What the vibrating bug or fish is, who it suits, how to set it up and play along, change the battery and keep it clean.
Does your cat freeze at a fly on the window, then follow a scuttling leaf across the floor with its whole body? That is ground-level hunting: a small thing moving away, fast and not quite predictable, is what a cat is built to chase. This toy is that small thing. It buzzes off across a smooth floor, bounces at random and turns when it hits something, and your cat decides what to do about it. Pick a smooth floor, switch it on, and sit down to watch.
What Is This Toy
A small one-piece electronic toy, shaped as a bug or a fish, in yellow or green. Everything below works the same for both. It moves by vibration rather than wheels, runs on one LR44 button cell for about 2 hours, and has an on/off switch and a screw-closed battery cover. Nothing is attached to it: no tail, ribbons or feathers. The battery and the small Phillips screwdriver you need to change it are not in the pack, so it's handy to pick both up when you get the toy.
Best Suitable For
- A cat that watches and stalks. It gives a careful cat something to size up before the pounce.
- A cat that likes a chase it can't predict. The buzz sends it off at random, and every bump turns it.
- Playing together. There's no auto shut-off, so it runs while you're there and stops when you say.
- Homes with smooth floors or a bathtub. Vibration moves it on hard floors, not carpet, and a dry tub keeps it from going under the sofa.
Why It Works
It moves by vibration rather than wheels: the buzz bounces it off at random, and it changes direction every time it bumps into something. That gives your cat a small target moving across the floor, and your cat decides what to do with it: watch, stalk, chase, bat or pounce.
Before You Start
-
Pick a smooth floor. Vibration only moves it on smooth, hard floors, not carpet.
Tip: try the bathtub. Dry tub, drain closed (the toy is small and can slip down it), and the sides keep turning it back inside instead of under the sofa. - Check the battery cover is fully closed.
- Stay and play. There's no auto shut-off, so it keeps buzzing until you switch it off, and we think it matters to your cat to have you on the other side of the game.
Playing, Step by Step
- Switch it on, then set it down. Flip the on/off switch while it's in your hand, then put it on the floor. You'll hear a buzz, about like an electric toothbrush.
- Watch where it goes. If it flips over or gets stuck in a corner, give it a hand: turn it back over or move it out, and it's off again.
- Switch it off when you're done. When play is over, switch it off and put it away. We recommend 5 to 10 minutes at a time, once a week, taking turns with your cat's other toys.
What your cat might do
Your cat decides what to do with it: watch, stalk, chase, bat or pounce. If your cat just sits and watches, it doesn't mean they're not interested. Watching is part of how a cat hunts, so yours may simply be the careful type, still sizing up their prey. Not today? Switch it off and try again another day.
Putting it away
If it'll sit unused for a long time, take the battery out first.
Changing the Battery
One LR44 cell runs it for about 2 hours, and a new one gets it moving again. You'll need a new LR44 and a small Phillips (cross-head) screwdriver; an eyeglass-repair screwdriver works.
- Switch it off.
- Open the cover. Undo the screw on the battery cover.
- Swap the cell. Take out the old cell and put in the new LR44, matching the + and – marks inside the compartment.
- Close it fully. Put the cover back and tighten the screw until the cover sits fully closed.
- Test it. Set it on a smooth floor and switch it on to check it moves.
If It's Not Working Today
- It arrived and won't move. We check every toy by hand before it's packed, but now and then a bad or dead bug slips through. First make sure the switch is on and the toy is on a smooth