My boy Slick (gone four years, now, still seems like yesterday
), a Bombay, was very hard on his toys. One of those stick-n-string things had a lifespan of only a couple hours. The bird-looking-thing-on-a-string-on-a-stick never stood a chance.
I made him/us a toy out of a leather boot lace (thong) and the shaft of an old cue stick. It (the 'string') was a little shorter at the end, but it lasted as long as he did.
He still has it.