Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)My cats loved playing with this toy. Then, after a long period of supervised play, I turned the unit off and stowed the string according to the instructions on the box. However, a short time later, my cat figured-out how to pull the string from behind the rear side of the elastic band to which it is attached. She had managed to swallow most of the string, which is about 16"-18" long. Luckily, I was home, noticed what was happening and intervened by pulling over 12" of swallowed string from the mouth of my cat!
Of course, I immediately removed the toy from the door knob, studied the unit more carefully to understand how this had happened, then finally repackaged it in the box, putting it where my cats couldn't get to it.
In my opinion, there is a design flaw in the unit. Simply shutting off the toy with the string behind the back side of the belt is not enough (obviously) to prevent a cat from finding the string and then swallowing it. If the design were modified to place a solid plastic wall between the front side and back side of the belt, attaching the plastic to the sides of the belt housing, then the string couldn't be pulled back out by a curious cat.
In an effort to help improve safety and potentially to save a cat's life, as well as to help the manufacturer of an otherwise nice toy, I later called the manufacturer to advise her of what had happened and to present my suggestion.
The call was answered by a machine stating no one was available to take my call. But as I was leaving the message, a woman picked up the phone (sounding like I had woken her up. The call was placed at 10am EST on a Tuesday).
I began to tell her why I had called. Instead of sounding concerned, being willing to listen, or even apologizing, I was interrupted and told to "just wrap the string around the door knob - no cat could unwrap it." I disagreed, as I've seen cats do things no one thought they could do. In fact one of my cats does so on a regular basis.
She insisted that there was no reason to redesign the product, when people could just wrap the string around the door knob. Next, she tried to assign blame to me, telling me that the cat was supposed to be supervised when playing with the toy. (Again, my cats were being supervised while the toy was on. It was only when I had shut the toy off and stowed it according to the instructions that my cat was able to get at the string anyway and swallow it.)
Next, the woman suggested that my IQ was not as high as hers, insisting there was no need to change the design and again saying she had quickly figured out (after a couple other people had called mirroring my concerns) that all you have to do is wrap the string around the door knob.
Finally, to top off this somewhat less than desirable "customer service" experience - throughout the conversation, the woman repeatedly (no less than 3 times) stated "you can't please all customers." She's right!
Because, she didn't even try. All I wanted was for her to listen to my concern (it wasn't even a complaint) and to allow me to make a suggestion to improve safety (which, she could have thanked me for and then done nothing with, if that's what she chose.)
So, the bottom line and my reason for this review...I feel responsible to warn potential customers (since my phone call led me to believe that the manufacturer won't). In my opinion, the instructions on the box are insufficient to protect your cat. If you have one of these toys or decide to purchase one, I highly recommend that you remove it from the door knob after each use and put it away, where your cat can not get to it.
However, given that recommendation and the level of supervision required while the cats are playing with the toy, you might just want to save the money and pick-up an old-fashioned string.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Moody Pet Fling-ama-string Cat Toy
The battery operated, lean, mean string-flinging machine that cats love. No assembly required simply hang it on the door and turn it on. Works on any standard doorknob. The Fling-ama-String has two speeds for maxium kitty fun. This toy entices even the laziest of cats to play and improves eye-paw coordination. *Requires 3 AA batteries (not included).
Click here for more information about Moody Pet Fling-ama-string Cat Toy
