Jackson Galaxy Gotcha! Cat Wand Toy, Interactive Feather Teaser for Cats

Great toy. Cats love it. Doesn't last very long.

OK. I never leave reviews, BUT, since I received this item, I have to say: My 8 year old cat (from the shelter), is a real huntress. She loves playing with all kinds of wand toys. When, I started playing with the Gotcha! Wand Toy, the play rose to a whole other level. She now thinks most other toys are "meh" and I am happy to have spent the extra money to offer my almost senior cat this experience. I can't imagine how much more younger cats will love this.

Would give 0 stars if I could for toy and customer service. I have the same toy just older (somewhat better) version. The old toy also had weak string and is knotted in several spots where I have had to keep it together, but it still retracts well. The previous version retractable area was not shaped like a cat and it works. This one is and it doesn't want to retract hardly at all. I purchased the beginning of February, but was out of town and unable to use until the beginning of March. My return window expired March 8th and I contacted the company on March 17th knowing that this is a Jackson Galaxy item and I have always thought highly of him and the products that he puts on the market. I contacted customer service 9 days after my return window expired and they won't send me one that works or refund my cost. My cats won't play with it. It doesn't retract well and sometimes not at all. Would definitely not recommend to anyone. Apparently Jackson no longer stands behind his merchandise. Durability & cost are horrible for this cheaply made product.

My cat loved it while it lasted. The feather is a nice size and she loved chasing it around the house. The string can easily get tangled and it is hard to get smaller knots out. If your cat is rough with toys, this one might break easily. My cat always played with it until the metal part that helps it retract broke, revealing a slightly sharp point.

My cat loves this toy. It retracts along with the wand. I'm far enough away so she can't notice I'm holding the wand. She'll stop playing with the short wands. Smart cat. The price is reasonable because of the good quality. It's made well and safe. Good Ole Jackson always looking out for the cats.

Update: This is now the second of these wands where the cord has snapped and frayed after not very much use compared to the previous version of this toy. The purple version of This wand had a plastic connector piece that would wear away over time, but we used that toy heavily for well over a year before having to replace it. The blue version is much worse quality, and doesn't function as well. The cord is much thinner, and much weaker. I'd rather have the purple one back. And yet this is still the only wand with retractable handle and a retractable cord that I've found. I'm honestly mad about it. I'd mark it a 1 except it's still more convenient than every wand that doesn't have a retractable cable ___________________ Original review: Honestly disappointed with this wand. We owned several of the earlier iteration, the one with the purple handle, and find the blue on inferior. Pros: The blue handled version uses a different connector for the toy, which avoids a problem the purple one had where eventually the plastic of the connector would get worn and the end would come off. The build quality is high, what we've come to expect from Jackson Galaxy toys. Cons: Something about the changes made has made the quality of the cord on the blue version specifically much worse. It twists and tangles constantly, we have to stop frequently to set it right. I would genuinely rather have the purple version, which played easily but needed to be replaced every year or so, than this blue version, which will probably last forever simply because it's too frustrating to use for more than a few minutes at a time. Also nitpicky, but: the handle on the blue is slightly thinner, which for me makes it more uncomfortable to grip. I'm not rating it lower because it's still one of the sturdiest wands on the market. But the purple one would have had 4 stars. Bring back our beloved purple design, the flow of play was a million times better.

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.

My cats absolutely love this toy. We learned that it is Much safer than the homemade toy where we tied a string to a stick. Our kitten got the string of the homemade toy wrapped around its neck and almost strangled itself. We learnedThe importance of the retractable feathers!!!