Hey Pet Parents & Pet Lovers,
As always we’re huge fans of trying to find passive toys for our little ones to play with, especially since Beau tends to get bored at night while we’re sleeping and if we don’t keep him entertained… well he starts chewing on things.
This time around we tried the Petstages Tower of Tracks Pet Toy which we’ve actually had since late last year when Beau first got his PU Surgery and Double Cystotomy.
We thought Beau would really enjoy this toy because he’s liked similar toys in the past such as Bergan Turbo Scratcher Cat Toy, Catit Design Senses Super Roller Circuit, Ball Track Cat Toy With Mouse Swatter. The main features that interested me about this toy were:
The fact that there were multiple balls on the track
The fact that this toy has a bit of height
The fact that it can disassemble
The fact that the tracks are open since Beau doesn’t always notice that there are balls hidden in tracks (this is also a great benefit for pet parents who have little one’s whos paws get stuck in tracks. If you have this issue, this style of track is a much better investment.)
Over the few months that we’ve had this toy, Beau has made his way to it at least once a day. Like most passive toys, he doesn’t play with it for an extended amount of time, but I would say his playtimes average around 15-minutes. What I’ve noticed while he’s played with this track:
It has a good weight and doesn’t slide across the floor (although I’ve heard some other people have had issues with this, and it can easily be fixed by putting a weight/rock through the centre.) The model I have does have floor grips on it, so this may be the main reason it doesn’t slip, but I’m pretty sure older models had them as well.
The balls are light and glide smoothly across the tracks keeping Beau interested and making him want to continue to hit them
Commonly when Beau hit’s one ball it makes the others start moving, grabbing his attention to play with the other tiers
Beau always seems to be in a pouncing position (sometimes he even jumps over the track), signifying that he’s alert and aware, while with some other passive toys he’ll lie on his back while swatting a bit
Trying to teach Beau to use this toy was actually pretty easy. All we had to do was push the balls a bit to get him to take his first swats. Actually, to get him interested in the toy (if we want to get him to play) we just tap on a ball and he goes for them! I’d say that’s a pretty successful toy, eh?
To get your little one interested if tapping the ball doesn’t work, I’d recommend putting a treat inside or a piece of kibble. We’ve done this with Beau in the past, and when he knocks the ball he usually goes for it for longer play sessions.
All in all, I’d give this toy a 5/5. It’s built pretty durable, it has some weight to it, it keeps my little one occupied, and has a much higher success rate than most other passive toys.
So pet parents, have you ever tried this toy before? If not, what other ones have you tried that are similar! I’d love to hear or try them out!
**WARNING: Please make sure you get the version with the safety bar at the top. Older versions of this toy have the centre uncovered and curious kitties have gotten their little heads trapped in the toy causing some very severe emergency visits to the vet.