****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I have two cats, one of which has mild pica. She'll chew up and eat blanket fringe, shoelaces, drawstrings, small stuffed cat toys, earplugs, and hair ties. I've tried a number of replacement chews that mimic her favorite things--silvervine sticks, yak chews, small dog toys--but this is the ONLY thing she likes. I think it's the rubbery coating that does it. She'll eventually destroy the rubbery coating on both ends and lose interest in the toy once it's reduced to the two hard plastic ends, pock-marked from her tiny needle teeth. She's on her third one in about a year's time. For the cost of the item, that seems like a reasonable replacement rate to me.Regarding safety--the rubbery coating on the round ends of the toy typically peels away from the hard plastic core after a few months of use, and sometimes breaks off in smaller pieces. I know this could pose a risk of bowel obstruction, but I feel safer having her chew on this than anything that breaks off in hard plastic pieces, or stuffed toys where she could chew off and eat fabric or polyfill. I know for a fact she's eaten and passed ear plugs, and the rubber bits she's able to get off this are small and soft enough that I don't think it poses a serious risk. But of course, whether this is safe for your cat depends on their chewing behavior, so I would encourage anyone using this to divert pica chewing to pay close attention to the condition of the toy and take it away from the cat if it seems like they're consuming it.
