It's not a "cat toy" it's "cat sports equipment"
I'm gonna address consumer question and the one-star review in the room:  It's not about the bit of fabric or the string, and, yes, they are both easily substituted with stuff around the house*.  But those parts are consumables *intended* to be easily substituted.  The whole point of this thing is the rod!<br /><br />The rod itself is the finest fiberglass I've ever seen in a cat toy.  Yes, it's smooth and plain and doesn't collapse down.  You know what else is made of smooth, plain fiberglass that looks "cheap" up close?  Almost any strong and straight rod you've seen used at a track and field event.<br /><br />Yes, cheap manufacturing can look very plain, but so can elegant engineering.  I've worked with enough glass composite materials to say this is unequivocally a case of the latter.<br /><br />Also, giving a toy a one-star review because your significant other can't retie a knot effectively and padding that single complaint out with nonspecific subjective criticism rooted in ignorance of engineering is a pretty grave indictment of the vine program, but that's a different topic.<br /><br />(*Well, I happen to have a wide range of cordage materials and diameters on hand.  You may need to go to a craft store to match this string exactly.)
Rating: 5 stars