without falling apart. They aren't low quality, but they also aren't able to withstand the abuse most full-sized cats bring to a beloved toy. It's also absolutely not a toy to leave out for cats to play with on their own. The attachment will be destroyed quickly. Additionally, we've had problems, on occasion, w/the attaching mechanism coming off of the toy, requiring that we reattach it/re-tie it back to the toy, which is a challenge (but not impossible--think in terms of threading a needle). Given how often we have to replace the attachments, it'd be nice if they were less expensive! However, also keep in mind that we have four of our own full-sized cats (one is an almost 20-lb Maine Coon mix), and typically have a litter of kittens running around too. With the sheer number of cats vying for chance to play with it, combined with how often we use it, there's a lot more wear and tear on ours than the average cat household would inflict.

Da Bird Cat Toy - Easy Store - 2 Part Pole My cat has been uninterested in other toys I've bought him over the years. Then, on [...] I read about play. It said their are 3 prey types - bugs, small furry things like rodents, and birds, and your cat may like all or only one of these. If the cat responds to small balls or things it can chase - possibly fur or leather - that you toss across the floor for it to run after - it likes mice prey. If your kitty loves lasers, it likes bugs for prey. If it likes things up high that move through the air, it prefers birds as prey. The disadvantage of laser play was pointed out in an article by Jackson Galaxy at that site. For a complete play experience, the cat needs to stalk, catch and kill its prey. That is what play is to them. To provide that, every time they bat at the low-flying "bird", and hit it, you must BE THE BIRD and make it fly a bit lower or with more effort (your cat has struck it and that would affect its flying.) If the cat catches it in its mouth, the article pointed out that birds will play dead. If you allow the cat to walk away and sit a few feet away, it will watch the bird to see whether it moves and is, indeed, "alive." You get to twitch the string to do this. Keep the string taut at all times, so your cat focuses on the bird and not the string. When the cat sees the injured bird is alive, it will likely come back for the kill. An injured bird might also fly behind or under something in order to hide. Let your cat sniff it out. This toy makes a whirring, feather rustling sound and has the same flight movements as a bird flying quickly by. The air currents make the feathers whirl and it strikes an instinctive chord in the cat's hunter predator makeup. I thought it might only appeal to younger or healthy cats. My cat is going on 14 in a couple of months. He has biopsied IBD and chronic nasal discharge and sneezes; he has chronic renal failure, and occasional attacks of pancreatitis. The specialist who did the endoscopy and rhinoscopy and diagnosed his IBD when Siena was one, said he would probably not make it to age 5. I didn't want him to get depressed, and I thought moving around would be good for him, so I got Da Bird in a grasping-at-straws moment. He loves it! From the first moment, he became like a kitten again! His eyes dilated, ears perked forward, he went on alert, he cried his hunter cry I haven't heard in years. He's an indoor kitty (an Abyssinian) and has never caught or killed anything in the wild, so this was instinctive play for him. It was wonderful. So, even if you have an older kitty who is ill or on meds and doesn't stir much, this is a wonderful way to connect and bond with him or her and to get him/her up and moving. The last key to play is when the cat captures the bird and gives it a shake to break its neck, or clutches the bird while on its back with all four paws, that's a kill. To finalize the play action, at that point give the cat a bit of high protein treat. He will then have stalked, hunted, caught and killed his prey, resulting in eating. The complete natural cycle. Great exercise and i have so much fun seeing him so alive and happy!

I’ve had these before, but this didn’t last. I fully expect the feathers to wear out but that wasn’t the issue. It arrived and the three of us started playing. It was a huge hit for 10 full minutes of jumping around. I had to go to the other room for 2 minutes so I propped it on a railing for the cats to play with the dangling feathers. I saw them pull it down. Fine, they like to carry toys around in their mouths. To my surprise one cat BIT THROUGH THE STRING. The string cannot be replaced and it is slippery so a square knot isn’t good enough. 5/5 for fun and 1/5 for durability