A toy fails at 1 of 3 places: a joint that opens, a part under 30 mm that comes free, or a cord that forms a loop. Ten checks cover all 3, and the whole pass takes 10 minutes once a week.
The rule that makes the list work is that every check has a number. Without one you are not inspecting, you are looking at a toy and deciding it seems fine.
Three Time Bands
Daily, 30 seconds, eyes only: scan the floor for string, rubber bands, and any toy that arrived in 2 pieces. Weekly, 10 minutes, hands on: the 10 checks below. Monthly, 30 minutes: load tests, washing, and the retirement log.
Write the log on the inside of a cupboard door: date, toy, check number that failed, action. Four columns, 12 rows a year. A household that cannot show 2 or 3 retirements in 12 months is passing toys that should be gone.
The 10 Weekly Checks
- Strings and cords. Free cord over 15 cm, or any loop that fits a 20 cm circle, fails. A wand string lives in a drawer, not on the floor.
- Seams and stitching. A tear of 1 cm, or any stuffing visible, fails. Run a thumb along every seam, not just the obvious one.
- Eyes, bells, glued parts. Pull each for 10 seconds at 3 kg, then measure: anything that comes free and passes through a 32 mm roll core fails.
- Battery bay. 2 screws, or 1 screw plus a slide lock, at 0.4 N·m. White stress marks or plastic dust at the boss fails.
- Cells. Count against the number on the base; white or green crust, or a swollen cell, fails. Retire cells at 24 months.
- Charger cable. A 1 mm nick, a flattened section, or a plug that is warm after 10 minutes fails. Replace, do not tape.
- Shell and edges. A crack of 2 mm or more fails. Drag cotton wool along every edge: any fibre pulled off means a sharp mould line.
- Suction cups and mounts. Hang 2 times the cat's weight for 24 hours. A cup that has slipped 2 mm, or gone hard at the rim, fails.
- Tunnel and wire frame. Feel both openings for a wire end within 5 mm of the fabric surface, and check that the tunnel still holds a 25 cm circle when a cat runs through it.
- Wash and hair load. Wash fabric toys every 14 days at 40 C; a toy that stays damp 12 hours after washing, or sheds dye onto a white cloth, fails.
The Checklist as a Table
| # | Check | Repeat every | Pass threshold | On fail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cord length | 7 days | Under 15 cm free | Cut or store |
| 2 | Seams | 7 days | No 1 cm tear | Repair once, then retire |
| 3 | Small parts | 7 days | Holds 3 kg for 10 s | Retire |
| 4 | Battery bay | 7 days | 2 fixings at 0.4 N·m | Retire, do not glue |
| 5 | Cells | 30 days | No crust, under 24 months | Replace all |
| 6 | Cable | 7 days | No 1 mm nick | Replace |
| 7 | Shell and edges | 7 days | Crack under 2 mm | Retire |
| 8 | Suction load | 30 days | Holds 2x weight, 24 h | Re-seat, then replace |
| 9 | Tunnel wire | 7 days | Wire over 5 mm inside | Retire |
| 10 | Wash and dye | 14 days | Dry in under 12 h | Wash again, then retire |
Why 30 mm, 15 cm and 3 kg
The 30 mm figure is the mouth: a cat opens 30 to 35 mm, and a part that clears a 32 mm roll core can be swallowed whole. The 15 cm cord figure is the length a paw can pull into the mouth before the other end is anchored. The 3 kg pull is roughly half the bite-and-shake force of a 4 kg cat, so it is the load a toy sees in the first 2 seconds of a kill shake.
None of the 3 numbers is exact for every cat. A 6 kg cat with a strong shake needs 4 kg on check 3, and a 3 kg kitten gets away with 2 kg. Scale by weight and keep the same order of checks.
Storage Is Half the Inspection
Most failures happen between sessions, not during them: a cord left on the floor, a toy under the sofa with a chewed seam, a 20 mm bell in the same basket as a 3 V cell. Store in 2 tiers: a closed box at 1.5 m for anything with a cord, a feather or a cell, and an open basket for solid toys.
Rotate 3 toys out of 6, swap every 5 to 7 days, and put the rest away dry. Tunnels get stored flat rather than folded, because a fold creases the wire frame and the crease is where it breaks through the fabric. The full storage and crush rules are in tunnel storage safety.
Strings: the Check That Saves the Most
Linear foreign bodies are the reason check 1 sits first. A 20 cm thread anchored at 1 end and swallowed at the other saws through intestine, and the surgery is a 2 to 4 day stay with a 10 to 20 percent complication rate. A cat with a thread under the tongue usually still eats, which is why the toy audit matters more than the symptom watch.
Cut every loop before the toy comes into the house, and cut the string off a worn wand rather than knotting it shorter. Knots fail at 3 to 5 kg of pull and leave a 4 cm end, which is the piece that gets swallowed. Cord, tassel and elastic rules are in string safety.
Retirement Rules
Retire at 36 months for a plastic shell, 18 months for a motorised toy, 12 months for anything with suction cups, and immediately for a crack, a stripped screw boss, exposed wire, or a part that came free. A repair is allowed once per toy, with a stitching repair only, never glue on a battery bay or on a part a cat can reach with its tongue.
Retirement is not waste. A toy that fails 1 of the 10 checks has a 2 in 3 chance of failing a second one within 30 days, because the same wear that opened the seam has been working on the filling.
When to Call the Vet
Same hour for a swallowed string that is still visible at the mouth or under the tongue, a missing bell or cell, or a toy that came back in 2 pieces. Do not pull a thread that is anchored: cut it at the mouth and go. Same day for 2 vomits in an hour, a cat that eats and then stretches out and cries, or no stool for 36 hours after a session with a fabric toy.
Terms mentioned in this article
Frequently asked
How often should cat toys be checked?
Thirty seconds of eyes-only scanning daily, a 10-minute hands-on pass every 7 days covering all 10 checks, and 30 minutes monthly for load tests, washing and the retirement log. Cells and suction cups sit on the 30-day band rather than the weekly one.
What makes a toy fail inspection?
A 1 cm seam tear, a part that comes free under a 3 kg pull and fits through a 32 mm roll core, a 2 mm crack, a 1 mm cable nick, white stress marks at a battery boss, exposed wire within 5 mm of tunnel fabric, or a cord with a free end over 15 cm.
Can a torn toy be sewn back together?
Once, with stitching only. Never glue a battery bay or any part the cat can reach with its tongue, because the adhesive softens at 40 to 50 C. A toy that fails 1 of the 10 checks has a 2 in 3 chance of failing a second one within 30 days.