Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My small cat nearly died after swallowing part of this toy. We are sharing our story in hopes that others might be spared the tremendous pain and expense the KONG kitty treat dispenser caused for us. After reading the other reviews, I understand that many felines and their human companions enjoy this toy. This is great. However, should your cat enjoy chewing (e.g. a kitten) or be one that is particularly food motivated (e.g. a rescue cat), I strongly urge you not to purchase this toy or others like it. In April 2017, our small (8 lb), but otherwise healthy, 18-month-old cat was diagnosed with renal failure (BUN 76/CREA 9.2 on 4/08/17). After a weekend stay at the emergency vet, during which he received IV fluids and multiple blood tests, we brought him home to pass in peace. His blood levels upon discharge were BUN 104/CREA 12.7 (4/9/17). (See picture with IV lock.) As cat owners will know, those are very dangerous blood levels that usually indicate extreme pain and imminent death. Our usual home hospice vet was out of town. So we delayed euthanasia. Instead, we kept him comfortable with meds and subcutaneous fluids. After 12 hrs at home, that cat coughed up a quarter sized piece of purple plastic that was obviously from his Kong toy. (See picture.) Almost immediately thereafter he started eating. He then had terrible diarrhea (he had not moved his bowels for many days). Over the next 48 hours, he continued to improve. We returned to the vet on April 11, seeking guidance on whether or not to euthanize him. (Recall that our home hospice vet was out of town.) His blood test results on April 11 were BUN 243/CREA 22.7. (Yes, that is very high. The vet ran the test three times to confirm.) The emergency vet insisted that she had never seen a living cat with such toxic blood levels. To her credit, she said that although his blood test results indicated that we should immediately euthanize him, his energetic behavior told a different story. She encouraged us to continue waiting. She then administered a strong emetic in case additional pieces of the KONG were still stuck inside. Later that night, the cat coughed up even more and larger pieces of purple rubber from the Kong kitty treat dispenser.Based on the evidence we found in the bathtub, this was a dramatic, likely painful process, and very messy. Over the next weeks, we continued to administer fluids and meds. Our cat continued to eat, drink, and use the litter box more and more frequently. It was obvious this cat was healing. The timing of the plastic exiting his body left no doubt about the cause of his sudden illness. On April 30 we returned to the vet and received a clean bill of health: BUN 28mg/CREA 2.3 on 4/11/17. The vet said she had never seen a recovery like this. She was confident that this was due to the ingestion of the plastic. Likely a combination of the physical blockage and the toxicity of the material. 7.5 months later, he is one of the healthiest cats that I (and our vets) have ever known. Except that his personality is more like that of an adventurous yellow lab than a tabby cat, he is absolutely normal. (See after pic.) Our experience has made us think twice about the types of toys we buy for our cats. This particular cat is extremely food motivated but otherwise has an incredible disposition. Also, he does not eat or even chew all of his toys. I believe that because this particular toy has food inside of it, excited and motivated cats (like ours) will often chew through it to extract additional food, eating some of the toy itself in the process.