Jackson Galaxy Gotcha! Cat Wand Toy - Interactive Cat Toy, Feather Wand

I love the sturdiness of the wand and that not only the wand but also the string is retractable. One of my cat loves it, the one who is usually more challenging to engage with toys, while the other one who usually likes feathers could care less for the toy that comes with the wand. I still like the wand and toy. I think it’s a great purchase considering how many wands I have purchased that didn’t last long. Even wire ones that seemed like they would last, didn’t. I expect this one to last longer.

This item arrived damaged. The string was already frayed at the top. It would take my cats one second to chew through this. I opted to return the item instead of replacing it because the string itself is just too thin (Even if it wasn't damaged) and the functionality of this product did not work as I expected. I thought it would cast out more like a fishing rod but its just like a standard wand toy with an extension arm. I'm going to keep looking.

My cats love this toy!!

Update: Company issued full refund same day as requested so customer service is 5 stars.With all the thoughtful videos from Jackson Galaxy about what’s wrong with lots of cat toys I really expected this to be a lot better. I recently adopted two kittens and got this toy for them because they didn’t like their other wand toy that much. As far as quality I’d give it subpar at best. First off the swivel was extremely hard to get open, I almost had to get a pair of needle nose pliers but maybe that was just a fluke with the one I got. God forbid you’re older with less hand strength or have arthritis, not very thoughtful on the design. Next the dyed feathers immediately started pulling off just by loosely tugging at them. I plucked the loose stuff so my cats wouldn’t eat it since it’s dyed neon green feathers and they’re so young. The whole idea behind this toy and what was done in one of the videos about playing with your cat is to let them “kill” their prey but I noticed they’d pull off pieces of the neon green feathers rather easily so if you do get this toy I would replace the feathers on the end with something of a little higher quality. The next problem is the telescoping aspect of it. While it’s nice being able to adjust it, this was ultimately its fatal flaw. As you can see from the pictures after only 3 play sessions it bent completely in half on the last part at full extension. My one 10 week old kitten wanted to go in the other direction with the feathers and was able to bend it in half. I bent it back into place hoping it’d be salvageable but the wand wouldn’t close. It broke completely after trying to adjust it a second time in attempt to get it to close. While I did appreciate the retractable string and how compact it could become for storage I’d look elsewhere for a wand. The design doesn’t seem thought out very well for cats at all which surprised me the most and I can’t imagine it would hold up well to a larger cat. Keep in mind mine are both a little over 3 pounds.

I found other wand toys to be better. The expansion feature is not really necessary, and the string broke after not tooo many uses. Love the concept, just would recommend finding one that will last longer.

Got this for my cat who is picky about which wand toys I buy. He usually is interested for less than a minute before he gives up and bullies my other cat instead. So I was pleasantly surprised when he went absolutely FERAL for this wand toy. The wand and string are really long which allows you to whip this thing around the room. He jumped, ran, and FLIPPED until he caught the feather, then proceeded to proudy trot away with his prize. I repeated a few times and he finally got wore down and left my other cat alone. Make sure to put it away when your done so they don't get bored of it!! Thanks Jackson Galaxy!!!!

I have quite a few of these type of toys, which my gal mostly likes. Oh boy! The play was intense when I pulled this out. She went crazy for it. Big jumps, running, walking it around the house. She already pulled off a couple of the brightly colored feathers, but that's OK.I think it will last okay, at least the big feathers. I do need to be very watchful as she wants to trully eat or chomp on it. It's a little pricey, but I'd say it is still fairly worth it. I don't particularly care for the retractable aspect much.

I do not understand why this toy only has 3 1/2 stars, it is hands down the BEST toy I have ever purchased for my cats!!!! Endless fun. My cat jumps 5 feet in the air for this thing! The feathers on the end spin, mimicking a real bird. It's AWESOME!!!!!! My cat has loads of CAT MOJO with this toy!!!!!! And the sound of it opening up triggers 'it's playtime'. THE BEST!!!!!!