I buy these from Zooplus every month and the kittens love them. It is absolutely their favourite toy and great for excercising them. But they seem to break so easily; the kittens have the feathers torn out and shredded within a day.

So, is Da bird any more durable?

__________________

Da Birds feathers come out almost as quickly - the trick is to not let them actually catch it it

also can buy repacement 'ends' which in case of Da Bird is more expensive than the entire pole at Zooplus and it's a bit of self advertising but I do some attachments as well that one of the forum members here rated a bit higher than Da Bird for durability

__________________

I have both Da Bird and the Zoo plus version and to be honest the only difference I can see is that the feathers are attached with a double swivel which makes them "fly" better.I dont think there is much difference in durability.I must be lucky ,Meeko hasnt trashed either, yet Mind you I try not to let him catch them too often.

__________________

That must be where I'm going wrong then - letting them catch it. But, aw, they're so cute when they catch it. They growl, (sometimes) hiss and try to run away with their prey and it's just so darned cute.

I'll have a look at your website Indy.

__________________

If you have a friend in the US, it might well be worth asking them to send you some of the attachments. This is where I bought mine when I went over there, and the feathers don't come out at all. I've had three kittens and a mum cat trashing it all at the same time, and it still has all its feathers! They're attached by plastic to the swivel, so there's no way that's breaking.

My whole family and a number of my friends live in the U.S. (I'm American). hehe

That is a good idea, though. I've alread got my Mom sending some cat toys along with her annual Christmas shipment to us, so I might ask her to add a few to one of the boxes.

__________________

I got mine from Petsmart if that helps. I'm not sure if Petco stocks them or not.

My first Da Bird wasn't much better than the Zooplus one but the feathers I've had since have lasted longer. I got my last lot off eBay from the US - got 20 refills which came to about £36 with postage. Great value when you consider you pay about £4 for one. Just had to keep reminding myself of that when I was paying nearly 40 quid for a few feathers!

__________________