Motorised Rolling Cat Ball with Rope, Plush and Hop Versions

The ball goes one way, the rope swings the other, and she commits to the rope.

It is always the tail. The ball rolls off across the boards under its own power, changes direction against the skirting, and the braided cord knotted to its hub whips round behind it. She has been sitting on the arm of the sofa pretending not to watch for a full minute, and now she is flat on the floor with both paws out.

The shell is ribbed silicone over a clear plastic hub, and the drive wheel sits behind that clear half where a cat can see it turning. The whole thing weighs fifty seven grams, small enough to be batted under a door and light enough not to mark a skirting board. Six colours are made, each one offered with or without a pat to wake mode.

Key Benefits

• The rope does the work A braided cord knotted at both ends trails from the hub, so there is always something loose to hook a claw into when the ball itself is moving too fast.
• It drives itself No wand, no hand, no batting it across the room to start. The ball moves on its own and changes direction when it meets something.
• Pat to wake on half the options Six colours come in a Wake and a No Wake version, so you can choose whether the ball restarts when it is touched.
• Three different balls on one listing The rope version, a plain hop ball with a single button, and a ball set inside a plush ring with ears and a pompom on a wire.
• Light in the paw Fifty seven grams of silicone rather than hard plastic, so it takes a swipe from a back paw without going through a vase.

Best for: An indoor cat who plays hardest when nobody appears to be involved, and homes with enough clear floor for a ball to run a few metres before it meets a wall.

Why It Works

Two things are worth saying straight. The supplier writes that this encourages natural hunting instincts and gives mental stimulation. We are not going to make claims about what happens in a cat's head, so that has gone. It also calls the silicone non toxic and pet friendly with nothing behind either word, so those have gone too. What remains is checkable: silicone over a clear hub, a drive wheel, a rope tail, 57 grams, a pat to wake mode on half the options and three speeds on the plush version.

Quick Product Facts: Self driving ball for cats; ribbed silicone shell over a clear plastic hub, as listed by the maker; 57 g; braided rope tail on the standard version; six colours, each in a Wake or No Wake option; a plain hop ball with a single button and no rope; a plush ring version with embroidered ears, a pompom on a wire and three speeds; packing list is one cat toy ball; battery type, runtime and charging method not stated by the maker.

How It Fits Your Routine

Late afternoon, the hour she starts complaining at the kitchen door. The ball goes down at the end of the hall, where there is enough floor for it to build up a run before it finds the skirting.

When it stops on its own, the Wake versions restart with a pat, which is the difference between a toy she starts herself and one you have to keep going.

Wipe the silicone with a damp cloth and check the rope where it knots into the hub, because that knot is where a determined chewer will start. Retire the rope if it frays and keep the play supervised.

FAQ

How is it powered and how long does it run? The maker does not say. No battery type, no capacity, no runtime and no charging method appear anywhere on the sheet, so we are not going to guess at any of them for you.

Does every version have the wake mode? No. Six colours come as Cat Ball Wake and six as Cat Ball No Wake. The hop ball and the plush version are described separately by the maker. Read the option name.

What is the light in some of the photographs? A glow appears behind the clear half in a few images. The maker never lists a light or says what it indicates, so we will not present it as a feature.

Is it safe to leave with a cat unattended? Treat it as a supervised toy. The rope tail can be chewed and the ball is small enough to be carried off, so put it away between sessions rather than leaving it out.