Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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36 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Clever But Does Not Work, November 2, 2007
Durability:1.0 out of 5 stars Fun:1.0 out of 5 stars Educational:1.0 out of 5 stars
This truly is the most creative and adorable toy I've ever seen, but unfortunately, I have not been able to find one that works. I ordered one off the Wal-Mart website and returned it to the local Wal-Mart store because it did not work. Before leaving the store with a replacement, I wanted to make sure the replacement worked. None of the cats in my local store worked. YOU SHOULD CHECK YOUR CAT BEFORE GIVING IT AS A GIFT. All of these cats are set in "Demo Mode," which means you can check that ONE FUNCTION while the cat is still in the box. If you wave your hand near the cat's forehead, the sensor will cause the cat to blink its eyes and meow. When you take the cat out of the box (which takes just about forever and destroys the box in the process...you will see)...you open a Velcro slit in the tummy fur to move the switch from "Demo" to "On," which SHOULD activate FIVE OTHER SENSORS. These sensors did not work properly on ANY of the cats I tried. There is a sensor for the left cheek and right cheek (I don't know what they are supposed to do), the tail (should activate hissing), the tummy (should activate purring and vibrating) and the back (should activate the cat to lie down and knead its paws). None of these five sensors worked on the cats I tried...except for one cat. On that cat, the only sensor that worked was the back sensor. But it malfunctioned. On that cat, the back sensor made the cat lay down and sit up and lay down and sit up and lay down and sit up over and over and over and did not stop for 20 minutes. We moved that switch to "Demo," but the forehead sensor would then not work...and the cat continued to sit up and lay down repeatedly. The only way to make it stop was to just turn it off. THIS PRODUCT NEEDS INVESTIGATION or Wal-Mart will have 30,000 angry mothers in line returning it on January 2nd. I hope they fix it...it is darling and the perfect gift for my mother who is 85 and living alone. Also, you should know that if you return a website item to a local store, they will refund your money for the item BUT NOT FOR THE SHIPPING. This also seems unfair to me. Hope Wal-Mart can figure this one out. This has the potential to be one of the cutest toys to ever hit the market. I'd buy several if I could find any that worked!
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Robotic Toys Are Improving: Don't Expect a Live Cat, December 8, 2007
Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars Educational:2.0 out of 5 stars
I brought home this furry little bundle of automated reflexes. All it did was respond to motion, look around, make incessant mewing sounds, and look cute. Worse yet, it shed and excreted noxious substances from its body and made me itch and sneeze. How disappointing!
Wait, that was a REAL cat. The FurReal cat only did some of those things, but is quite a fun little toy and is far less annoying than the Hasbro FurReal Friends Squawkers McCaw Parrot. It does not act like a real cat, but it is covered with sensors to feel your touch and to sense whether things move in front of its eyes. Expect some shedding, but no litter boxes to empty. It does not walk around and only exhbits simple behaviors. However, those simple behaviors are quite lifelike and make for a compelling toy and gives an illusion (albeit far from perfect) of being alive. Be warned, it DOES meow. Like others, we purchased ours for less than $40.
My kids got this for my mother as a present. Research shows that automated pets that respond to petting and other stimuli actually make good companions for some people where REAL pets are not an option. The Scoozie pets sold last year incorporated many of these features, but were not as lifelike.
Too bad FurReal did not produce versions of this toy that were tabby or other colors. White fur is not the best color for all children. For our purposes, it is just fine. Maybe at some point in the future these robots will be good enough to stalk the Hasbro FurReal Friends Squawkers McCaw Parrot and solve your household mouse problems (automated or otherwise), but for now this is what the industry can produce at a reasonable price.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Money well spent, December 16, 2007
Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars Educational:2.0 out of 5 stars
At first this toy did not seem to do what it promised (kneeding paws, purring, screeching when tail is pulled), but after about an hour in my 5 y.o. daughter's arms it suddenly came to life - and she will not part with it. It's not even cuddly - it's a furry robot - but it is endearing nonetheless. I purchased a collar, inexpensive bed and bowl from a chain pet store to complete the illusion. My daughter is in heaven.
It has been dropped from a height of about four feet onto a linoleum floor and no damage. It has been jerked from her arms by her friends (because she truly can't bear to let go of it), and it's working beautifully.
I've splurged on electronic toys that were never loved - and it was hard to take the leap on this toy, but I cannot say enough of how pleased we are. Yes, it meows, but not excessively at all. Yes, it is pure white, but have not experienced a real shedding problem. Mainly, this toy had made its 5 y.o. owner slap happy. I'm out to purchase one for my 7 year old (who has VERY patiently watched her sister blissfully interact with this toy) for Christmas. I highly recommend it. An electronic toy built strictly for encouraging our instinct to care for others. Can't beat that.
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