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

This is the BEST cat toy ever! My cat is OBSESSED!

My cat is extremely picky. We've spent hundreds on toys and usually she completely ignores them. At best, we've found a catnip toy that she absolutely loves, but it's an expensive one that she destroys over time. Majority of non-wand toys do not appeal to her in the slightest, and even with wands we've found some that she will respond to half-heartedly, and only when used with her tunnel or with other obstacles like pillows or the couch. When I opened this wand, she was immediately hooked. I've never seen her sprint and jump and stay engaged for so long, let alone at all. Usually playtime ends because she won't respond to anything. This time I had to be the one to end it because she just wouldn't stop. This toy could break in a month and I'd keep buying new ones just to see her this alive. Her energy and play have been concerns for a long time. She's only 3 and always wants to play but never actually does. This is just such a relief. Thank you so much!

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.

We've been using the Jackson Galaxy products for a decade and while this product is a good value and it's a fun cat toy and my cat finds it incredibly entertaining, the integrity of the item itself has gone downhill in craftsmanship over the years. The gears inside of the recoil mechanism get stuck, So it doesn't always recoil properly. String has gotten thinner and the metal that they use seems to be a little bit flimsier. We shall see how it holds up to the old one. The only reason I had to buy a new one was because the old one broke in half on the metal part. Everything else was still in working condition.

I was sent a defective product and the seller refused to replace it. My cats liked the wand, however, after using it just a few times, I tried to fully extend the telescoping metal pole. It immediately snapped off. So I paid a premium price for a product that was only good for two 5 minutes play sessions. I think it was a defective one, however looking at the construction (it’s not reinforce where the metal wand meets the handle, I can’t imagine this toy would hold up very well, even if it were manufactured properly. Poor design being sold on the back of Jackson Galaxy’s reputation (which is why I tried it). He should vet his endorsements more carefully. I contacted the seller and they told me it was out of the return window, so I’m out of luck. Any reputable company would exchange a defective product so they could make the customer whole and also see the defective product and make corrections. A company only acts this way if they know there is something wrong with the product and don’t care. Do yourself a favor and buy a Go Cat wand toy (but only with a ONE piece pole). The quality and durability is much better and they have different toys you can swap out.

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.