Indoor cats need enrichment in their environment to keep their minds sharp and to keep them out of mischief. Since we humans can only wave a wand toy around for so many hours a day, toys that engage cats attention on their own are especially important. That’s why I was excited at the opportunity to review the PetSafe Cheese cat toy.
All right, I’ll admit, I was partly excited about it because it looks like a huge wedge of cheese, and I’m addicted to cheese. There’s now scientific evidence to show that cheese is addictive now, so I can say that. But let’s face it, your cats or mine aren’t likely to recognize that wedge shape as representing cheese. They probably don’t even recognize the little, yellow mice that pop out of the cheese at irregular intervals are supposed to represent mice.
What they do recognize, though, is the prey-like behavior of the little battery-driven mice. (You need 3 AAA batteries to make them go, unlike actual mice.) Just as a cat’s prey might peek out of a hole and then scurry right back inside, the mice from the cheese entice cats to try to catch them. Newton, caught surprise by the behavior of the cheese, was a little startled by them at first.
It didn’t take him long to start to wonder what was hiding inside the hole in that plastic cheese, and he had to take a closer look.
What was really surprising was the length of both Newton and Pierre’s attention spans for the cheese. Newton was interested for nearly half of its five minute runtime, which is a long time for what we jokingly call his attention deficit feline disorder (ADFD) to hold out.
Pierre, on the other hand, can watch for the entire ten minutes, which is is a very attention span for anything not containing food.
He spent the whole ten minutes inching closer until he was nose to nose with the mouse.
Finally, he was ready to catch his prey… only by then, the cheese had stopped.
Pierre: Make it go again!
One of the really neat features about the cheese is that it has a “play while you’re away” mode where the mice will come back on for another cycle in two hours, and again for another cycle after that. Since I suspect the cats sleep all day, it’s nice to know there’s something that will get their attention and have them active during the day, and there’s nothing about the cheese that makes me worry about leaving it for them to play with unattended. It has simple, solid construction, and even if they managed to knock it over, it wouldn’t hurt anything for the mice to continue poking their little, yellow heads out.
One really funny thing happened while testing the “play while you’re away” feature. All three cats were in the kitchen with me, begging shamelessly at the table while I was eating when suddenly all three went running out of the room. They don’t abandon the kitchen table before the food is gone, so this seemed strange. Then I realized I could hear a low, mechanized sound in the living room. The cheese’s timer had gone off and the mice were starting to peek out again. They were so irresistible, the cats had to rush to see them, even though it meant abandoning a chance at snacks from the table. If that isn’t a sign of approval, I don’t know what is!
PetSafe Cheese Cat Toy Giveaway
If your cats would like to try their very own PetSafe Cheese cat toy, PetSafe has sponsored a giveaway. For ways to enter, see the Rafflecopter widget below. This giveaway is open to readers in the United States only, and ends Tuesday, November 17th. Winners will be chosen by random drawing.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Winners will be notified via e-mail. Prize winner must provide Sometimes Cats Herd You with a physical address to which the prize will be mailed within 72 hours. If this information is not received, an alternate winner will be chosen by random drawing. Winners will be announced in a separate post following the drawing.
FTC Disclosure: We received our PetSafe Cheese cat toy at no charge from PetSafe in exchange for our honest review. Receiving free product did not influence anything we say. All opinions expressed on this site are our own.
Hey, wait, there is a mousie in your cheese ? Oh, that toy looks like a lot of fun ! Good luck to our US friends for that pawsome giveaway ! Purrs
Wow, if that got those three away from food, it must be a good toy!
We got a Cheese toy to review too and all of us love it! Though Zoey was a little leary of it at first…but that’s how she is.
Excellent review! Loved the part where you all ran from the kitchen when you heard it click back on.
Now that looks like a ton of fun especially with the cold weather coming on and not to much to see out the windows.
Hugs madi your bfff
That’s looks like fun. Is there real cheese in theres?
Luvs,
Rose ~ the adult kitten
That is some pretty impressive playtime going on fur sure!
I’d have more fun with that than the cats would!
I think my cat Annabeth would like this!
I have 4 cats. I would love to have this for them. I know they would enjoy it.
I would knock that mouse on its head. Right on its head!! And then I’d poke it with my stump in its little hole. My stump is a super power, in this case. – Crepes.
doodz….a grate ree view…N if it waz cheeze versus sum cat food a bullz….de cheeze must be awesum !! 🙂 ♥♥♥
Dat’s pawsum. We luv our big cheese too. Have fun.
Luv ya’
Dezi and Lexi
That does look like fun. Great photos!
We tried to win this on another blog, but didn’t and put it on your Christmas List. Mom says if it would distract some of us who are always checking out what they are eating, it is worth whatever it costs. We have our was crossed that we’ll win this one. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth & Calista Jo
I cannot get the Rafflecopter to work!
We aren’t sure why it’s giving you trouble, but we’ll enter you manually so you don’t miss out on your chance!
Would you believe Mudpie doesn’t have any of those cool PetSafe toys??? She’s staging a protest!
We have two kittens that would love this toy!
That seems like a very neat toy! Here, though, I bet Ivan would try to jam it under the oven. 😉
That toy is so cute and it gets cats away from the table at dinner? Sounds wonderful.
This is a great review! That is amazing that Pierre will watch it for 10 minutes. I loved the part about them all running from potential food when they heard the toy go on. That’s the best advertisement there can be for a kitty toy!
Oh, that looks like a LOT of fun to entertain us cats during the day. Exciting. I must talk to the people.
Oh my gosh, that is so cute! I’m a cheese addict too, glad to know science recognizes the condition now, lol! Star, my kitty who went to the bridge last year, loved cheese! at her age, we decided she could have anything she wanted, and cheese was one of her favorites, any kind of cheese! So she might have recognized that toy’s shape, even if it didn’t smell like real cheese 🙂
TW won’t let me have one of these cos she’s afraid I’ll get too close and poke my eye out with the mouse. I think she’d prolly poke her eye out first.
I entered with an “Amie De” Facebook account. I own a 4 year old, three legged Siamese cat and a 3 year old Black and white cat named Duchess and Patch who I think would be into this.
Great review. I would love to win this, three cats at home who would have a blast.
Thanks for the giveaway!
How cool! Jaguar would love this.
This toy looks like a lot of fun! I know Callie the Cat would love it! 🙂
this is a very cute toy, i dont have cats but would love to win to donate to safe haven cat shelter and rescue. i would love to see this in action. wonderful toy to get cat’s attention and stimulate them.
Ah, this is just what I need! My wrist is sore from holding the laser toy for Popoki. She needs this!
Jean from Welcome to the Menagerie
My cat is on the older side and doesn’t tend to play very much anymore but I’d sure love to try and see if he would… he could use some exercise. 😀
thanks!
A new interesting cat toy. I think this might actually get Sadie out of bed.
Your excellent review makes this toy sound so pawsome! I’d love to win it.
This toy looks super cute, my cats would love it!
my cat would love this
Our cat would love to play with this toy.
Our Albus would love this! Interactive cat toys are an excellent idea if you have to leave them for an extended time. He definitely finds trouble to get into, so this would be great.
I can definitely see all of my cats enjoying this toy! They would have a lot of fun.
I bet my cat would love this! He does particularly well with “let them play” toys.
My cats would have so much fun with this toy! Thanks for the chance!
We just adopted a cat! I think she would like this!
My cat would love this !!!
My kitty-boy would love this great toy!
Haven’t seen this before. It should certainly keep our bunch of wackos busy for quite some time. Thanks for the excellent review.
This looks like a really cool cat toy, your cats sure were involved with it, that says a lot.
What a fun cat toy! I like that it has the timer so that the cats might be amused while you are not home. Thaks.
This looks like a lot of fun for my babies 🙂
My cats would love this and we humans would get hours of entertainment watching them 🙂
We have 5 cats! This would be a great Christmas present for them! Thanks for the chance!
Oh I love this! I have the feeling my cats would be big fans.
I think my four kitties would get a kick out of this!
My cats would love this. Thanks for the giveaway.
My TinkerBelle would love this!
Miss Kitty would really like this toy!!
I think my cat would be interested in this, and I like the feature that it runs while you’re away.
This looks like a fun toy!
This looks like it would entertain my cats for sure.
I just know my cat would like this toy.
This looks like a very clever cat toy!
If it’s more interesting than food, my cats have to try it!
Oooh! A toy that’ll entertain my crazy cat that won’t get lost under the fridge! Looks fun!
this sounds like a great product, I bet my cats would love this
Our newest addition finds everything fascinating, so this will be big!
This looks like such a cute toy. My cats would love it!
My cat will like this. I just know she will.
I would love to win this for my cats. I am hoping this would divert their attention away from the mole chasing.
I think my cat would love this.
I adopted Gracie last year. She is an older cat with multiple health issues. You would never know it when you bring out a toy. She is the only cat I have owned that loves any and all toys. She plays ALL the time. I know she will love this.
High paw to you for adopting an older cat! That’s so inspiring to hear when so many adult and especially older cats have trouble finding loving homes like yours.
Looks neat, my cats and I would appreciate it!