Galaxy's Mojo rating scale measures cat toys on a scale of one to five stars, evaluating construction quality, safety, reliability, value, and how engaging the toy is during play.
At a glance
Length
26 min
Channel
Jackson Galaxy
Video from
Nov 2024
Rating
⭐⭐ Great video · 2/2
Best for
Cat owners shopping for safe, engaging toys on a budget
What this video answers
What is the Mojo rating system?
Why did the Potaroma Flapping Bird Toy lose a Mojo point?
Should battery-powered cat toys replace interactive play?
Why do toys work better in cat cafés than at home?
What should I do with toys after playtime?
Reads the guide aloud in your browser — free, no account.
Jackson Galaxy Reviews Five Best-Selling Amazon Cat Toys
In this video filmed at Tail Town Cats, a cat café in Pasadena, California, Jackson Galaxy tests five of Amazon's top-selling cat toys using his Mojo rating system (out of five stars). The toys are evaluated on construction, safety, reliability, value, and playability. Galaxy emphasizes that while enrichment matters, safety is always the priority, and he warns that one toy carries real dangers.
The first toy reviewed is the Giociv Interactive Cat Ball, a motorized ball that moves unpredictably around the room. Galaxy awards it four out of five Mojos, praising its sturdy construction and engaging movement but noting that it lacks texture for cats to grip once caught. The Potaroma Flapping Bird Toy, which makes realistic chirping sounds when touched, receives 3.5 Mojos because its feet are easily detachable—a choking hazard. The Giociv Interactive Cat Ball in Pouch, a motorized ball inside a mesh sack, earns a lower score because it moves slowly and loses the cats' interest within minutes. The Kezlume Door Hanging Cat Toy and L&W Bros. Cat Laptop round out the selection, though the video video cuts off before full reviews of these final toys.
Key Moments
Key Points About These Amazon Cat Toys
Motorized toys with unpredictable movement trigger hunting instinct effectively, but they should never replace interactive play between owner and cat.
Plush textures and fur encourage cats to mark toys with their scent, mimicking natural prey behavior and increasing engagement.
Detachable parts like beads, eyes, and feet are serious choking hazards; Galaxy tests each toy by pulling on small components to see if they come off easily.
In multi-cat households, toys should be put away after play sessions to prevent overstimulation and territorial conflicts.
Toys lacking texture or scent retention (such as rubber-only designs) may be less engaging than those with fur or cloth elements.
Battery-powered toys should be supplemented with manual interactive play ending in a meal or treats to complete the natural hunt-catch-kill cycle.
Why Cat Toy Safety and Enrichment Matter
Choosing the right toys is crucial because cats need both physical enrichment and mental stimulation to stay healthy and prevent behavioral problems. However, unsafe toys can cause serious injury or death if parts are swallowed or if overstimulation leads to aggression in multi-cat homes. Galaxy's testing reveals that bestseller status on Amazon does not automatically guarantee safety or quality—even highly-rated products can have design flaws like easily-detached parts. Understanding how to evaluate toys using practical safety checks, and knowing when to actively supervise play versus allowing self-play, helps cat owners create an enriching environment without unnecessary risk.
Frequently Asked Questions About Amazon Cat Toy Reviews
What is the Mojo rating system?
Galaxy's Mojo rating scale measures cat toys on a scale of one to five stars, evaluating construction quality, safety, reliability, value, and how engaging the toy is during play.
Why did the Potaroma Flapping Bird Toy lose a Mojo point?
Because its feet are attached loosely and can be yanked off easily, creating a choking hazard. Galaxy tests all toys by pulling on small parts to confirm they are secure.
Should battery-powered cat toys replace interactive play?
No. Self-activating toys are useful for entertainment when you are busy, but they should not replace hands-on play with wand toys, laser pointers, or other interactive tools that let you control the hunt and end playtime with a meal or treat.
Why do toys work better in cat cafés than at home?
The video does not directly address this, but Galaxy mentions testing toys in a 44-cat environment where multiple cats engage with toys simultaneously, creating higher engagement than a single-cat or quieter household might show.
What should I do with toys after playtime?
Put them away. Leaving toys out activates cats' hunting drive for extended periods, which can lead to overstimulation, aggression between cats, and unwanted behaviors like urine marking on the toy itself.
This video is genuinely helpful because Galaxy doesn't just praise toys—he actually tests them for safety hazards that casual buyers overlook, and he explains his reasoning in plain language. His willingness to be critical, even of bestsellers, and to show exactly how he checks for choking risks, makes this a resource worth watching before your next toy purchase.
What I appreciated most was his honest point about multi-cat households: toys that work great in a 44-cat café can actually cause conflict at home if left out too long. That practical distinction alone saves owners from frustration and potential behavior problems. I'd recommend this to any cat owner shopping online.
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Join me as I review EVEN MORE best-selling cat toys from Amazon, filmed at the incredible Tail Town Cats in Pasadena, California! (If you are in the area, you must check them out - it's a wonderful cat cafe to have a little feline fun, and adopt your new family member)! While some toys are fun and engaging, others raise concerns - including one that could be dangerous! 🙀 Remember, your cat’s enrichment matters, but safety is always the top priority. Don’t forget to share your cat’s favorite toys in the comments!
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:54 Giociv Interactive Cat Ball
07:31 Potaroma Flapping Bird Toy
11:56 Giociv Interactive Cat Ball in Pouch
16:44 Kezlume Door Hanging Cat Toy
22:08 L&W Bros. Cat Laptop
24:04 Outro
Tail Town Cat Cafe: https://www.tailtowncats.com
Products mentioned in this video: https://amzn.to/4eC0dTf
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Video transcript for “Cat Expert Reviews Bestselling Cat Toys on Amazon…And One is Actually DANGEROUS!🙀” Accessibility
A full written transcript of this video, provided for accessibility. Select any timestamp to jump the video to that moment.
what's better than something like this if you love cats cat cafes are the best thing in the world that's where I am I'm at tail toown in padena California I will say this right off the bat if you're looking for a cat in your life or even if you're just looking to hang out and maybe just pet a cat then a place
like tail toown is for you so drop on by now why am I here I'm here because I'm testing more of Amazon's bestselling toys now the last time we did this was I a tiny bit harsh on our tested products oh this is just come on that's the freaking toy wand Too Short the hell is this thing feathers ribbon no the worst
attachments for your cat like ever the act of throwing this behind me is what I'm going to do I would rather set it on fire go away go away go away go away go away get out of here don't just don't maybe a little bit just a little hey I'm here for you I am a consumer Advocate I am incredibly
picky I'm in it for the cats and today we're going to put a bunch of other uh things to the look I'm doing this because I can't wait to decimate these toys now before I start uh decimating I mean reviewing I mean loving whatever all of these toys we will be using the Mojo rating system so out of a potential
five Mojo which who's going to get that around me I mean they might uh we will be looking at things like construction safety reliability value and playability these are bestselling toys on Amazon they are now in my hot little hands that's hilarious the second it hit my hot
little hands the world fell apart in my hot little hands is our first contestant we have the number one cat toy ball which I yeah is a niche type of thing on Amazon with over 28004 Star Plus reviews this is at about 4.3 stars and it just says smart cat toy let's find out what's in here I'm trying
I'm trying I already look like I'm like a smart cat toy I'm swear to God I'm trying not to be that guy all right so here we go we've got this uh kind of rubberized deal here just looks like a looks just like a wheel from the underside of your TV or something and it comes with this screw on
attachment which uh they do have an extra one and a cord to charge it up and then once you charge it up it does that oh oh oh okay now we've got 44 cats in this test laboratory here so what is our percentage here we got to figure of all the cats that are awake and curious there better be a number of them that
like this so let's check out the smart cat toy I it's not happy with me well I'm not happy with you either let's go oh okay that's got a little something going on with [Music]
it when we've got cats like this the corner I want to get them out of the corner especially if you have multic cats I know hey guys what here that's one way to break it up so what I do like unpredictable movement got a pretty sturdy tail to it really the way it flips around and everything I'm pleasantly surprised at
the moment ready ready [Music] go one of the things that kind of bugs me about all of these toys there's nothing on here that retains scent it's rubberized which I get why but I would love a little bit of fur on here something like that we know that any toy with some fur on it instant cat
attraction why play equals prey it still has to act like prey this thing moves like prey I'll give it that all right let me give you my thoughts on this guy here [Music] impress I'm waiting for a round of applause all of the Cats and I mean all of them went after this thing this guy
here I mean he was a total Helen so the downside of a good review with something like this in a place like this is that the better the toy the more everyone in this room is activated got to make a point to you guys this is why we don't leave toys just sitting around because when they are in that Hunter mode you
can't expect them to just shut it off because you shut this off the thing about toys like this it's not an excuse for you not to get involved in in playtime because you can control it you can put a period on the sentence what we would normally do right now is end this with a meal or a big treat time so
everybody can focus on one thing not each other not something that's running around the room and activating everybody so just remember that in the meantime that's the downside of a good review in a place like this this is a good toy from me the guy who's sitting here testing it with 44 cats it is sturdy as
heck there's no parts here that are going to kill a cat the spare tail it's still made of really heavyduty rope here it's and it's not going to come off so everybody if you look down here you'll see everybody down here is now going after the spare tail because it's something they can go after and Chomp on
and kill because they're cats so leaving out the fact that you get no no stars for your name cat interactive ball toy great uh I would give this out of five Mojo I'll give you a four four out of five Mojo did I really say that yeah I'll give you four out of five mojos
considering what kind of toy this is what I would call the self-activating toy you press a button and it activates all over the room I think it's great the only thing I would take off for this is the fact that that once a cat cat catches it what are they going to Chomp on again we do want to make sure a cat
can complete the hunt catch kill cycle also a disclaimer I have not seen this operate or not operate on uh carpeting but I bet you it does work cuz it is a pretty powerful motor and it's got this nice grippy rubber so yeah four mojos for the non-named uh Toy but also if I do recommend a toy go to the links in
the description and I will provide a link and I will for this one now don't forget if you've used any of these toys at home and you've got something out of them that I'm missing or you're missing a piece of them that I didn't get whatever it is let us know that's what this is this is a give and take it's not
just me talking to you it's you talking back to me put it in the comments so that we can all talk about it together while you're at it if you haven't already subscribed to the channel an alarming number of you guys watch these videos and you don't actually subscribe so also do that and throw us a thumbs up
because these cats really thrive on compliments thank you Amazon handing person oh it's from uh poto Roma who does make a lot of these sort of affordable cat toys but yes Potomic flapping bird no flying lifelike Sandpiper chirp tweet I don't know anyway the number one best seller in cat
mice now I see how this works you could be the number one in like Sandpiper toys uh but this this is the uh number one seller in mice and animal toys which begs the question who's number two God I just have so much fun Amazon is the Jackson cat toy so anyway it does
have holy crap 4.5 stars with over 11.5 th000 reviews it comes with our Sandpiper toy you're a Sandpiper huh and uh as they all do a little charging Dad let's figure out how to turn this guy on sure enough there's going to be a bunch of cats coming over here I'm
sure all right we got interest here and I think it's I mean the bird sound is pretty authentic um I'm trying to figure out why it stops when it does I think it must be activ AC at when a cat does something to it but I mean yeah obviously the sound is pretty good gummy take it
easy I just want to see what happens with a cat that's not gummy bear all right I'm not talking to you okay you oh my god gummy bear okay okay everybody yeah so that's what it is as soon as one of the cats touches it then off to the races is yeah what I do like about this though is because it's plush
the way it is you'll see a lot of the cats sort of rubbing their faces up against it getting their saliva on it which is just marking it as theirs and that's what we would do with prey all right I mean I'm I'm liking what this is doing I'm going to leave it with these guys for a second yeah it's working sort of as a
kicker also which I like hi okay you guys okay can I take this away from you please see how all the cats are taking their time marking this thing yeah see it doesn't take all that much to activate it so I like that too again multicat household you definitely want to control when this is out how
many toys are out I would definitely recommend multiples but in the meantime surprise surprise Jackson likes this toy for what it is again flick a switch it plays not a substitute for interactive play but the Tweet absolutely brings all the cats to the yard the eyes are sewn in so they're not the kind that they can
pull out and do damage with even the feet on here oh well you just lost a Mojo head didn't you if it's a part that can be yanked off like this easily then give it a yank test if it comes off it comes off because you don't want it in somebody's mouth so in this case I would also say
just make sure to flip off the the labels the Tail's pretty strong but there it is it's up to you but for construction passing grade for sure I like the fact that it's uh unpredictable intermittent in terms of the flapping your charge gets saved because it really does shut off and then the cats have to
work it in order to get it tweeting again so that's all great so for what it is again I'm going to give this guy a pass and grade this just lost you an extra Mojo head so I'm going to give you I'll be nice 3.5 Mojo heads that's a half a head uh but three and a half stars for the again lamely named
whatever it is Sandpiper best cat toy whistle Sandpiper in the world toy but again Link in the description on this guy worth it shut up bird nice this one's got the this is too much you guys ready for some more fun gather around everybody it's another toy from smart cat cat toy I I can't pronounce the name of the
brand Geo Civ interactive cat toy ball fast rolling in pouch motion activate whatever blah blah blah 4,000 plus of these have been bought in the past month and we've got a 4.3 rating on Amazon with over 1,000 ratings this uh if I'm not mistaken is a is a variation on a toy that I'm sure that you guys have
seen before in which we have all of these pieces so we've got this part of it well it's crinkly so that's a plus and then I think all you are doing is putting this ball in the oh it's the same ball from the other toy oh there's the tail or the
something this little furry part goes like that and uh then we I I think all you do is turn it on and put it in this thing it makes me happy that it's this big and so I assume there's a bunch of cats who can get involved here and not want to murder each other so let's find that out all right so all you're
supposed to do is take this put this in here close her up and see what happens okay so we got blinking happening and oh okay my Wonder is if it gets activated more when a cat touches it if
I'm honest one of the things that I'm questioning right now is why would something that goes in a sack have the furry collar on it all right so from what I can tell I don't think it's being activated by touch I think it just has its own timeline which is pretty slow and I'm trying to figure out other than
the fact that our friend here has decided to sit on it which is going to happen can I get you off here for a sec can I get you can you get off here for a sec come on okay I just want to see what happens when we've got the whole thing [Music] here oh there's always this part too I don't know so let's give our
review on this one sort of a for effort number one I have no idea why this furry thing is on here because it it's in the sack and if it's in the sack what's the point the plus side is they are treating it like prey very well and but then instantly they trap the prey in a corner this thing doesn't really move all that
fast I'm sure they could just change the setting on this so that it moves just more you know fast and tries to get out of corners but it's not working I honestly think that this toy will outlive its usefulness in 10 minutes and then you've got this big crinkly sack sitting around on a separate note if you
take a look at these guys doing this right now if you do get this pick it up after you're done playing cuz I guarantee you if this this is down for more than 5 minutes it's going to get peed on oh there's always this part too always always this part too it's got that texture you can tell it's probably
also I've got Tallow in it which is a non-stick agent which is derived from Animal product and I can guarantee they're going to smell it they're going to want to own it they're going to scratch on it someone's going to pee on it and that's it on this thing really good idea not great execution I give you
uh two mojos so Sandy and I are just sitting here bonding a little bit and Sandy by the way is up for adoption as is 43 other cats here at tail toown Cat Cafe in Pasadena California if you're in the Southern California area there is no way that you should pass up the opportunity to come down here for an hour hang out
with these cats maybe want to take somebody home because as well as these guys have it here it's not home and that's where you can change things and whether or not you're in Southern California there are cat cafes now in all 50 states there's well over a hundred of them in the states right now
whether it's a shelter whether it is a rescue whether it's a cat cafe now is that time for you to bring a cat into your life we need your help in more ways than you could possibly know if you can adopt you can foster if you can't foster right now you can donate to organizations that you trust ask them
what they need they'll tell you how to volunteer here and how to help what has become a pretty large problem in this country so in the meantime if you can get your tail down to tail toown in Pasadena you ready for some more fun she's not ready for anything but little does she know we have more toys
all right we're moving on here to this guy here crazy up down interactive cat toy have a fun with your cats anyway this says cat toy on Amazon however only about 500 views but again about 4.2 and so this is meant to hang in a doorway so pretty self-explanatory I believe although I've just been having a ball
today with self-explanatory things so we we'll see how that works out we've got a toy here that I know everything is so exciting right now whether it's a plastic bag or just a thing that looks like calipers uh okay I know I'm going to have trouble with this I hate reading instructions
will you do it nope so we've got a number of the same toy by the way the ad is very misleading cuz it makes it seem like there are three mice that hang from it at the same time which is not true okay so I thread this I tie a knot yeah I'm capable of that I'm tying this it's in a tight knot okay
fine okay well we got that part going on I am already so annoyed by this they are not a tough crowd because at the same time this cat is playing with this toy they're also playing with my shoe oh well the good news is I didn't break it I guess we just go like that and my shoe is still in in use even
though I'm already annoyed let me just show you something that already will annoy me more yeah come come with me the first thing about this toy even though me and this toy have not gotten off on the right foot I'm more than happy to give it a chance but I don't like this see what it wants to do is hang right
here on the door jam like this and then just take a look at that sign right there that tells you everything you need to know here and why I really hate Toys that actually hang in doorways and you want to know why they're doorways you go in and out of doorways they're significant areas if you don't want to
teach your cat the lesson of going in and out of doorways whenever they want to maybe you don't care but maybe you do maybe they treat this doorway the same way they treat the front door doorways are not to be trifled with in terms of territorial importance and potential problems with it why would you hang a
toy there why would you hang a scratching post there there are dumb like shelves that you can hang from a doorway too they're dumb that's what I'm trying to say now that said I'm sure there's a place that we can hang this I'm going to hang it from here okay what I can do I guess is
this let the fun continue so now we're going to press this button okay so now we have a taker here clearly not half as cynical as I am but it doesn't go all the way up oh this couldn't be any stupider I mean it could be wait till somebody catches it then it gets stupider in the meantime they're
competing with a very unsafe string wow hey [Music] everybody I mean this does make for great photo ops but I feel like one of the old guys in The Muppet Show who's always like what do these guys think they're doing these
stupid whipper snappers this is a more familiar position for me to be in looking at some toys from Amazon and being like so let let's let that come out right now there is so much wrong with this toy number one I don't like toys that hang from doorways I think it's a dumb idea I think territorially you're
not really thinking it through and uh that's number one number two a toy that doesn't ever fully wind itself back up and you've got this string attached to it the chances of a cat getting this but at the same time getting caught up in the string is so great I mean I wouldn't leave my cat alone at all period with
this toy kittens 100% don't let them near this toy this is inviting them to get hung up and and choked on I honestly don't what it does it starts to wind up then just drops it again so what is the payoff for the cat it's almost like a laser pointer when you think about it it'll torture them they can get it they
lose it they get it they lose it there's never that that chance I can have to run away with this and and kill it you know do something that I'm meant to do with it it becomes a tease and it becomes an invitation for overstimulated cats and redirected aggression and don't I'm trying to come up with a reason to give
this toy a single Mojo what do you think yeah I mean I maybe I'll I'll just I'll give enough props to say well somebody worked hard at inventing it a half a Mojo and that's being generous don't get it you want to help me write my new book come on key
stuck key stuck oh H it was the mouse get it okay that was a lame joke but anyway this is our final little piece from Amazon I just think it's really cute the idea that like you know cat's got a laptop Jackson's got a laptop you we got the little toy here little hangy mousey thing and then of course it says
good evening cat it's 19:23 p.m. the meow search how can we catch my I don't know it's very dumb but I still think it's cute and it's got a little scratcher here it's not bad corate which is good the toy here is lame totally lame like it it what happens is you you get it in here and then it's
done stupid but uh you know you could sprinkle some catnip on it they go to town on it you've got this cute little mouse if anything here's what I'll give you it's a cute novelty gift to give a friend who's got cats if nothing else you can do a lot worse and as we've seen today on Amazon you could do a lot worse
1569 and it's a 4.4 star $15 $15 you kidding me this is a couple pieces of cardboard I was already to give this some like bonus mojos for just being inventive but if you're going to charge close to $16 for this I I would say freaking just use a shoe box and just let's just get it over with anyway
no that was a nice try but uh I won't even bother with that one uh fun novelty not for $16 we'll give you two Mojo for that one I'm tired I'm exhausted it's really exhausting to play with cats it's really exhausting to hate things hate is exhausting love is exhausting boy the life of a reviewer
right you did a great job you did a really wonderful job she's just waiting where the treats are anyway so that's what we have from Amazon another mixed bag there were a couple of toys in there that I thought were actually good Investments for the price construction fun there were some as always uh you're
going to get toys that had no business being made one that I thought was like straight up dangerous if you used the wrong way and a couple that were totally useless and that's the way it goes now you can find links to the ones I'd like in the description so you can go ahead and get your own plus I would love to
know what you think about some of the toys that you your cats are playing with right now whether they're from Amazon or not I'm always looking for the next big thing and whether that's from Amazon or chewy Etsy or Tik Tok I don't know let me see it send it on in and uh send me a video of your cat playing with it to
this link right there and maybe you'll find your cat on one of these videos in the meantime I just wanted to give another big thanks to my friends at tail toown Cat Cafe in pasaden California where this little baby and 43 others are waiting to be adopted and taken home by who by you so come on in if you're in
the Southern California area and uh once again play with your cat play with your cat play with your cat light loving Mojo to [Music] you yeah [Music]
Every video on Helicopterstour.com is hand-picked and reviewed by Justin — nothing is added automatically. Each one gets an original written guide and an honest rating: ⭐ 1 out of 2 means a good video worth your time, and ⭐⭐ 2 out of 2 means a great one we would recommend to anyone. The videos belong to their creators — every page links back to the original channel so you can subscribe and support them.