Wednesday, November 10, 2010 Midwest CritterCare Interactive Audio and Animation Device Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought this when we got my son his first pair of pet rats.It's a great idea, does what it's intended to do, and I love the concept.Still, I kind of hate the unit itself.It's annoyingly bratty to listen to each day.

The good:Very easy to customize to your personal schedule.I set it to go off shortly after school each weekday and earlier on the weekends.You tell it when to alert for feeding times, treat times, play times and cage cleanings, and can tell it how many times per day you want to be reminded to do those things.Volume control is good, and in a full year of use, I've only needed to change the batteries once.

What I really DON'T like about it is that the talking pet entity really has no manners.It appreciates gestures made and enjoys playing with you, but its basic needs are announced in a demanding way with an annoyingly petulant voice.It says things like, "time to feed me" and "I want a treat" when it would've been so easy to include some basic pleasanties in the program.Why would I buy a product for my children that contradicts everything I teach them at home?It was easy enough to talk with my kids and express our feelings about Critter Care's way of getting what it wants, but it also would've been really easy to design it to promote good manners as well as responsible pet ownership.There's also no way (that I've found) to only alert for one need but not another.Even if you play, treat and feed all in one sitting (which we do), it still goes off every few minutes.We have to remember to hit all the buttons as soon as we get to the cage to keep all the alarms from going off.It's not difficult to do but seems like a strange design 'feature'.

But the bottom line is that it helps us (especially the kids) remember to care for pets in a timely and consistent manner, which is sometimes a problem with caged animals.For that, it really is a great product.It just seems like maybe whoever designed it either doesn't have kids or doesn't care about being polite.

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Product Description:
Critter Care is a fun way to care for your critter; Interactive audio messaging and playful animation device that teaches children how to properly care and nurture small pets. Make Caring for the Family's Pets Fun and Entertaining.