Many of the cat toys on the market today use some sort of string element, and that is the focus of the post today. When we first started out making cat toys we used a "dacron" type fishing string that was very supple, light and barely visible.
One of our customers noted that their kittens would get easily entangled in the string...
One customer noted that the kittens would easily get tangled up in the sting or that the string would end up getting wrapped around their legs or necks. What could we do to alleviate that issue? This brought up other concerns because our cats would end up with the string in their mouth at some point in time while playing, too. Are the dyes harmful? It there something natural that we could use? Would it be durable enough?
After weeks of research and testing we figured out what would work best. Nature had already invented it and all we had to do was put it to good use. Yes, hemp cord/string was the solution. Forget the man-made products that reeked of synthetics, dyes and harmful toxins! We were so excited to implement this into our toys and upon testing the natural non-dyed hemp cord worked flawlessly. It have the toys a bit more "weight" and really emphasised the quad-swivel workings of the bamboo wand + spinning cat toy.
Why Hemp? Here are some of the main reasons:
All natural, non-toxic, sustainable, organic, fair-trade and non-gmo
Strong, durable and soft against the skin
Can be used for toys, culinary/cooking applications
1mm size resists tangling, knotting and twisting
Safe for your cat to chew on
AZO-FREE Dyes (read more about AZO dyes here)
Biodegradable
It was an easy choice for us to make the switch to hemp cord and hopefully you will be inclined to use it, too. Will other cat toy companies do the same? We hope so!
To complement the hemp string we use a barrel swivel that attaches to the end of our cat toys. This is designed to "pop" out of the tubing upon too much force being exerted. It also allows you to change out your toys in a matter of seconds without unhooking any swivels or re-tying strings.
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