# Are feather toys safe for cats?



## coyt (Jul 15, 2012)

Hello all!

So, I just have a quick question. My cat LOVES Da Bird, and he seems to have a fascination with feathers. However, I'll only let him play with Da Bird when I'm around to play with him/watch him. 

I was thinking of getting him another toy with feathers that maybe I could leave out for him. But I came across this review: Amazon.com: YumYum's review of KONG Naturals Crinkle Ball with Feathers C...

It's saying that the little feather fluffs can get caught in a cat's system and ultimately hurt them. Is this true? Should feather toys not be left out? 

Thanks guys


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

Funny you bring this up, because just this week I saw Murphy swallow a feather. It didn't have a hard spine on it, so I thought chances were good that it would just pass. I also called the vet when I thought he had swallowed a long piece of dental floss, so I knew what their reaction would be: there's nothing we can do about it now, keep an eye on him.

Fortunately, the feather made a reappearance in the litterbox within 1.5 days.


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## XmalD73 (Nov 23, 2009)

Safe under supervision, as you referenced. I don't trust my cats at all!

My sister can't leave any toys out, one of her girls ate about 6 inches of a braided rope toy, and needed emergency surgery to have it removed. 

Only toys that stay out in our house are heavy plastic rings (not milk rings, these are bought at a pet store), rabbits feet and "squirmy wormies." 

Better safe than sorry, I guess.


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## artiesmom (Jul 4, 2012)

Artie loves to eat feathers!! He only get them when I am playing with him and still, I have to pull them away from his mouth! same with furry toys...I do not leave out anything he could swallow.. feathers, thin rope, plastic bag ties, plastic bags...


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## coyt (Jul 15, 2012)

Ah, okay! Thanks for letting me know guys! Looks like if I do get more feather toys, I'll only have them out when I can watch him

That said.. do you guys have any good suggestions for toys to keep out when I'm away from home? I do have a few catnip stuffed toys that I leave out, and I rotate them from time to time, but I feel like he can get bored with them and doesn't always interact with them.


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## binkyhoo (Feb 16, 2003)

artiesmom said:


> Artie loves to eat feathers!! He only get them when I am playing with him and still, I have to pull them away from his mouth! same with furry toys...I do not leave out anything he could swallow.. feathers, thin rope, plastic bag ties, plastic bags...


Yup. Same here. Binks gets them in her mouth and mows them down other than spitting them out. No more little fluff things for her. But she does love the feather toys.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

My girls don't get feather toys anymore. Nothing ever happened, but I don't want to take chances.


Five years later and my girls still play with this one:













 




This is also popular










Amazon.com: Bergan Turbo Track Cat Toy: Pet Supplies


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## Kittylover230 (Aug 19, 2012)

My kitties love the Turbo scratcher! But Cuddles looooves her feather toys (KONG kickeroo especially) so she can only play with them while under supervision.


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## builder (Sep 2, 2012)

I had a feather toy tied to a long string that was tied to a fishing pole. The Cats loved it and I would have to hide the pole and all in the closet because they would drag the toy and rod around the house. One night I awoke to a loud crash to find they were making a group effort to drag it up to my bed and they knocked over a vase going up the stairs. 

They figured out how to open the closet door, but couldn’t get the rod off the hook it was hanging on so they chewed it of the string and I never saw it again.
:kittyball


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## Milky's Mammy (Oct 17, 2011)

This worries me because Milky is only interest in playing with feathered toys. I mean we've given him other toys to play with before but seems that he loses interest in them quite easily. We've found one of his favourite mice on a string with more and more missing feathers. He is actually so obsessed with it that when we use it to play with him, he thinks we're taking it from him and he'll hold it in his mouth and won't let go until we leave him. Lately we've heard him coughing once or twice, nothing came out though. I do look through his litterbox daily so I know if he's passing the feathers but haven't found anything yet... Worrying stuff!!


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## LakotaWolf (Aug 10, 2012)

I'm going to say something groundbreaking here... ;}

In a feral/wild state, cats eat birds. Birds have feathers. Ergo, cats can eat feathers safely. Cats aren't exactly gourmands that pluck all of the feathers off of their kills before they eat them.

They'll probably pass through the digestive system, and if they're heavily artificially-dyed feathers, they might be LESS safe, but a generic feather is perfectly safe for a cat to accidentally ingest.

My 14-year-old generally EATS the feathers off of all of her toys, and she hasn't had a single issue yet.

I noticed the review itself didn't mention an actual vet diagnosis - only that they had an x-ray and then they "figured out" that the cause of the cough was feather-fluff. I'm not saying it's not true, but it seems a little bit "OMG PANIC" to me.

As for toys, my cat plays with her ball-in-a-circle cat-track every single day:

http://www.acreaturecomfort.com/cat%20toy--crazy%20circle.jpg

There are also some other "leave-out" toys I have used:

ThinkGeek :: Sway Magnetically Suspended Cat Toy
ThinkGeek :: Twitch Automated Cat Toy

Cataction Magneticat Cat Toy at PETCO
Tick Tock Teaser Cat Toy keeps your naughty pet busy
Peek-n-Play Mini Interactive Cat Toy


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## Huge2 (Jan 28, 2008)

LakotaWolf said:


> I'm going to say something groundbreaking here... ;}
> 
> In a feral/wild state, cats eat birds. Birds have feathers. Ergo, cats can eat feathers safely. Cats aren't exactly gourmands that pluck all of the feathers off of their kills before they eat them.
> 
> ...


Actually, given half the chance, I bet my cat would prefer her birds fully plucked, roasted and served on a gold plate with truffle oil and a bowl of Château d’Yquem.... But you make a good point.


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

None of my currents cats' toys have feathers but that is because I worry more about the lurid dyes than the actual feathers. Most of the people on this forum seen to be in favour of raw food - natural feeding, if you will - but if a cat's guts can cope with bones (and I believe it can) then, surely they should be able to cope with normal feathers.


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## binkyhoo (Feb 16, 2003)

Arianwen said:


> None of my currents cats' toys have feathers but that is because I worry more about the lurid dyes than the actual feathers. Most of the people on this forum seen to be in favour of raw food - natural feeding, if you will - but if a cat's guts can cope with bones (and I believe it can) then, surely they should be able to cope with normal feathers.


That was my thought too. What dye and chemicals do they use on the colored ones? I would bet that most are ment for general craft projects and not processed with non-toxic safe for consumption chemicals. Not that they sit down and eat a bowl of them, but still somthing to keep in mind.


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## Huge2 (Jan 28, 2008)

Eat one and find out. Simple.


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## binkyhoo (Feb 16, 2003)

Huge said:


> Eat one and find out. Simple.


ig

You go first.


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## jusjim (Jun 30, 2009)

LakotaWolf said:


> I'm going to say something groundbreaking here... ;}
> 
> In a feral/wild state, cats eat birds. Birds have feathers. Ergo, cats can eat feathers safely. Cats aren't exactly gourmands that pluck all of the feathers off of their kills before they eat them.


This made me wonder so I did a Microsoft Bing search with the term 'cats and bird feathers' and found an interesting article that said cats do often pluck some of the feathers -- depending. Large birds yes, smaller birds not always. Even leopards apparently pluck birds, but then leopards probably catch larger birds.


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## LakotaWolf (Aug 10, 2012)

Yeah, some cats, large and small, do partially defeather their avian catches ;} Some cats will also partially pluck the fur from small rodents/rabbits/etc that they catch, as well. My first cat did that with every mouse he caught.

I think the feather issue probably depends on the owner - if you're not comfortable with it, don't do it. If you have concerns about it, it's probably best to not leave feather toys around unattended :}

I do wonder about the dyes thing. Most of the toys I buy these days seem to have "natural-looking" feathers - they SEEM to be undyed.


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## snowy (Aug 23, 2012)

oh, I hv also been always worried about my kitty ingesting feathers too. I hv a toy with feathered tail, when I found toy 1 day, the feathered tail was all gone, no feathers in sight, so I presumed my kitty had swallowed it. I didn't find it in his litter box too. Its been some mths, my kitty didn't seem to hv any problem. But anyway, I am keeping an eye and I will cut off or peel off anything that may come off, like the eyes, ears etc.

BTW, I just ordered a Peek-A-Prize toy, so kitty can play while I am not around. I DIYed 1 using carton boxes and realised my kitty liked it, so I ordered a proper one. 
Cat Toys: Peek-A-Prize Toy Box at Drs. Foster & Smith


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