Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I had this year's ago for my cats and it was great, they loved it. Unfortunately I'd come home and find it had mysteriously fallen to the ground in an apparent fit of kitty rage because the damn red dot wouldn't come out to play. So here i am, few years later, with a bored cat that needs something to keep him occupied and keep me from pulling my hair out due to kitty cat lunacy. So it went on sale(which never happens) and even though the reviews were sub par, stating it wasn't the same as it had once been, i bought it. Sooooo, the reviewers were right. First of all it came in the mail looking like a rabid pitbull got his fangs into it. Packaging was not spectacular. Second, it's loud. It sounds like the gears inside are just grinding. It's actually somewhat distracting for my cat. Third, they definitely changed the pattern of the laser, and possibly the speed. It used to be very easy for the cats to follow, but challenging enough to keep their interest. I mean they absolutely loved this thing back in the day. Now the laser is so erratic, so quick and jumpy that it's hard for even me to follow it. The pattern it creates is really just a circle, but no matter where I place it I cannot find a good spot because it kind of has to be pointed down for the dot to stay on the ground which means I need to rig it up, maybe pull out the ol' climbing gear, because if you place it on a table so the dot will stay on the floor and position the mirror so the dot will stay as low as possible, the plastic actually cuts the dot off which makes it even harder to follow. I would love to recommend this product and if it was the old version I would recommend it a thousand times over. However this is the new version and although my cat will still be somewhat occupied with it just because honestly I think it drives him kind of nuts cause hey, it's still a little red dot after all, he's not getting the exercise that I so desperately wanted for him because he can't follow it. Too loud, too quick, too expensive. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.