This $4 Cat Toy Is 'Worth Its Weight In Gold' — And Behaviorists Say There's A Reason

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There is an iconic reviewer photo that any shopping writer who covers pets is probably familiar with. It shows a reviewer’s cat leaping, paws-out, into the air with the gusto you’d think only happens in cartoons.

Not so. The culprit? The Cat Dancer, a cult-favorite cat toy that reviewers call the “greatest cat toy ever” and “worth its weight in gold.”

On first glance, the toy may not look like much: a springy piece of steel wire with cardboard rolls at the end. But its simplicity is part of its genius, according to an expert, and its design is more thoughtful and cat-informed than you might think.

“The Cat Dancer toy brilliantly taps into a cat’s hunting instincts,” Stephanie Merlin, a certified feline behavior specialist and cat wellbeing educator, told HuffPost. “Domestic cats still possess the natural drive to chase and capture prey … [and] the quick, erratic movements of the cardboard [mimic] the behavior of small prey.”

Plus, as opposed to the colorful fabric wands often associated with cats, “The wire is nearly invisible to cats, especially since their eyesight is better at a distance,” Merlin explained. As a result, your cat can focus on the cardboard’s prey-like movement, getting into the proverbial zone for hunting and playing.

The Cat Dancer’s ingenuity also lies in its stimulation of your cat’s taste and auditory senses. Many of us associate dogs with a love of chewing and licking, but cats