Feather Whirl Cat Toy Review: Do Cats Love It?
About Feather Whirl
Feather Whirl is a motorized cat toy which includes a weighted ball base and feather. After inserting two AA batteries – which are included – and turning on the toy, the weighted ball base spins and wobbles, which spins the attached feather wand. Feather Whirl is designed to provide fun and exercise to cats by its constantly changing spin pattern.
The ball is approximately 3 inches in diameter, and the wand is about 8.5 inches long.
The official product website is featherwhirl.com, which was registered in July 2014.
This is a screen shot of the Feather Whirl website in December 2014.
Feather Whirl cost and Availability
If you purchase Feather Whirl direct from the manufacturer, it will cost you $14.99 plus $7.95 shipping, for a total of $22.94. There is an option to double your offer, for another $7.95 shipping, bringing your total to $30.89. There is no order confirmation page, so be careful if you choose to order from the official website. There is a 90-day money back guarantee. Although they state that they will pay to “ship it back,” the guarantee does not refund your original shipping costs (that means they’ll pay to ship it back, but you still pay to ship it to you).
You can also find the product from online retailers, such as Walmart and Target for about $15. It appears to be in the process of rolling out to some stores. If you have seen it in stores, please let me know in the comments below.
Television Commercial
Below is a recent television commercial for Feather Whirl. This video is also posted on the product’s website.
Similar Products
Pet stores have entire aisles of cat toys, including an untold number of feather wands, and there are other products which generally resemble Feather Whirl. A product with the excruciatingly long name of Petlinks System Wild Thing Electronic Motion Cat Toy is also a motorized feather wand with a wobbling ball base. That item is available at Petco for about $15 to $20. There are of course, old school feather wands, which are powered by a human hand.
Feather Whirl Reviews
I recently had a chance to evaluate a Feather Whirl. An inevitable problem in reviewing any pet toy is that it is subjective to each cat’s taste. And as with any pet toy, some cats will certainly love Feather Whirl, while others may simply ignore it.
If your cat is the type to play with toys, especially feather wands, this is probably a pretty safe investment. Because I can’t evaluate it from a cat’s perspective, below are some observations about the product as a cat owner and consumer.
- Motor. The motor is quiet, as advertised. I have evaluated other cat toys which were not very quiet, despite advertising which claimed otherwise.
- Shutoff. It does not appear to have an auto-shutoff feature. Inevitably, some owners will forget to turn it off and burn through batteries quickly. This is an unfortunate omission.
- Feather. Aggressive cats can – and likely will – damage the single feather attachment. It would be nice to have a replacement feather, or at least have the option to purchase additional wand attachments.
- Second one “free.” The online offer to “buy one and get a second one free” includes shipping costs for both, meaning you’ll end up paying over $30 for two toys. There is no option to review your order before purchasing, so be careful if you order from the website.
My cat seemed mildly interested in Feather Whirl, but she is an older cat and doesn’t play as much as she used to. The fact that she played with it at all is actually a positive statement about the product.
Perhaps the biggest difference between Feather Whirl and other cat toys is the way in which it is marketed. While most cat toys simply appear online or at retailers, Feather Whirl has gone the As Seen on TV route. Other recent cat toys which have been heavily advertised in recent years were Cat’s Meow and Purrfect Arch.
Amazon
Bottom Line
Feather Whirl appears to be a sound entrant in the cat toy arena, by a respected manufacturer of pet products. If your cat enjoys feather-type toys, Feather Whirl will likely be a fine addition to your cat’s toy box, although it does have a few limitations as stated above.
I’d recommend purchasing locally if you can find it from a retailer such as Walmart, Target, or Petsmart, which does not attempt to “double” your order without an order confirmation screen.
Your Reviews
Have you tried Feather Whirl? Tell me what your cat thought of it.
Updated December 20, 2014
Originally published November 2014
