Hasbro's FurReal Friends launched in 2002 with a cat that took the toy world by storm and won the FamilyFun Toy of the Year Award. Running on easily available C Cell batteries, the robotic cat toy activated when you scratched its head, and purred and meowed like the real thing. This cat caused a Jingle All The Way movie type frenzy in stores, and parents with even more determination than Arnold Schwarzeneggar's character fought each other to get one of the rapidly vanishing toys for their kids.

For kids whose parents objected to a real pet, the FurReal cat was a Godsend - for Hasbro, it was just the start of a robotic toy line that gets progressively more exciting and ambitious.

Dogs were the obvious next choice for robotic pets, with Go Go My Walkin' Pup following in 2003. This pet was even more lifelike, walking around and barking, and providing hours of play. Kids could brush the pup, feed it a `bone', and enjoy many realistic behaviors, like tailwagging, panting and even coming when called - the pup's special sensors picked up the sound of the owner's voice and headed in that direction.

In 2004, the line got a little wilder with Luv Cubs, a very new kind of teddy bear that actually hugged back. There were three, a panda, a polar bear and a brown bear cub. One reviewer reported that they were so realistic they even shed fur on dark clothes! Because these cubs were `adopted' from the wild, each came with its own little feeding bottle.

In 2005, the pup got playful, and learned to sit up and beg and even count - while the cubs welcomed some more friends into their midst, including a little baby tiger. But Hasbro had big plans for FurReal toys and in 2006 unveiled the most ambitious FurReal toy so far. The idea was to make every little girl's dream of a pony for Christmas come true - but in a way parents could afford.

Butterscotch the Pony was labelled the It Toy of the year. Big enough to sit on - around the size of a real Shetland pony - and featuring realistic movements and sounds (although it did not walk), The FurReal pony was the only member of the equine family welcomed in lounge rooms on Christmas morning.

Would it wow, or would it flop? Hasbro and toy store owners held their breaths - it was a very big and expensive toy, after all, and parents might not go for it. But the `nag factor' won out - the pony was a hit with the kids and it was a huge seller.

Baby birds have now been added to the FurReal pet menagerie, including a baby duck and macaw. Where do you go after bringing so much of the animal world into kids' lives in an affordable, no ongoing costs except for batteries, way? How about a baby elephant? Say hello to Zambi. He's not only an amazing toy, he's big hearted, helping kids in Africa who have been orphaned by AIDS. And that's fur real!

Learn more about this author, Gail Kavanagh.
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