# Vicious Warrior?



## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

Sinatra is absolutely ridiculous. We have gone through two Da Bird refills in the last week. This includes downtime for ordering refills online and getting two day shipping. It is his favorite toy but I can't afford to play it with him every day if he is going to be this brutal about it. Nutmeg loves to catch it but then lets go as soon as she gets it, we have to wrestle Da Bird out of Sinatra's vice jaw grip everytime he gets it until he ruins it. 

Does anyone else have a vicious warrior in their home?


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## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

Oh my gatos yes. Thurston is the bird destructor in my house. He doesn't just catch it, he eats it! and you have to fight him to get it back. Ninja does this a bit, but no where near as bad as Thurston.


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

What a coincidence. I am watching this very second as Prince pulverizes a bird toy I bought him today. And I was just wondering how others deal with this, as you can't buy a new toy twice a day!

The vet was amazed at Prince's strength when she came and he had just broken the glass window to get out of the bathroom, where he was put for a few minutes with lots of his fav treat to wait for the vet as per her instructions.

I don't think cat toys are suitable for Prince (same as a cat bed isn't suitable) due to his size and strength. I may have to build his toys myself. Feathers? They last on a toy bird a total of 2 minutes. I wonder if other cats keep the feathers on the toys?


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

I can't even buy Da Bird lately because Nito destroys it within minutes. "Vice jaw grip" is a really good way of putting it. Nito adds in ferocious growls.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

Oh, poor you! My girls are really gentle with Da Bird. Abby catches it, but immediately lets it go so I can fly it again. When Muffs catches it, she walks away stick and all...and then she settles down somewhere to groom the feather! She thinks it's her baby. I just bought several new ones yesterday...not because the feather parts were ruined (the feathers were in mint condition), but because we've played with the old Da Birds so often that the string parts were totally twisted and the birds didn't fly properly anymore. I had two and I've had them both for well over a year now.


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

I've lost track of how many I've gone through with Nito. Nowadays, I just buy big feathers at the craft store and tie them in little bunches with hemp. The flight pattern isn't as impressive, but Nito can take out his rage on them and I don't have to spend all that money! :lol:


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## konstargirl (Feb 4, 2011)

Oh wow! Misa hardly touches Da Bird so it's not a big deal. In the past few weeks she chewed up two of her toys already.


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## Time Bandit (Aug 17, 2010)

Oh yeah. Samantha loves Da Bird...she also loves to chew it until it dies. She holds on really tight to the feathers with her front paws and chews on the end that holds them all together (that plastic piece), and it falls apart. She usually runs off with a feather or two then, and she races around me until I run after her. She's a nut. XD


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## Nan (Oct 11, 2010)

Lily gets possisive. Sometimes she gets a good hold on it and starts growling, then wants to run off with it...with me running along like on a leash.

Harli doesn't run and grab at it probably because Lily is going nuts and Harli doesn't want to get in her way. Harli only grabs at it if I dangle it near her scratching post.


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## KittehLuv'n (Feb 19, 2011)

I had not heard of da bird until I started visiting here. After all the reviews, I had to get one. Oh my! The kids love it. I already bought a spare "bird" and hid it away.
Caspian likes it so much I had to hide it in the pantry. Now he keeps trying to open the pantry door to get at it!
GREAT toy.


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

I totally sympathize; Egypt destroys all her toys right away. And yes, it DOES get expensive  . Luckily, my cats favorite pastime is to beat each other up so it saves me some cash.


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## The Humble Servant (Mar 16, 2011)

Jasio is a pro "Da Bird" killer. 

Like others, in between refills I will make my own birds with craft store feathers and a some fish tank sealant as glue (non-toxic). He will rip the feathers right out the plastic cap, the other two are usually willing to give it up after a couple of bites. They all get frustrated when it gets put away and scrabble at the closet door for a bit, no matter how tired they are.

This is the extra special toy they don't get every day. We do a lot hunting games with food for entertainment purposes, kill the kibble, easter egg hunt, puzzle boxes. I like them because they exercise the kitties and give them real rewards that don't get taken away.


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

Has anyone tried the fur attachment? I'm thinking if that holds together better maybe we will try that...


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## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

This was Ninja's Christmas present. A supply of Feather attachments. They are all gone now.


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

> Has anyone tried the fur attachment? I'm thinking if that holds together better maybe we will try that...


I've tried that one before. As I recall it held together decently and Magneto LOVED it. But it, like all the others, was destroyed in time.


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

Susan said:


> When Muffs catches it, she walks away stick and all...and then she settles down somewhere to groom the feather!


That's so funny, that's exactly what Murphy does. After chasing it for a while, he finally walks off with the feathers in his mouth, stick dragging behind, off to another room where he can enjoy the spoils of his labor.  Seeing him walking with that stick dragging behind makes me laugh every time.


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

RachandNito said:


> I've tried that one before. As I recall it held together decently and Magneto LOVED it. But it, like all the others, was destroyed in time.


 
Well if it holds together longer than the feathers I'm getting it!!


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## tghsmith (Dec 9, 2010)

hot glue work great for installing the feathers in the cap, bind them together with some thread, have a heavy string loop in the center(for clipping the swivel to) coat with hot glue and push the cap over, I have to make these for my outdoor cat smokey(his instinct is to rip all the feathers out to get to the meat, this isn't all play for him, just keeping the old skills sharp) if you add some fluffy feathers around the flite feathers it last a little longer..


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

I bought one of those birds on an elastic string that hang from the door frame yesterday. Prince absolutely loves it! And the wonderful thing is you don't need to dangle it for them because their own play makes the bird keep in constant movement. It costs next to nothing, and it's just great!

Da Bird is only imported from the US by one highly exclusive store here, and it costs $12 (replacement feathers cost $6 a pack) so that'll have to wait. Though I'm sure Prince would go nuts for it.


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

That's about how much they cost here as well.


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

SB, I saw it on an American website at $6 and the feathers at $2. I like to look at American stores websites for cat supplies, just to torture myself with the huge variety and the prices. Will you believe if I tell you that I went into a central pet store here looking for an automatic safety collar and they told me there's no such thing?! So I dream of pet wet wipes, leather automatic safety collars, pine litter and Da Bird. Work sent me to the USA a year ago, but I didn't have a cat then.


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

Oh and I forgot to say: $12 is actually $24 for us, since our salaries are half of the salary for same job in the USA.


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

I paid $10 for Da Bird and $15 for 3 refills.


By way Kobster, I remember seeing that picture when you first posted it before I had Da Bird and I thought, "What does she need all of those for?" and now I thought, "That wouldn't last more than a month in my home".


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

October said:


> That's so funny, that's exactly what Murphy does. After chasing it for a while, he finally walks off with the feathers in his mouth, stick dragging behind, off to another room where he can enjoy the spoils of his labor.  Seeing him walking with that stick dragging behind makes me laugh every time.


I know what you mean! When she walks away, all I see is a waddling rear end with a stick dragging behind and I just can't help but laugh. 

The sad part for me is that Muffs refuses to chase Da Bird when Abby's around. She just lets Abby play and sits off to the side and watches...but never tries to "butt in". The other day, Abby was in my bedroom, sitting in the cat tree watching squirrels. So, I quietly closed the door, locking her in. I picked up Da Bird and flew it for Muffs. She jumped 3 feet in the air trying to catch it. It was such a delight to see her having such fun...but regrettably, she won't do that when Abby's around. She's still too timid.

I then let Abby out of the bedroom. She gave me a dirty look because she knew I'd been playing Da Bird and she wasn't invited!


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## my5kitties (Sep 13, 2005)

Straysmommy said:


> Da Bird is only imported from the US by one highly exclusive store here, and it costs $12 (replacement feathers cost $6 a pack) so that'll have to wait. Though I'm sure Prince would go nuts for it.





Sinatra-Butters said:


> That's about how much they cost here as well.


But with shipping and handling, it probably costs a bit more for her.


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

After Miu destroyed and ate the feather attachment to one of the scratch posts and two butterfly on a stick toys, I never bought anything similar again. She seems to be equally entertained by playing with Jack, zooming around the house, sitting at the perches to look outside, playing trackball, and playing with the cat tent. I don't want to be worried that she'll eat more feathers.


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

Prince doesn't eat the feathers, but he tears them off right away. He went totally nuts about the bird on the doorframe I bought 2 days ago. He played with it tirelessly (Prince hardly ever plays alone and then only for a minute or two). Then he tore it off, of course. So I've attached another bird to it - one made of sisal like the scratch posts. But I really, really recommend this toy for anyone tired of dangling toys all day, like me.


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

my4kitties, if I order from the US, the shipping+duties costs like another Da Bird. However, I'm planning on making one purchase of several items from Petco, and that way the shipping costs get divided among all the items and it's a lot more reasonable. I have few dreams in life as dear as receiving a package ordered from Petco, USA!


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