When we were adopted by our handsome cat, Mew, we decided that he should have some toys to play with. It was with this in mind that we went to Pets at Home to see what was on offer there.

We came back with a couple of little balls - hubby said that they would be good as Mew hadn't got any of his own! Actually even though they had bells inside them Mew wasn't interested. We got a little sack of cat nip which Mew completely ignored!

The real success was the Feather Chaser Wand (yes I know it sounds like some sort of sex toy but trust me on this one!).

It is made by a firm called Willow's and the full name of it is Willow's Feather Chaser Wand Catnip Toy for Cats and it cost just £2.99.

It is supposedly infused with cat nip but as I said earlier this wouldn't make a blind bit of difference to Mew as he doesn't react to cat nip at all!

Now I will have a go at describing the toy - this will be fun. When I get to this part of a review where I have to describe something that you wouldn't already know about I always feel as though I am on one of those TV quiz shows where someone is looking at an item and describing it to someone else who has to draw it unsighted!

Mind you there is a picture at the top of this review which will give you an idea of what I am trying to describe.

Anyway the wand itself is made of light wood and is about seventeen inches long and about a quarter of an inch in diameter. One end has a black rubber stopper on it (this will be relevant later). The other end of the wand is attached to a long narrow piece of soft, grey material with a smooth nap to it and on the other end of the material is a clump of half a dozen or so brown and white feathers of differing sizes.

The idea is that you hold the stick in your hand and swing the material back and forth thus waving the feathers at the cat, who will then jump to catch them.

When you buy the toy the material is neatly wrapped around the wand and secured in place with a round label which gives a bit of information about the toy.

So what actually happens in our house?

Well, to be fair, Mew does enjoy chasing the feathers. We usually hold the wand and use it to drag the material slowly along the floor and Mew then stalks the feathers and pounces on them.

We also have a mat at the bottom of the stairs and hubby lays the toy on the floor and then covers the material with the mat so that the wand is on one side of the mat and the feathers are on the other. He then pulls the wand so that the feathers slowly move across the floor towards the opposite edge of the mat if you see what I mean. Mew pounces on them just as they are about to disappear under the mat. This usually involves Mew jumping through the air, often somersaulting and sometimes throwing himself into the closed door with an almighty crash! He loves it! Mind you when Dave is playing this game with Mew I often wonder who is entertaining who!

Now for the explanation as to why it is relevant about the black stopper on the end of the wand. Mew loves to try and get hold of it - trust him to be awkward! Dave gets the wand in between the cushions on the sofa and pulls it slowly through making the black stopper edge slowly towards disappearance and Mew goes mad to catch it!! We do have to be careful that it doesn't come off in his mouth but it does seem to be a very well constructed toy. It does actually say on the label that you should check the toy at regular intervals for signs of wear and tear.

So all in all for £2.99 this is a huge hit in our house both with Dave and the cat! Of course it doesn't only provide fun and games - it's also good exercise for Mew when the weather is bad and he doesn't feel like going out.