teaser danger

Yesterday I bought a teaser that all it was was a long piece of flannel on a stick. I thought it would be fun for my two cats. When I got home and started playing with my two cats, Ripley and Cali, with it. Cali started chewing on it and I noticed she had chewed off a large piece of it and was choking. I immediately started to get it out and the piece ended up being about 4 or 5 inches. I immediately picked up the teaser and put it on the counter so I could take it back today.

When I woke up this morning, I found the teaser on the floor and evidence where one of the cats had gotten sick , twice. I noticed that more fleece had been chewed off from the teaser. When I cleaned both places where a cat had gotten sick, I noticed in each pile there was a long piece of fleece. One of the cats must have jumped onto the counter and pulled the teaser off and began to chew and swallow the pieces.

I grabbed the teaser and threw it in the trash. Although both cats are fine, I am SO grateful for that, I didn't want the cats to come to any more harm. I also want you all to be aware of the danger those teasers can be.

OMG, so happy they are ok! We really have to pay close attention to the toys we bring home for our pets all to often they are poorly made and/or made from hazardous materials! The manufacturers are making a buck, less expense, more profit. It's difficult to file lawsuits against animal toy manufacturers......... So why should they really care. The companies that do put extra care in their products are more expensive and generally sold through high end retailers.

Yeah, I make all mine out of sturdy stuff, because I know Baby would chew them to bits given half a chance. Cloth scraps are a good choice, for example--especially denim. I take a few 1 1/2 inch wide strips, lay them on top of each other, and tie a knot in the middle; then I use upholstery thread to tie that to a wooden dowel. It works great and none of the cats has ever managed to chew pieces off. The only time I had trouble was when I tried it on a roomful of rambunctious kittens at the shelter... they broke the string and I had to re-tie it three times! I suppose if you have kittens or Bengals or something equally energetic, try a thin nylon rope instead.

Some cats are more persistent in the chewing, too. My sister has a cat that can chew a shoestring in half in less than 30 seconds. Our cats haven't put a dent in any of theirs in years.

I had one of those, but Riley was terrified of it for some reason so I got rid of it.

Thanks for the warning though. I try not to leave any dangly toys out like that.

I keep our teasers in a closet when not in use.

If you are talking about the Cat Charmer, I have one of those too and my kitten has already bitten off the end. If you read the packaging, it says that this toy is for catch and release only and should not be biting/chewing. It even warned for us to stop playing once the cat started to chew on it.

Well, that is impossible because as far as I know, cats and kittens especially love to catch and chew/bite. I still play with the teaser but I just make sure she never catches it and bite. She enjoys it more when it is out of her reach. It's quite a fun toy, she jumps and leaps, just to get hold of it.

But yes, careful considerations would really have to be made while using this particular toy. And thank you for bringing this to our attention.

That is why it is always recommended to keep any toys involving string or long pieces of something out of the cats reach when you are not around to supervise. I am glad your cats are okay. You don't have to throw it out, just use it when you play with them, don't leave it laying around for them.