Playing rod with feathers, 50 cm

Cat class 101: If you have cats you need this toy. It's basically Cat Law. Or if it isn't, it should be. No toy will give you or your cat as much pleasure as the dodgily, and rather erotically, named 'Cat Tickler'. At least that's what it's known as on other websites but here Amazon refer to it as 'Feathered Pole Cat Toy'.

After the famous 'Da Bird' cat toy (Now available on Amazon at last!:Da Bird Interactive Feather Cat Toy - Easy Store / Pull Apart Rod Google it if you've never seen one in action!) these feather duster type kitty sticks are the best cat toy on the market. Cats go mad for them and you'll have hours of fun playing with them and your furry minions. The toy is what it is. They're simple and they don't last forever, so get used to ordering these by the dozen. That said, with the battering the take, they last remarkably well. A fresh tickler gets stripped down in a couple of days to a fuzzy stump by my 2 bengals - but that doesn't seem to put them off and there's still enough feathers left to get a reaction. In fact - for some unknown reason they even love them when there are no feathers left at all. This means my house is littered with these things; some in full feathery bloom, some half chewed, some just sticks.

Often my cats just grab them and bring them to me, plonking them on my lap: play time. They want to play and they want to play now; and with the green one today, please. Yesterday it was blue and tomorrow it might be yellow. Who knows, but time after time this is the toy they go for and bring me. This without doubt, is their choice of toy. When I'm asleep I often awake to the sound of 'clunk-clunk-clunk' as the plastic handle hits against my wooden stairs; the cats bringing it to me in their mouths, to play at 5am... usually on a work night too I might add. I sometimes awake in the morning to find them on my pillow too, and often come across them under the sofa, in the study, under the fridge, down the back of the bed, and so on and so forth.

These toys are great too because they're interactive. You get hours of fun getting your cat to chase it up and down the room, over the furniture, round the table, in and out the chairs, into the door - SPLAT!... OK - don't panic, no need to call the RSPCA, that was a joke. But you get the point - these little babies act as a kind of magic wand - a 'cat wand' if you will - and you can almost control your felines with them; getting them to go anywhere you want. That's useful in itself come vet day. That said though, the cats are just as happy to play with this on there own too. You don't have to get involved, and I say, if you have cats - and especially if you have house cats - you need, or rather your cat needs, a steady supply of theses. They're basically the bread and butter of cat toys.

I never knew you could order these on Amazon, and it's good to know - they're cheaper than at my local pet store and it means I'll never have to suffer the shame, indignity and the quizzical looks other men flash me again, as I walk home through town with a bag full of brightly coloured feathered sticks (usually pink too I might add - because that's often all that's left in the pet shop when I get there); it's an extremely awkward journey I've now come to call 'The Walk of Shame'. A trip I've made hundreds of times now, and its thanks to this humiliation that you are now benefiting from a rather thorough and in-depth review. I hope my embarrassment has been of some use to you and help you in forming an opinion on whether or not to buy one of these things. I say go for it.

My cat absolutely loved this toy so much that she actually carries it around in her mouth and cuddles it as though it's her baby! My kids and I are so impressed and amused by this toy that we have bought another one as the feathers on the original have all but fallen off but it has taken a good few weeks for this to happen so this toy is excellent value for money. Undoubtedly, this will be a regular order. I'm sure all cats will love it as much as ours does.

This toy provides hours of interactive fun for you and your kitten (and cat). Our kittens leapt several feet into the air trying to catch the feathers on the end of the wand; in fact one enjoyed the treat so much that he would lift the lid of the box where we kept the new ones, remove one and carry it to us when he wanted another game!

The feathers do fall off of the wand after a while, but are able to withstand vigorous play for several weeks before that happens. Whilst our kittens got the most fun out of this toy, the seven and ten-year-olds join in as well, so it is a toy that can entertain cats of all ages.