THE LEGAL STUFF.
YEAH. WE HAVE LAWYERS TOO.
We make cat toys.
We make them fun.
We make them a little weird.
But when it comes to the safety of our customers, their animals, our products, and our company, we take things seriously.
This page contains important information regarding your use of the WHISSTIX website, purchase and use of WHISSTIX products, product safety, intellectual property, warranties, limitations of liability, and other legal terms.
It's longer than our usual copy.
This is one page we actually want you to read.
By accessing this website, placing an order, or purchasing or using a WHISSTIX product, you agree to these Terms & Conditions to the extent permitted by applicable law.
FIRST: IT'S A CAT TOY.
NOT A CHEW TOY. NOT A CHILDREN'S TOY. NOT A WEAPON.
WHISSTIX products are designed for interactive play between a responsible adult and a cat.
They are not intended for unsupervised animal play.
They are not intended for chewing or ingestion.
They are not intended for use by children.
And despite the fact that you're holding a stick—
please don't hit anybody with it.
USE YOUR WHISSTIK RESPONSIBLY.
WHISSTIX products may contain or incorporate materials including bamboo or other natural materials, string or cord, feathers, connectors, adhesives, and other components.
Like any physical product, improper use, excessive wear, damage, chewing, ingestion, or misuse can create hazards.
Always supervise your animal while using a WHISSTIK.
When playtime ends, store the product somewhere inaccessible to pets and children.
BAMBOO IS BAMBOO.
Natural materials have natural characteristics.
Bamboo and other wood-like materials can crack, split, splinter, fray, or break, particularly after repeated use, impact, bending, chewing, moisture exposure, or other damage.
Inspect the stick before every play session.
If you notice cracking, splintering, sharp edges, excessive bending, structural damage, or anything else that makes you question whether the product is safe—
stop using it.
Do not attempt to continue using a damaged WHISSTIK.
STRING IS NOT FOOD.
Cats disagree with us about many things.
We're standing firm on this one.
String, cord, thread, feathers, attachments, fragments, and other components must not be swallowed or ingested by your animal.
Ingestion can potentially cause choking, gastrointestinal obstruction, internal injury, or other serious medical problems.
Never allow an animal to chew through or consume the string or other components.
If you know or suspect that your animal has swallowed any portion of a WHISSTIX product, stop using the product and promptly contact an appropriate veterinarian or animal poison/emergency resource for guidance.
Don't wait for a website disclaimer to diagnose your cat.
FEATHERS AREN'T FOOD EITHER.
Feathers are intentionally interesting to cats.
That's sort of why they're there.
That does not mean they're intended to be eaten.
Feathers can become damaged, detached, chewed, or swallowed during use.
Inspect feather attachments before and after play. Remove damaged or loose components from use immediately.
Never intentionally allow your animal to ingest a feather or any other WHISSTIX component.
THE POINTY END GOES AWAY FROM PEOPLE.
A WHISSTIK moves.
Sometimes quickly.
And any stick-like object can cause injury if swung, thrown, jabbed, stepped on, or otherwise used improperly.
Maintain adequate space around yourself, other people, animals, televisions, windows, lamps, priceless family heirlooms, and anything else you'd rather not hit.
Never intentionally strike or poke a person or animal with a WHISSTIK.
Be particularly careful around the eyes and face.
Use the product only for its intended purpose.
SUPERVISION ISN'T OPTIONAL.
WHISSTIX products are designed for supervised interactive play.
Do not leave a WHISSTIK unattended with an animal.
Do not allow your cat to continuously chew the product.
Do not allow animals to become wrapped or entangled in string or cord.
Do not leave WHISSTIX products accessible to young children.
When you're finished playing:
Put it away.
Your cat may file a formal complaint.
We'll take their statement under advisement.
CHECK IT BEFORE YOU WRECK IT.
INSPECT BEFORE EVERY USE.
Cats can be remarkably effective product-destruction machines.
Before each use, inspect the entire product—including the stick, string, attachment points, feathers, connectors, and any other components—for:
Damage, cracking, splintering, fraying, looseness, exposed sharp areas, separation, excessive wear, or anything else that could make continued use unsafe.
If it's damaged:
STOP USING IT.
Replacement is cheaper than an emergency.
KNOW YOUR ANIMAL.
You know your pet better than we do.
Animals differ in size, strength, temperament, prey drive, chewing behavior, physical ability, age, and health.
It is the purchaser's and user's responsibility to determine whether a particular product and style of play are appropriate for their animal and environment.
WHISSTIX cannot anticipate every animal, every home, every method of use, or every creative way a cat may discover to cause chaos.
Use good judgment.
NOT FOR CHILDREN.
WHISSTIX products are pet products intended for responsible adult use with animals.
They are not designed, manufactured, marketed, or intended as children's toys.
Keep WHISSTIX products, packaging materials, strings, feathers, small components, and damaged pieces away from infants and children.
This distinction matters legally as well as practically: U.S. federal children's-toy rules can impose specific testing and certification requirements on products designed or intended primarily for children 12 and younger.
PURCHASE RESPONSIBLY.
By purchasing a WHISSTIX product, you acknowledge that you have had an opportunity to review available product information, warnings, instructions, and applicable policies.
You agree to use the product only as intended, follow applicable warnings and instructions, supervise its use, inspect it regularly, discontinue use when damaged, and exercise reasonable care appropriate to your animal and surroundings.
Nothing in these Terms is intended to waive, disclaim, or restrict any right or remedy that cannot lawfully be waived, disclaimed, or restricted.
That's an important sentence.
ORDERS & PAYMENT.
By placing an order through WHISSTIX, you represent that the information you provide is accurate and that you are authorized to use the payment method submitted.
Prices, product availability, promotions, shipping options, and product configurations may change without notice.
We reserve the right, to the extent permitted by law, to reject or cancel orders affected by suspected fraud, payment problems, pricing or listing errors, inventory issues, misuse of promotions, or other legitimate business reasons.
If we cancel an order after payment has been collected, the appropriate amount will be refunded according to our applicable policies.
SHIPPING HAPPENS IN THE REAL WORLD.
We'll work to get your order where it's going.
Estimated processing, shipping, and delivery dates are estimates unless expressly stated otherwise.
Carriers encounter delays.
Weather happens.
Packages occasionally decide to tour America before arriving at your house.
Applicable shipping, delivery, lost-package, and replacement rights will be handled according to our posted policies and applicable law.
RETURNS & REFUNDS.
Returns, refunds, replacements, and exchanges are governed by the WHISSTIX Return & Refund Policy in effect at the time of purchase, together with any rights provided by applicable law.
We reserve the right to inspect returned or allegedly defective products and request reasonable information—including photographs, order information, or the product itself—when evaluating a claim.
Nothing in our policies eliminates rights that applicable consumer law gives you.
WARRANTIES.
Any warranty expressly offered by WHISSTIX will be governed by the specific written terms accompanying that warranty.
Except to the extent expressly provided by an applicable written warranty or required by law, products and website services are provided subject to the disclaimers and limitations permitted under applicable law.
This section needs attorney review before launch, particularly once you decide whether WHISSTIX will offer a written product warranty. Federal warranty law imposes requirements on written consumer-product warranties and can restrict attempts to disclaim implied warranties when a written warranty is offered.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.
THE SERIOUS PARAGRAPH.
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, WHISSTIX and its owners, affiliates, officers, employees, contractors, and agents will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, punitive, or consequential damages arising from or relating to the website, purchase of products, or use or misuse of products, except where such liability cannot legally be excluded or limited.
Any additional limitation of damages or remedies shall apply only to the extent permitted by applicable law.
Nothing contained in these Terms excludes or limits liability that applicable law does not permit WHISSTIX to exclude or limit.
In other words:
We're going to protect our company.
We're not going to pretend a paragraph on the internet magically overrides the law.
THE WEBSITE.
You may use the WHISSTIX website for lawful, personal purposes related to learning about, purchasing, and interacting with our products and company.
Don't attempt to damage the website.
Don't interfere with its operation.
Don't attempt unauthorized access to accounts, systems, payment infrastructure, or data.
Don't use automated systems to abuse our services.
Don't use the website to commit fraud.
Basically:
Use the website like a reasonable human being.
OUR STUFF IS OUR STUFF.
WHISSTIX names, logos, graphics, product names, product photography, illustrations, videos, copy, packaging, designs, website elements, and other original brand materials may be protected by trademark, copyright, trade dress, or other intellectual-property laws.
Your purchase of a WHISSTIX product doesn't purchase the WHISSTIX brand.
Don't reproduce, sell, impersonate, counterfeit, or commercially exploit our protected material without authorization.
Creators and partners working with WHISSTIX may have separate written agreements governing permitted brand use.
YOUR CONTENT.
If you voluntarily submit photographs, videos, testimonials, reviews, ideas, or other content to WHISSTIX, any right for us to repost, reproduce, modify, advertise with, or otherwise commercially use that content will be governed by the permissions you grant at submission and any applicable creator or promotional terms.
We don't want to hide a perpetual advertising license in a cute paragraph.
If we want broader rights to someone's content, we'll tell them.
PRIVACY.
Your privacy matters.
Our collection, processing, storage, and use of personal information is governed by the WHISSTIX Privacy Policy and applicable privacy law.
The Legal page and Privacy Policy should be separate documents even if they're linked together in the footer.
THIRD-PARTY SERVICES.
Our website may interact with third-party services such as payment processors, shipping carriers, social platforms, analytics providers, or other service providers.
Those companies may maintain their own terms and privacy practices.
WHISSTIX is not responsible for every action of an independent third party, except where applicable law provides otherwise.
WE CAN UPDATE THIS PAGE.
Products change.
Websites change.
Companies grow.
And laws definitely change.
WHISSTIX may update these Terms from time to time. The “Last Updated” date should appear prominently on this page.
Where legally required, we'll provide appropriate notice or obtain appropriate consent before materially different terms apply.
GOVERNING LAW & DISPUTES.
The governing-law, venue, dispute-resolution, arbitration, class-action waiver, and related provisions for WHISSTIX should be established in the final Terms after review by qualified counsel.
I deliberately would not invent those provisions here.
Those clauses can materially affect your customers' legal rights, and their enforceability depends on how they're drafted, presented, and agreed to. This is exactly where spending a few attorney hours is worth considerably more than copying an arbitration clause from another company's website.
SEE SOMETHING? TELL US.
If you believe a WHISSTIX product is damaged, defective, unsafe, incorrectly assembled, or behaving in a way it shouldn't—
we want to know.
Stop using the product and contact WHISSTIX with the product information, order information if available, photographs, and a description of what happened.
Safety information isn't an annoyance.
It helps us build better products.
THE BOTTOM LINE.
PLAY HARD. PLAY SMART.
We built WHISSTIX because playing with your cat should be ridiculously fun.
We also believe a company can have a personality without being careless.
So supervise your animal.
Inspect the product.
Don't let anybody eat the string.
Don't let anybody eat the feathers.
Don't use a damaged or splintered stick.
Don't smack your roommate with it.
Don't leave it with children.
Don't ignore a damaged product.
And if something doesn't seem right—
stop using it and talk to us.
We'll keep doing our part.
You do yours.
WHISSTIX™
WE TAKE PLAY SERIOUSLY.