A couple years ago, we were quite delighted to discover another wand toy that had an array of attachments, as we truely loved 'Da Bird'. So I ordered the Neko Flies wand with the dragonfly ('Kragonfly') and furry mouse ('Kittenator') attachments.
The wand itself is fairly short - shorter than 'Da Bird', made from a clear plastic, and far, far more rigid. The string part is a woven green cord, which clips onto the wand, while the toy is permanently attached to the other end of the string.
Now, all of these design ideas differ completely to 'Da Bird', which is fine in and of itself...BUT...they ALL mean reduced 'playability'. The cord does not flick - it's too heavy/soft so it sort of 'floops' with a good deal of arm movement needed to get it to move. The wand, being rigid, has no flick and swoop, which compounds this problem. Sure, the handle is really nice to a human hand - and better than 'DaBird' as their end cover tends to come off and you have a sharp stick end in your hand - but you have to work so hard to get the wand to move, the cord to move, and thereby the toy.
Now, the attachment was a secondary issue, as I thought I'd just switch over the toy to the more user friendly 'DaBird' wand. But, their attachment mechanisms are opposite; 'DaBird' cord is fixed into the wand and the toy is removable from the end of the string. So, in order to use the NekoFlies toys, I had to cut the cord off the toy and find a way to fix the toy to the 'DaBird' string...and without an attaching loop, the moveable wiggle of the toy is lost, as you have to tie the string around the actual toy, or tie two bits of string together which isn't very aerodynamic.
So, that's the human review.
The cat review is somewhat different. The toys were FASCINATING. The mouse (more of a rat) had a middle hinge that gave a lifelike wriggle. Kato loved it - it really is a 'Kittenator'. He did somersaults and took his prey off to various lairs. Ava was no different. The dragonfly ('kragonfly') was equally fascinating, but unfortunately it was chompable, and Kato took great delight in removing its stretchy legs - not something I want swallowed. Which is a shame, as the toy had great billing as being durable and even won the 2009 Cat Fancy Editors' Choice Award. I guess they didn't road test this toy with a Korat.
So, all up, I can't call this an 'absolute dud', but I haven't gone back for more Neko Flies toys - plus they are quite pricey at around $18-$30. We have far better toys from our home-made attachments combined with the 'DaBird' wand - at a much reduced price and with greater 'human operator' ease. But I'd hazard a guess that the advent of Neko Flies prompted 'DaBird' to make a greater range of toy attachments (previously they just had the Bird). And all of these toys are a hit, and far more reasonably priced, around $6-$15, and more durable. So for that, thank-you Neko Flies!
You can get both 'DaBird' and Neko Flies from pampered cats playground.
The wand itself is fairly short - shorter than 'Da Bird', made from a clear plastic, and far, far more rigid. The string part is a woven green cord, which clips onto the wand, while the toy is permanently attached to the other end of the string.
Now, all of these design ideas differ completely to 'Da Bird', which is fine in and of itself...BUT...they ALL mean reduced 'playability'. The cord does not flick - it's too heavy/soft so it sort of 'floops' with a good deal of arm movement needed to get it to move. The wand, being rigid, has no flick and swoop, which compounds this problem. Sure, the handle is really nice to a human hand - and better than 'DaBird' as their end cover tends to come off and you have a sharp stick end in your hand - but you have to work so hard to get the wand to move, the cord to move, and thereby the toy.
Now, the attachment was a secondary issue, as I thought I'd just switch over the toy to the more user friendly 'DaBird' wand. But, their attachment mechanisms are opposite; 'DaBird' cord is fixed into the wand and the toy is removable from the end of the string. So, in order to use the NekoFlies toys, I had to cut the cord off the toy and find a way to fix the toy to the 'DaBird' string...and without an attaching loop, the moveable wiggle of the toy is lost, as you have to tie the string around the actual toy, or tie two bits of string together which isn't very aerodynamic.
So, that's the human review.
The cat review is somewhat different. The toys were FASCINATING. The mouse (more of a rat) had a middle hinge that gave a lifelike wriggle. Kato loved it - it really is a 'Kittenator'. He did somersaults and took his prey off to various lairs. Ava was no different. The dragonfly ('kragonfly') was equally fascinating, but unfortunately it was chompable, and Kato took great delight in removing its stretchy legs - not something I want swallowed. Which is a shame, as the toy had great billing as being durable and even won the 2009 Cat Fancy Editors' Choice Award. I guess they didn't road test this toy with a Korat.
So, all up, I can't call this an 'absolute dud', but I haven't gone back for more Neko Flies toys - plus they are quite pricey at around $18-$30. We have far better toys from our home-made attachments combined with the 'DaBird' wand - at a much reduced price and with greater 'human operator' ease. But I'd hazard a guess that the advent of Neko Flies prompted 'DaBird' to make a greater range of toy attachments (previously they just had the Bird). And all of these toys are a hit, and far more reasonably priced, around $6-$15, and more durable. So for that, thank-you Neko Flies!
You can get both 'DaBird' and Neko Flies from pampered cats playground.