This is a sponsored post
This post contains affiliate links*
I’m pretty paranoid when it comes to making sure the toys I let Allegra play with are safe. We have plenty of “blind and deaf mice” at our house because I remove glued on eyes and ears from toy mice before I even give them to her. Toys with rubber bands or elastic are a no-no, and it goes without saying that any interactive wand toys with string are never left out and only used when I play with the her. Cat toy safety is paramount at our house.
With the plethora of cat toys available, it can be difficult to determine whether a toy is truly safe, or whether it just looks like it might be.
Potential dangers from cat toys and household items
While all poorly made toys could potentially be dangerous, never let your cat play with any of the following:
- String, elastic yarn, ribbon or dental floss
- Paper clips
- Rubber bands or hair ties
- Plastic bags
- Toys with small parts inside
- Toys small enough for your cat to swallow (such as sparkle balls)
Any cat toy can cause problems if it the toy or parts of the toy are ingested. The inside of your cat’s mouth or digestive tract could become lacerated. Strings and rubber bands are particularly dangerous as they could wrap themselves around your cat’s intestines and cause a life-threatening blockage that requires immediate emergency treatment.
How to identify safe cat toys
I spoke with Ellen T., the creator of the super popular RompiCatz Critter Collector Series and other fantastic cat toys about the steps she takes to make sure her toys are safe. This is what she told me:
-
- All string and toy attachment ends are sewn together, so we do have any bulky metal clips that could hurt cats when using the wand toys.
- A foam piece at the back of the toy covers small metal parts and offers additional protection.
- Each rubber leg piece is knotted and then tied onto the toy. This prevents the rubber legs from coming loose from the toy.
- We do not use dyed feathers, only natural colors.
- All materials are held together with strong kevlar thread that doesn’t easily break.
- We only use a few drops of non-toxic glue per toy.
- The material used for the wings is a thick PVC that can withstand bite marks but does not tear easily.
- Plastic eyes are securely tied into place, not glued on.
- All of our materials are high quality.
The only thing your cats care about is that their toys are fun, so it’s up to you to choose the right ones to keep them safe. The Critter Collector Series meets both of those requirements. “All of our designs are meant to mimic real life bugs and their movements,” says Ellen. “The goal is to encourage a cat’s natural hunting instincts in a safe indoor environment.”
The Bugzbird toy is a purrfect example of the thought and quality that goes into these toys. “Bugzbird is unique in that it has a gliding motion when moving thru the air,” she says. “Bugzbird was also designed to entice cat’s interest when viewing the toy from ground level upward.”
The Critter Collector Series is available from RompiCatz’ website and from Amazon.
Click here to visit the US RompiCatz Amazon Store
Click here to visit the Canadian RompiCatz Amazon Store
*FTC Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, which means that I was compensated to feature this content. Regardless of payment received, you will only see products or services featured on this site that I believe are of interest to our readers. The Conscious Cat is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. This means that if you decide to purchase through any of our links, we get a small commission. We only spread the word about products and services we’ve either used or would use ourselves.