Monday, September 15, 2014

New Kitty Surprise by Just Play

Once again, I got sidetracked from another review I am writing because of a routine stop at Toys R Us.  I don't regularly check the stuffed animal section at this store, but the other day there were no new dolls to look at, and so I wandered into some less-frequented aisles.  To my amazement, I saw three pink boxes with Kitty Surprise plush inside!  I absolutely love surprises, and so this is one of my favorite toys of all time.

The "Surprise" line of stuffed toys started way back in the early 1990s with vinyl-faced plush dogs, cats, ponies, bears and bunnies that came with an undisclosed number of babies in their bellies.  The original animals were released by Hasbro.  Playskool (a division of Hasbro) re-introduced the line in 2005 with a few changes.  The new animals (only cats, dogs and rabbits this time) did not have vinyl faces and resembled more typical stuffed toys.  A couple of years ago, I looked at some of the Puppy Surprise toys that were made by Playskool in 2005.  Those toys didn't last long on the market, and so when they were discontinued, I figured we had heard the last of this brand.

As it turns out, the line has now been turned over to Just Play (whose Doc McStuffins doll I recently reviewed), and the design has gone back to a vinyl-faced version similar to that of the original toys.  So far, there are only dogs and cats in this new collection.  I found several of the cats at my local Toys R Us, and thought the pink and white kitty, "Snow," was especially cute:

Kitty Surprise Just Play
Kitty Surprise "Snow," by Just Play, $24.99.
The animals come in cardboard window boxes that resemble the disposable pet carriers you can get at the shelter or at the vet's office:

Looks like this cat is only available at Toys R Us. 
The decorations on the box seem designed to make me crazy with curiosity:

So many questions!  I need answers!!

The Playskool mommies only held a maximum of four babies, so the possibility of five is an increase.  The variety of options is so exciting--there can be boys or girls, sets of twins, sleeping babies...and there's occasionally a runt!  



I have to say, though, that the picture of the babies on the back of the box is a little funny.  It kinda looks like the kittens have flat flipper feet:


The cartoon cats on the back of the box remind me of characters from the 1970 Disney movie, The Aristocats:


The back of the box has pictures of the three different mother cats that are available.  None of them has a heart-shaped spot on her face (like the cartoon).  In fact, they all have the same basic spot pattern on their faces:

I like Snow and Maple (the calico) best.
Judging by the already-inflated prices on eBay and Amazon, the calico cat is the most sought-after one in the group right now.  I like her realistic coloring next to the abundance of pink in the other options, and I am very curious about what color her babies might be...but I've always had a soft spot for white cats.

The sides of the box have paw print cutouts with no plastic covering--so Snow can breathe:


The bottom of the box credits the distributor (Just Play) and the copyright holder (Ed Kaplan).  I searched for some history on the trademark of this brand, but couldn't find much information.  Ed Kaplan held the rights for the 2005 toys, too, so I suppose the distributor has just been changed.


The odds of getting more than three babies is 1 in 4:


Snow is attached to a cardboard backdrop that slides out of the pet carrier box:


Her head is attached to the cardboard with a plastic tie:


And two thin cable ties attach her to the bottom of the box:

The cable ties run through two small loops of ribbon on the cat's body.
It is very easy to get Snow out of her packaging.  The box would make a nice accessory for play, and is also almost completely recyclable.

Snow is sitting in a crouched position with her head turned to one side.  

Kitty Surprise Just Play
It looks like she has a very full belly!

She has a tail made out of long white fur over a thick stuffed base.  She also has matching tufts of long white fur on her head and chest.



The hair on the top of Snow's head is gathered together and sewn into a pink bow.  Some of my cat's hair got left out of the bow and sticks off to one side:


Snow's fabric collar is sewn to her body and has a pink glittery plastic tag with "KS" written in gold on the front:


This cat has a white face with an asymmetrical fuzzy-edged pink patch on the left side:



Snow has baby blue eyes with pink and purple accents.  I find that the purple rim around these eyes makes Snow a little sickly.  Also, I wish the shape of the pupils was more feline:

They're very rounded.
Here's a real blue-eyed cat for comparison:


Snow has a bright red tongue sticking out.  Cats pant when they're hot or stressed, but this behavior is much less common in cats than it is in dogs.  Do you know any cats who walk around with their tongues hanging out?

I don't.
Snow has upright ears that are lined with a pink satiny fabric:


The idea of a stuffed animal having a vinyl face is strange to me.  The shape of the face on this cat is nicely done, but Snow looks like she's wearing a thick hoodie sweatshirt--or a mask.  I find the plastic face especially odd-looking from the side:

It reminds me of monkeys and Monchhichis.
The right side of Snow's face (the one without any pink) looks the strangest of all, in part because the vinyl has a vaguely yellowish tinge and doesn't match the pure white of the plush fur: 


Here's Snow next to my son's old Kitty Surprise toy from 2005.  I think he named this particular cat "Snowball," so the two make a nice pair:


I prefer the appearance of the 2005 cat.  This particular toy is fairly worn from years of snuggling, but she has a sweet, soft appearance--and she's much more huggable than the hard-faced newcomer.  Having said that, I do appreciate the nostalgic fun of returning to the original vinyl face design.


I also like the realistic all-white coloring of the older cat.  However, this cat's eyes also have round pupils and purple highlights:

Kitty Surprise Playskool

The 2005 Puppy and Kitty Surprise toys came with embroidered marks on their cheeks called "Pretty Patches" (Snowball has a purple heart).  These shapes match equivalent markings on the babies, which is a nice way of remembering who came with who.

Kitty Surprise Playskool

Here is one of Snowball's babies:

Kitty Surprise Playskool

The babies have stitched facial features (except for the Pretty Patch, which is a decal) and are stuffed tightly enough so that they can stand up:


Snowball only had two babies--twin girls with the exact same markings:

Kitty Surprise Playskool

The 2005 version of Kitty Surprise didn't stick around for very long.  I am wondering if this is because of a lukewarm reaction to the soft faces, or maybe just because the kids who had Kitty Surprise in 1990 weren't yet old enough to have children of their own--avoiding the whole nostalgia market.  Now that we're approaching the 15-year anniversary of the original Hasbro toy, it is closer to a good time for Just Play to return to a more classic look.  

Sadly, I don't own any of the original Hasbro Kitty Surprise toys from 1991, but nice examples can still be found on eBay.  Well-kept versions of these toys (that still have their babies) usually go for $30-$50.  

One outstanding example is this tan mother cat with two babies that seem to be in very good condition.  These were sold by "Little Treasures and Bargains," whose owner is beyond lovely and graciously agreed to let me share her vibrant, clear pictures on the blog.  

Kitty Surprise Hasbro
Vintage Hasbro Kitty Surprise.
This mother cat has a hard mask-like face, but the furry detail under her chin lessens the abruptness of the transition from plush to vinyl.  I love her bright green eyes and facial detail (but she also has her tongue hanging out...).

These kittens have so much expression in their faces!  There is a green-eyed girl (with cat-like pupils) and a blue-eyed boy.  The kittens have full vinyl heads (no hoodies) and bean bag bodies that can stand upright.  I love the long tails on these little guys, and I think the variety in their faces is great.  They make me want to see more Kitty Surprise babies from this era!

Kitty Surprise Hasbro
Vintage Kitty Surprise babies.
Ok!  Enough chatter!  Let's get down to business here and see how many babies Snow has hiding in that big belly of hers.  Boys or girls?  Sleeping or awake?  Twins?  A runt??  It's finally time to find out!

Snow has a long seam along her midline that closes with white velcro:


Trying not to peek at all of the babies at once, I reached in and pulled out the first kitten.  She instantly got stuck on her mother's velcro seam:

Sticky situation.
I worry about how the velcro might ravage the fabric on the kittens' bodies over time, but this little one came out unscathed:


She's an adorable little sleeping girl.  She has a lot of pink on her body and face, but I think the definitive mark of her gender is the bow around her neck.

Pink bow = girl.
The vinyl head on this baby is precious, but her body is really funny.  She has a stubby little tail and a flat body with flipper-like feet.  Look at the large front legs, in particular:

Half cat, half seal pup?
Here's a public domain picture of a day-old kitten for comparison:

Sleeping, but not flat.
The plush kitten's body is stuffed, but doesn't have any beans in it, so it's very lightweight.  It also isn't stuffed very tightly, so there's not much substance to round out the flat design of the body.  She looks like she's wearing footie pajamas:

Or maybe she's a flying squirrel baby?
This particular kitten has a pure white back and a pastel pink belly.  She also has a matching pastel pink stripe down the top of her head.

Or a pink manta ray baby, perhaps?
The vinyl head is attached to the body with a cable tie.  The head does not rotate.


Now...what about the next kitty?  I knew there would be at least three of them in there, which is awesome.

Here it comes...


It's another sleeping girl!  I got twins.

Déjà vu.
Still cute.
Here's a picture of the twins together. They are very sweet:

Kitty Surprise Just Play

The next kitten to emerge had her eyes wide open...

I see you.
This is an awake girl with some differences in her markings.  She has a neon pink underbelly...and a back leg that seems to be missing all of its stuffing.  The uneven stuffing also makes her whole body tip forwards:

Kitty Surprise Just Play
The seal pup transformation is complete.
Her open eyes have bright blue irises with a navy blue border.  She does not have a pink lining in her ears:


Her mouth and nose match the neon pink color of her belly, as do the three tabby stripes on the top of her head:



Lucky me, there was still another baby after this bright-eyed girl!  This little one looks like a boy....


It is!  It's a boy!

Blue ribbon = boy.
This fellow has his head tilted a bit to one side and is sporting the most endearing little lopsided grin.  His eyes are baby blue rimmed with a darker royal blue ring.

SO cute.
His entire body is pure white.  His head is also completely white with no markings--not even a pink lining in his ears.  In fact, even his mouth and nose are drawn in black.  There's no pink anywhere, which is a little extreme.  Boy cats can have pink noses, too.  That would have been ok.

Complete absence of pink = boy.

I think this one looks like a strange little polar bear:

Kitty Surprise Just Play

I could hardly believe it when yet another baby spilled out after this little boy!

Don't forget me!
It's another girl, but this one is totally different from either of the other girl designs.  She has open eyes, but she has a pastel pink belly and no markings on her head (she does have pink ears, though).  This kitten has a sewing defect on her left front flipper paw that gives it a small pucker:

Kitty Surprise Just Play
I'll call her Nemo.



Here are the two awake girls together:

Notice the differences in the head markings, ears, mouth and nose.
And here are the two plain-headed kittens together (boy and girl):

Different ears, eye colors, mouths and noses.
So...after this experience, it seems like the types of variety in the kittens are as follows:
Gender (color of neck ribbon)
Eye design (awake or asleep)
Eye color
Ear lining color
Mouth/nose color
Head design shape
Head design color
Belly color

...and that's without the options for a runt (which I didn't get).  

That makes for quite a lot of diversity in the babies, which I think is the most entertaining thing about toys like this.

And, apparently some of the Puppy Surprise puppies have "magic" eyes that change from closed to open when you put icy cold water on them.  I'd love to try that!  Tom told me over on Facebook that the eyes don't work very well, though, which is sad.  This reminds me of the Liv for Hair dolls that had nails and makeup which changed color in icy water.  That feature was fun, but the color change didn't last.

Anyway...here is my litter of new kittens meeting the Playskool twins--I think the older twins are a little baffled by this pack of slithering kitties...

Um...they're a little creepy.  Should we run?
While the new kittens definitely have strange bodies, I think the vinyl faces are more expressive (and more cat-like) than the older embroidered faces:


And last, here are a few pictures of Snow with her brood:

Kitty Surprise Just Play



Kitty Surprise Just Play

*Update: see my Puppy Surprise post for some possible staining problems with the dalmatian dog, Gigi.

Bottom line?  I adore the Kitty Surprise concept and would enjoy just about any incarnation of this clever idea.  I also like that the toy has gone back to its roots with a vinyl-faced design reminiscent of the Hasbro animals from 1991.  Best of all, I like the increase in the average number of expected babies.  Many of the 2005 toys had only two babies, but the Just Play version will never deliver fewer than three...and holds the possibility of five.  That's a pretty big deal for a toy that's designed around the mystery and variety of a collection of hidden babies.

However, not everything about this new version of Kitty Surprise measures up to the appeal of the earlier toys.  Among the adult cats, I like the soft-faced animals from 2005 the best.  These huggable cuties might not have the same realism in their features as the vinyl-faced cats, but they also avoid the awkward plush-vinyl seam and the mask-like faces of the other two versions.  I like the original adult cats from the 1990s second best.  These toys have more detail and variety in their features, distracting attention from the strange face seam.  That leaves the current Kitty Surprise adults as my least favorite.  Don't get me wrong--I like the new cats, I just don't think they've distinguished themselves from their predecessors in any significant way.  They're like simplified re-makes of the originals.

With the kittens, my order of preference is completely different.  Here, I like the 1991 version the best.  I'm pretty sure these kittens have bean bag bodies, and the bodies are nicely-shaped and can stand upright.  The heads on these babies are all vinyl (no mask-like seam) and are very realistic and cute.  I like the newest Just Play kittens second best.  They have ridiculous lightweight flat bodies and flipper-like legs, but the vinyl heads are so sweet that it makes up for the body.  The faces have a lot of personality and will probably inspire neat games and great affection from the kids who own them.  I also like the variety in these kittens--the 2005 babies would often look very similar, but these new youngsters have a good assortment of little things to distinguish them.  Again, even though the 2005 babies are in last place here, I still like them and find their soft embroidered faces appealing in their own way.

Whatever little preferences I might have from one version to the next, I love that Kitty Surprise and Puppy Surprise are on the shelves again--in any form.  This toy offers a lot of initial excitement, for sure, but it also has staying power as a versatile plaything or a beloved snuggling companion.  I can't see myself ever tiring of the irresistible mystery of these classic, wholesome toys.

Kitty Surprise Just Play

47 comments:

  1. I want one! Lol. Must go to Yoys r us soon.
    I think i may get Snow, and rename her Snow White. I've always wanted a cat named Snow White.
    :)

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  2. First! :)
    Those are really cute. I love the blue one :)

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  3. I used to have a Kitty Suprise mother cat when I was a kid, I didn't even know what she was at the time because she was second hand, but I really liked her. Seeing these photos, I kinda want another one <3

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  4. Ahh! Congrats on the litter! Wow... I never had kitty or Puppy surprise, even though I was perfectly aged the last time they came around. These guys are cute, although they are very seal-like. :/ Snow looks super precious. *sigh* if only I could get away with buying a stuffed animal with babies. I guess I just have to live with blind-packaged my little ponies and things.

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  5. Oh sweet! I saw a Puppy Surprise in Kmart the other day, but they didn't have any of the kitty variety. I found a 1992 Kitty Surprise at my local thrift awhile back, if you'd like to see some insanely pink plush cats photographed very badly. link

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    1. Oh, that's really cool, that's almost exactly the Kitty Surprise I used to have! XD I remember the mom was definitely pink, but not that wild hot pink. And I had an extra mismatched kitten too, because I FOUND it in the parking lot of my school and thought it was so sad. Then the whole litter didn't fit inside the mom too well... Haha :)

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    2. This kitty is definitely a shocking pink! Aw, poor little orphan kitten. At least he found a new home with you. I was astounded that all six of them fit inside the momma I bought. XD

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  6. I loved reading your review, maybe it was to see your pants when puppy dog, by the way as this this nice puppy

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  7. GAH! I remember those! I used to have a pink momma cat in the 90s. I can't remember much about what the litter was like though, although they definitely had bean bag bodies. It's sad the newer versions have kittens (and assumedly puppies) which lack the cuteness and detail of the older versions--their vinyl heads were adorable and the bodies actually looked like kitten bodies instead of.... seals. LOL. Oh well, I certainly enjoyed the nostalgia of this review! I wonder what happened to my cat and litter, though. I learned recently that my mom thought this toy was super creepy because you could store the kittens in her c-section belly, so she probably sold it in a garage sale after I got old enough to not miss it. :0

    Oh, and we have a cat who sometimes gets caught with her tongue sticking out while she's grooming. As if she's forgotten to put it away. ;) She doesn't do this for long though.

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  8. This is the first time I've ever been glad to have cousins that are way older than me. I get all they're cool 90's/80's toys ;) I now have... original Kitty and Puppy surprises with their babies: 1 cat, 1 dog, 2 kitties and 3 puppies. My favorite was a puppy with a blue ribbon but he looks like a girl so I pretend she's a tomboy. A Scary Spice doll. And a few other old Barbies. The only thing better about the new "Surprises" than the old ones is the fact that there can be runt, runts of the litter are almost always really cute! Your right they do look like seals! Maybe next year there'll be "Seal surprises". Now if you'll excuse me I have some stuffed animals to take care of.

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    1. Oh, I forgot to say something: I said this once and I'll say it again, WHY MUST THEY MAKE EVERYTHING PINK?!?!?!?

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    2. YES! Right, Alice? When I was little I HATED pink. It's still not a favorite but it has it's place now. - Chrissy

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  9. The kittens are very cute. They look like they should be lined up feeding off the mother.

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  10. Aww, I had a second hand kitty surprise as well, with three babies. It's funny, looking at this newest version, I thought "why is her tongue sticking out like a dog tongue?" But then looking at the vintage one with her tongue out, it looks like she's about to clean her babies.

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  11. Oh how cool!!! I saw Tara (butterflycandy)on youtube open up one of these and they looked super cool! I can't believe how many you got, because Tara only got like 3 girls, but you even got a boy! I probably won't end up getting one though, because that's quite a bit of money to pay if you're not going to play with the Mama kitten. I still LOVE the concept though!

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  12. Oh I think its so cute when the tip of my cats tougne sticks out,but they don't do it often. I rememer having an all pink kitty surprise and the kittens were the same "slithering" body I don't remember what kind of head though. I do remember thinking it was a little werid and not likeing them very much too unrealistic for me. Even when I was four I prefered my rooted hair baby doll to any of my bald ones and the water filled one I think I might have even hid in my closet so I wouldn't have to play with it ;)- GEM

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  13. Momma cat has her tongue sticking out because she's stressed having to redeliver those kittens over and over! LOL
    I loved these when I was a kid. My mom never let me have them (she didn't like the whole doll/stuffed animal giving birth concept), but I managed to end up with some of the babies (I keep thinking they eventually started selling the babies individually in a blind bag style. I could be dreaming that and I really just did playground toy trades until I had a few...)
    I was a little disappointed to see that the babies aren't nearly as cute as the originals, but I can still promise one is going to be under the tree for my daughter this year. Gotta make up for the toy I couldn't have you know ;)

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    1. They did begin selling the babies separately, I had one in a tuxedo jacket and bowtie. I got him from a Kaybee-type toy outlet. I also had a sleeping bag for him that I think he came in? Maybe the surprise was that you didn't know what costume you would get? If he didn't come with the sleeping bag, then that was another cat where the surprise was the sex of the cat. eBay could probably tell me.

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    2. Yes, they were sold with a sleeping bag at some point (my kids have mine lol) if I remember correctly the surprise was gender and they were sold in a solid box -mine is pink with a yellow sleeping bag.

      All 3 of our girls are getting a surprise pet for Christmas this year, I can't wait!!

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  15. I don't know if these ever came to Finland, but there has been some similar products. Cute and I like the idea, but I don't like how these kittens have their eyes open when they are "born" :( But then again, maybe it would be really boring if they all had their eyes closed.
    I just have always loved cats and kittens, and it has been awesome to see how a kitten finally opens its eyes. Sometimes one eye opens a day or two before the other and the kitten looks a little funny :D

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  16. This review made my day. My brother and I both had an original Puppy Surprise as children and seeing them on store shelves again made me nostalgic. I don't remember there being a lot of pink in the line and most had natural coloring. I will have to get mine out of storage and check. I think all the pink makes this less gender neutral than it was originally and that is a shame because most children would love this toy.
    Thanks again for another wonderful review.

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  17. Deaktivieren für: Englisch

    Wow, this was journey back in time.

    I had one of the dogs from this series, when I was a kid in the 90s.

    This one:


    http://smg.photobucket.com/user/chalklatchp/media/nine04.jpg.html


    I loved it to bits. And yes, the bodies were filled with beans :D

    xxx Sév

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  18. Oh wow...my 5 yr old would flip over this...just the anticipation, the putting them back in and out, etc...thanks for the great Christmas gift idea :)

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  19. Cool you got all five babies! Your lucky Emily, this was a good review.
    I saw the commercial for this toy the other day and I remember thinking that they look very similar to the old version I remember as a kid. I have to say that I would have loved to see the calico one reviewed, the coloring of that one is so neat. I wonder if you went back to ebay and got one of the original ones like the cute ginger one you showcased in this review. I loved that mommas tail.

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  20. So...I had never heard of these or seen them and while it is kinda cute, the creepiness factor of birthing as a toy would have had me dumbfounded from the get go. Good on ya for getting all 5! - Chrissy

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  21. So glad you got another surprise toy to play with! At one point, we took in a cat who we later found out was pregnant (and she was a calico!) She ended up giving birth to four kittens, although only one of them lived. :(
    We might have bought that for our girls if they were old enough/even born at that time.

    I tried to comment on your last post, but Blogger ate it. I've done a little on the Samantha stuff, but I'm doing a change in my medications, and it's making me sleep deprived. So I'm putting it off until I feel up to it. Also, thank you for your offer to help, but the pictures that I need to take are of my personal antique photo and fashion magazine collection, so I'm going to have to do those myself, or hire out one of my daughters! :)

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  22. I once bought my eldest grandson an Armadillo Surprise at San Antonio airport. (An airport present, I hear you cry? Bad Grandma! But read on...) That is, she wasn't really an Armadillo Surprise, but she *was* an armadillo with one baby inside. (Only one.) He was about 3 then I suppose - the grandson, not the baby armadillo (ouch!) - and he absolutely loved her and, now he's 9, still takes her to bed with him and he hasn't lost the baby, either. It's still in there.

    And I've had two cats with that tongue-sticking-out thing. I tease them about it, but they don't take any notice.

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  23. I remember the old school Kitty Surprise, I always wanted one because my parents wouldn't let me have a kitten. I figured it was the next best thing. But I was still DENIED!! lol
    Never owned one. But my cousins did. Maybe I will have to make a Toys R Us stop soon.

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  24. Oh wow I loved mine when I was a kid! SO glad they came back!

    I had a Himalayan whose tongue was constantly out. She didn't pant, it just... didn't ever go in her mouth.

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  25. I loved mine so much that I still have my puppy from the 90's. I will post pictures of her and her babies on your Facebook so you can see.

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    1. When I was taking my puppy out of the closet for pictures I came across some other dolls I've kept that have a similar gimmick. They are called Magic Nursery dolls and you wouldn't know if the dolls were girls or boys until you opened them. Do you remember these?

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  26. Aww! I remember these from when I was younger. They were so adorable!

    Funny things about the tongues, a horse at the ranch I work on plays with her tongue constantly. We thought it was a problem, turns out it's a rare habit for horses to play with their tongues.

    Anyhoo, I thought I would recommend a doll for you to review! The new Barbie And The Secret Door dolls are spectacular, especially Romy- the mermaid doll. I definitely suggest her- her hair is amazing quality (and strawberry blonde!) with no glue, and her tail transforms into a dress. Not much of a Barbie collector but I love her and I thought she would be cool to review!

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  27. We don't have these in the UK as far as I can tell... There's either eBay where you get no babies or told how many babies (usually only 1 or 2, which spoils the fun!) or Amazon where it costs about £50-60 ($80 or so?).
    I'd love a Puppy Surprise, especially the damatian, but I'd even settle for a kitty surprise and I'm not even much of a cat person ^^
    America gets some of the coolest things!

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    1. Do you know how much it would cost to have one mailed from the US to the UK? I'd be happy to help you get one!

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  28. Oh my you are so lucky. I first read about these toys on your site and was envious for days and sad that I had missed them. Now they are back but I prefer the 2005 release. I doubt if our TRU will have them as the mother grundies surveyed probably said NO! So will look at pics and dream of that cat -yep the calico one. White plushies get so dusty & dirty in our house. Thanks Emily

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  29. Your Kitty Surprise kittens (the new ones) look to have the same flattish, floppy bodies as my old Puppy Surprise pups from when I was a girl. Slightly disappointed that the 2005 release lowered the number of babies by one, but at least the 3/4/5 possibility is back! :D And I love the return of the vinyl design. If this new version is still around when I have kids, I may just buy one to see if they like the baby-animal surprise as much as I did.

    Here's the 1991 commercial, for the curious:

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  30. I just found the 1990 version of puppy surprise at my local Salvation Army yesterday, and there were 4 puppies already inside it: two boys and two girls!

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  31. Ok, I have bought Snow, Sunshine Maple and Popcorn, and they have all had 3 babies each. I ordered them, so I didn't get to look for fat bellies but statistically 1 of them should have had more than 3. I had 2 puppies and 1 pony surprise growing up, the pony had 4 and the puppies both had 3. So out of 7 'Surprise' animals I have owned, 6 of them have only had 3. Kinda stinks.

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  32. I struck gold this morning and found a Maple AND a Snow at our our Toys R Us :) Of course I couldn't wait until Christmas to see how many babies they had (I promise these are for my daughter lol not me) My husband let me open Maple... not only did she have 5! Kittens, she also had a runt girl :) Yay!! :)

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  33. Still have my origanal kitty surprise she's in good condition with 3 babies this toy was and still is my fave plush toy my mum got two of the new ones one for me and one for my niece popcorn and zoey I opened mine u lucky I got 3 babies lol never to old to have anything

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  34. My sister and I each had a Puppy Surprise when we were little. I never gotten around to getting a Kitty Surprise, though. I truthfully kind of like this new one better than the 2005 edition. You're lucky you got five kittens. I wanted 5 puppies in my Puppy Surprise, but I only got three (so did mein sister). I want the new pink one, Sunshine. I have a soft spot for all white cats, too, but I already have a real white cat named Snowball (I want to avoid confusion, hee hee!) With my rotten luck, I'll wind up with only three.

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  35. "Do you know any cats who walk around with their tongues hanging out?"

    Actually, I had a cat between 1987 and 2000 named Pepper who would walk around the house with her tongue sticking out. To this day, I still don't know why she did it.

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  36. Hi! I am new to your blog, and I have read this review three times in the last three days! Please do a review of Maple, she looks very cute. My favourite Kitty Surprise cats are also Maple and Snow! I don't like pink, though, so I don't really like Sunshine. But please, PLEASE do a review on Maple?
    Bye :)

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  37. I actually had the 90's version of this as a little kid, and I loved it! I used to play a lot with the kittens, and the mother was always around to keep an eye on them (that was my way of playing). I always made the kittens go around the furniture, and if one got too high, I would move the mother to get them down and then tell them not to do that again.

    Fun times. Glad they made this again.

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  38. p.s. gives you wrong impression that cesarean is something natural :-(

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  39. The boy without pink was just a coincidence ;) there are boy kittens who have pink too, if you search for images of the kitten you can find them
    There is also the possibility of the girls having no pink on their bodies.

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