The History of the Cat Dancer

The Cat Dancer (and its many imitators) is famously a favorite of cats. The toy was created in the 1970s by Jim Boelke, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Boelke had a part-time job at a local animal shelter, but due to overcrowding, many of the animals there were euthanized. Sick of watching this, he impulsively decided to rescue two of the cats there, who he named Jake and Elwood. Another of Boelke’s part-time jobs was sweeping scrap metal at a factory. One night, he noticed a discarded section of 20-gauge steel wire that happened to have small strips of cardboard attached. He took it home for his cats to play with and Jake and Elwood loved it so much they started doing flips. During college parties, he would ask guests if they wanted to see his cats do backflips. The guests were impressed and often asked if they could have a similar toy, so Boelke began making them in his living room with pliers and tin snips. Eventually, he was approached with an order for 200 cat toys. At that point, he filed for a patent for what he called his Cat Dancer toy and incorporated a company to manufacture it called Cat Dancer Products. In 1995, Cat Fancy magazine inducted Boelke’s Cat Dancer into its Hall of Fame and today, well over 12 million Cat Dancers have been sold, as well as countless copycat products. And of course, the bouncy, floppy toy remains a favorite of cats and their owners today.