The comment sections are almost entirely cats
Under the highest earning clip of this toy, the top replies are not about children at all. They are people working out, in real time, what their cat would do.
One reply reading simply that her cat would injure herself trying to get it collected thousands of likes. Another, from someone with no children and three cats, collected hundreds more. A third predicted every picture coming off the wall.
That is not a small side audience. On the second highest earning clip of the whole product, the entire premise is a woman keeping her cats awake during the day so she can sleep at night.
It moves like prey, which is the whole trick
Laser pointers frustrate cats because there is nothing to catch. A stuffed mouse bores them because it does not move on its own. This sits exactly in between.
It is a solid object with weight and a texture, it runs at an unpredictable angle, it climbs out of reach, and it can be driven back down into range when the animal loses interest.
The tail is soft latex rather than hard plastic, which matters more than it sounds. It is the part a cat gets hold of first.
One owner with five cats calls it their favourite toy in the house. Another rescues kittens and uses it with all of them.
Dogs react completely differently, and it is worth knowing which you have
Cats stalk it. Dogs mostly bark at it, chase it, and then look at you for an explanation.
The reactions in the reviews split cleanly. Golden retrievers and larger dogs tend to find it hilarious and get involved. Smaller and older dogs are often unimpressed or mildly offended.
One owner summed up the household result: the grandkids love it, the dogs not so much. Another reported the toy kept the dog entertained and survived the chaos, which for a plastic toy in a dog household is the real test.
The split shows up in the reviews. Larger dogs get involved; smaller and older dogs tend to watch once and walk away.
The adults are not pretending it is for the pets either
The single most liked comment on the whole product, at nearly forty eight thousand likes, is a woman admitting the toy would keep her entertained too.
Below it: someone asking what about me, forget the kids. A fifty three year old who bought one for a nephew and kept playing with it. A grandmother reporting she could not stop.
If you are buying this for the cat and also, quietly, for yourself, you are in extremely normal company.
What to check before you let an animal near it
It is a toy for ages six and up, so this is play you supervise rather than leave running.
Clear the wall of anything hanging. Keep it off surfaces where a knocked item would break. Run the floor mode on a clean floor, because the feet pick up dust and carry it upward.
And keep the remote out of reach when you are done. The remote takes two AAA batteries behind a screwed panel, which is a sensible design in a house with small children, and the screwdriver for it comes in the box.
The battery door on the remote is screwed shut rather than clipped, which is the detail parents of small children keep mentioning.