I very rarely buy toys for my cats, but about a week ago I indulged them with the Wild Tail, having seen it in the window of a card shop for some time. The window has been dedicated to exhibiting the toy for several months, and is completely unadorned apart from the Tail, which is set to run continuously throughout the day. I have noticed many people clustered around to watch the Tail in action, and it is true that as a novelty toy it is different to many other products on the market.

The Wild Tail was not new to me when I first spied it in the window of the shop. About ten years ago I remember I went to my friend's house for tea: after we had finished eating her step mother began telling me about a stray cat that had begun visiting them and often settled itself in the garden. She asked if I would like to see it, and, being an lover of all things animal-related, I immediately said yes. She exited the room and I heard the door opening. After something of a kerfuffle she re-entered the room and seemed to fall onto the floor with what looked like an excitable cat in a brown paper bag, and its tail sticking out of it. The 'cat' veered all around the room, and I was transfixed by the clearly distressed creature trying to work itself out of its paper prison. After about five minutes my friend's step mother took pity on me and revealed that the spectacle did not contain a live creature after all, but a toy that was very similar in design to the Wild Tail. Following that incident I have been fascinated by just such toys, and I purchased the product as much for my own amusement as my cats'.

The Wild Tail is very effective in just such a capacity outlined above, and the moment set the toy off my cats were on it immediately. This is very unusual in my experience, as they are generally impressed by little and take a lot of prompting to engage in any activity with a toy. The erratic movement of the Wild Tail however, coupled with its fairly realistic-looking tail, drove my cats wild to begin with. The movement of the ball causes the bushy tail to flit about in a very lifelike way, and you can just set the ball to run and watch your cats chase after it with glee.

The ball is comprised of a rubbery material, and thus it can work well on a hard, untextured surface as well as a carpeted one. I prefer to set the tail off on a carpeted floor however, as the Tail seems to work slightly better and flit off at wilder angles on a surface with better grip. My cats frequently sink their claws into the ball during play, and consequently it has sustained a few tears and general wear during use. However, for £3.20 this is a fantastically novel product and I always enjoy watching my cats and observing their fascinated faces as I set the Wild Tail to work in front of them. This is a great toy amongst the many generic animal toys available at the moment, and I would even consider replacing the Wild Tail if it became too mutilated by my cats, which is not something I would say about most other toys.