Babble Ball by Pet Querks

The Babble Ball with electronically activate "kitty-friendly" sounds, will get your cat's attention right away, and pique his curiosity as he tries to find the source of the voice. Don't kick one in the middle of the night, though, unless you want to jump out of your PJs.

I'm not sure who had the most fun with the Babble Ball, our test cats or the humans in our household. "Installation" consisted of pulling the plastic deactivation strip out of the back of the ball. The ball has a very sensitive interface; we found it responds to picking it up, or rolling it across the floor. Even the slightest movement by one of the cats sets off its high pitched voice with a series of phrases: "Whoops! Here we go again!" "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty." "Meow, meow, meow," as well as whistles and chirping sounds resembling a rodent or chipmunk. I realize the Babble Ball was not developed for this purpose, but we've found it to be a pretty good tool for getting the attention of our cats. We've even used it to locate a cat that was missing inside our house: Billy was peacefully asleep in a back closet, and came running when he heard the "Here, kitty, kitty." The Babble Ball is a pretty well-rounded toy, I'd say. The only fault I can find is that once the battery runs out, the sounds are gone for good. The manufacturer's site says that if a cat activates 100 sounds a day, the battery will last approximately four months. Even with that short a life, it's a pretty good buy, considering the amount of enjoyment cats get from the Babble Boy, in my opinion.