Matatabi Chew Sticks - An All Natural Silvervine Cat Toy and Cat Treat - Catnip Alternative

My three cuties love these! They chew on them, toss them around like toys, and I've even found them sleep with these by their sides. So I guess that means they're mommy-approved too!

Was looking for something fun for my cats to keep them entertained and picked up some of these to give a try. My cats absolutely go bonkers for catnip and they like playing with things this shape and size so since this was a catnip alternative I thought why not.Once they arrived, I opened up the pack, took one out, rubbed the stick to make it smell and tossed it in the floor in front of my cats. They took one sniff and turned their little noses up at it and walked off. Picked it up, held it in front of the cats and then made playing motions with it and they couldn't be bothered with it. Tried again on a different day, still the same reaction.Ended up giving them to a friend who has a cat. Their cat went nutso for these.Your mileage may vary with these.

I bought these to keep my cat from chewing on everything else. He has a special affinity for metal objects, which is odd to me. He is pretty quirky, and I have confirmed with the vet that he has no medical problems - he is just odd. He acts more like a dog on any given occasion, so it wasn't that weird when I found him carrying these around the house rather than actually chewing on them. He looks like a really small black lab carrying a found stick. Kind of cute. He doesn't care about the flavor of them, so I don't know if they actually work. I think he prefers normal catnip since he must dive headfirst into the pile. I probably won't buy again because he doesn't actually use them, but it is fun to watch him carry the stick next to the dogs who carry their toys. It's a whole round of fun when the zoomies get started.

I saw these from a TikTok and thought I’d give them a try since my cat typically is uninterested in catnip and she ended up loving these!! My cat likes to chew on them and they do a good job cleaning her teeth while also not having much of a bad smell. The only thing I don’t like is that the bark often flakes off which leaves a mess, but it’s not too hard to clean up. I definitely recommend this product to any cat owners, but just make sure you are watching over your pet while they play with them! :)

I only gave this product one star because my cat has zero interest. It's probably a fine product, for OTHER peoples felines. I was excited when I read the description as an alternative to catnip that was good for keeping the cat occupied with play, biting and overall enjoyment. I received the item, scraped the bark as instructed off of a stick. My cat turned his nose up at it. He will not play with it, bite it, nothing. He has zero interest in these sticks. I even tried to engage him in play with it. NOTHING. $10 is a lot to spend on a cat treat, but since it was also a 'play' item that he could bat and bite, I decided to give it a try. Since it has been opened, I'm stuck with a pack of catnip alternative sticks that my cat will not ever use. I didn't see anything with a smaller quantity of silvervine to try before buying to see if my cat would even be interested in it versus the catnip he loves.

I bought them and no one in my house seemed interested. I chalked it up to my kitties being really picky - because let’s face it, sometimes our cats don’t like the same things.Then this morning, I notice my cat practically standing on her head trying to reach something under the couch & I thought it might be a spider in need of rescue. I got down with a cup for a daring arachnid search-and-rescue mission, but there was no one to save. Huh, just one of those sticks I bought…that had been chewed to death! I reached out, flicked it to her, she grabbed it & streaked off as though the hellhounds were after her. Apparently I was wrong. These sticks are a huge hit & I apologize to the maker for ever doubting them.

We have had good results in the past with catnip/matatabi blends, so I thought these might work out. They did not. My Ragdoll is not amused and seems offended that I keep trying to get her to play with sticks. Her looks says it all: "How dare you! Why do you throw sticks in our direction? We are not a common dog! You have displeased us!"I honestly can't say if these just weren't fresh enough to interest her, or if she is part of the 20% that doesn't respond to Silvervine. (In the past, she may have been responding to the Catnip component of the aforementioned blends).The packaging is decent, and I appreciated the fact that the seller confirmed that the product was harvested in Japan. You won't know until you try, and the odds are in your favor. If they work for you, then the cat joy you'll get is priceless, and it's all worth it (but if they don't work for you, then you're paying more for sticks than you probably should.)

My cat doesn’t love these but I do see him chew on them every now and again. Nothing impresses him too much when it comes to any catnip or scent. It’s got to be real upgraded stuff to see a mood difference. I don’t smell anything. You do get bark around sometimes but very little.