Feather Cat Wand with Suction Cup and Spring Rod

Ten minutes of waving a wand and your shoulder is finished. She hasn't even started. You put the wand down, she sits and stares at it, and the look says the game was supposed to go on.

This suction cup feather cat wand presses onto the floor and stays there, springing back every time she hits it, so the hunt carries on long after you've put your arm down.

The suction base does the holding:

• Locking suction base: a lever pulls the vacuum down so the first pounce doesn't send it skidding
• Spring steel rod: it bends away and snaps back, which is what keeps her chasing
• Rod pulls off: unclip it and you have an ordinary teaser wand when you do want to join in
• Replaceable feather head: clips off when it's finally chewed to nothing
• Four colors: a molded cat face rather than a lump of plastic in the corner

Feather head on top, reinforced cup underneath, and a rod that fits between them without a single tool. The lure clips off, the rod unclips, the base stays where you pressed it.

The base can pick up a table. A cat toy that skids on the first pounce is no toy at all, so the grip is the part worth testing.

The lever locks the cup onto tile, glass, polished wood or metal firmly enough to lift a small table by it. Raise the lever and the seal releases.

Three steps up, two steps down. Open the switch, push the rod into the connector, press the switch shut. To pack it away, open the switch and pull the rod out. No screws, nothing to lose behind the sofa.

A cat face in four colors. Blue, pink, black or green, so the thing sitting in the corner of your kitchen looks deliberate rather than like a piece of equipment.

Move it before she gets bored of the spot. The whole point of a suction base is that it comes up again.

A wand that has been in the hallway for two weeks gets ignored; the same wand pressed onto the kitchen floor is a new toy that afternoon.

Getting the size right

One size in four colors. The rod stands about waist height on an adult, which puts the feather where a cat rears up to, and the suction base is a little wider than a coaster; exact measurements are in the specifications.

It only holds on smooth, non-porous floors; carpet, rugs and matte or textured tile will not work. The floor surface decides whether it holds, not the size of the room.

Specifications

• Rod: spring steel with a PVC coating
• Height: 33.5 in (85 cm)
• Base: cat face suction cup, 2.6 in (6.5 cm) across
• Lure: natural feathers with a bell, clips on and off
• Sticks to: tile, glass, polished wood and metal
• Colors: Blue, Pink, Black, Green

Safety note: Check the feather head and bell before play and replace the head once it starts shedding, since loose feathers and small parts should not be swallowed. Put the wand away when no one is home.

Wipe the floor and the cup before pressing it down, keep the switch open while fitting or removing the rod, and replace the feather head once it starts shedding.

Wipe a patch of kitchen tile and lock the lever down, and she starts the hunt herself, with a rod that springs back long after your arm would have given up.