Sunday 20 April 2008

The Panic Mouse: Possibly The Most Underwhelming £22.99 I Have Ever Spent On My Cats

The Panic Mouse is an electronic toy that was recommended to me by Alex, a nice vet in Liverpool who I interviewed on behalf of the Daily Telegraph Magazine about his overweight pets clinic. He showed me a film he'd made, which featured his own - rather portly - cat lost in the toy's rhythm, hurling itself athletically about while Alex and his partner watched TV. It looked like hours of fun and just over twenty quid seemed a reasonable price to pay to see my cats shaken out of their pampered ennui and prompted to do backflips around the living room, so I immediately ordered one.

To quote the product's promotional literature: "Revolutionary in design, its built-in computer board signals a battery-powered motor, creating random and unpredictable 'mouse-like' movements. More than just toys for cats, Panic Mouse interactive cat toys provide hours of fun for both pet and owner. The plastic wand bends and contorts, bouncing back to its original form. The illusive object of cat curiosity: An artificial fur pouch that feels and acts like a real mouse. Crazy, wild, and full of surprises, Panic Mouse cat toys are the much meowed-for answer for playful cats everywhere. Never a dull moment, Panic Mouse is there to keep your pet happy for hours on end."

As you will see below, The Bear, Ralph, Shipley, Bootsy, Janet and Pablo may beg to differ...

23 comments:

Dee said...

Ha ha ha ... This made me laugh so much..... I don't think I'll bother buying one... :D

admin said...

umm, we'll think about it;)

1st ManCat Monday furr Big Brother Bunjie, Meaouwy Troops leader

mummykat said...

hahaha that reminds me of the time i spent 20 quid on a toy like that for our socks but he just took one look at it and started to lick his backside! thats how much he thought of it lol
he is more interested in a bit of ribbon that was wrapped around the cake box yesterday. ive never seen him move so fast when i was undoing it.

The Misadventures Of Me said...

I know whats the problem with that toy is - it doesn't touch the floors nor is it unpredictables. We kittys like to think we can's get that mousie easy but human interaction is much better. Has you tried an old fishing rod with a kitty toy attached? Much cheaper and loads more fun!

David Fiedler said...

Well, it looked like it might have been entertaining!

A terrific video and perfect soundtrack! Thanks for letting me know about it!

Unknown said...

Loved this little vid.
Your cats are beautiful. I bet when you've gone to bed they play with the Panic Mouse like crazy.
I wonder how a kitten would react to it?

Rosemary B❤️ said...

hahahhahahaha
your kitties look like they really love that new toy you bought them!

I think my new kitten brother would probably love this thing. To me... it looks annoyingly pesty.

dinahmow said...

A screwed-up grocery receipt works just fine!

Moki The Wobbly Cat said...

I have often found the toys which I think my cats will like the best, they care for the least, and the ones I suspect they wont like at all, they love. Funny how that works!

Karen Jo said...

Hahaha! The soundtrack is perfect. I am surprised that your cats didn't even watch it.

George Online Cat said...

Well done cats. NEVER respond to an expensive cat toy. Never use a new cat bed. Turn up your nose at the latest cat treat. Keep your human in its place.
George

florid nightingale said...

Perfect song! I haven't heard that one in about 26 years. - Teresa

Zippy, Sadie, Speedy and M'Gee said...

Well, yoo entertained our mom. She smiled and said "oh, a song from my youth". Give us a fuzzy mouse, a sponge or sparkle ball and a set of stairs...hours of fun. Cheap too.

HRH Yao-Lin said...

hahahahah! That is hilarious! Those cats are seriously bored by that very expensive toy! Well done those cats! hahahaha

The Lee County Clowder said...

We suspect that if you make the string a bit longer and slow down the bouncing around a bit, you might be able to get your crew to try to use it, or at least get them to look at it. From the video, it looks like it is too hard to catch, or even see, the what-ever-it-is on the end of the cord.

If you can adjust anything on the machine. If you haven't already thrown it away. For whatever it might be worth.

Cybrspin said...

meowahahahahahaha Typical kitties :)

Bear and Shadow would want the box it came in. They don't want bling bling toys, they want the packaging and any other cheap toy I can find :)

small potato said...

cute ^~^

Theo,Milo and Lara said...

How wonderfully unpredicatable we gorgeous fur babies are ! What a team to watch and laugh at !!

Us 3 prefer stalking the dogs's rear to a plastic toy.More feedback !!!!!!

Anonymous said...

The Panic Mouse, fully warranted to extend feline ennui throughout the home.

Hehe :)

twastardcat said...

Oliver watched the video and fellasleep.Don't think he was impressed.

Anonymous said...

We wouldn't be seen dead playing with an artificial mouse...well, not with anyone watching; and certainly NOT in front of a camera.

We bring our Beloved Who Feeds Us the real thing! And there are six of us, too....
She always very loud with gratitude.
Sweet Pea and Co

twastardcat said...

iVDOOliver says; I plays with the toy mice my two legs provides because she seems to like throwing them upstairs for me and it stops her paying attention to the computer without having to walk on the keybard. She doesn't seem ready for the real thing yet but the time is coming when she will have to learn to learn certain skills like how to hunt and kill prey!Panic mouse was a big no no.

Jo said...

I bought a Panic Mouse for my six cats...and not ONE took a blind bit of notice of it.Total waste of money.DONT BUY ONE....EVER.
Maisie Maine Coon used to hold the tail thing in one paw to stop it flicking around and chew it off!
It irrated her so much.
Panic Mouse now lives in the loft with all the 'wrong' style's of cat bed!!