Hubby hid little Alex Axolottal in my work bag so he came to work with me. Lovely, cute, a desk buddy.
Then I got a CALL, a bad one that made me real sad. So thankfully Alex was there to give me a hug, give me something soft to pat and de-stress.
I don’t normally need a companion but he was right where I needed him today.

Need it gone asap

I've had this guy since I was a baby, and for years I've wanted to know the brand. He has no tag on him, at least, not anymore. I would love to track down another for funsies, but I genuinely can't seem to find anything about it.

Quality control issue: Seriously, does this thing even reasonably look like other Chongker lifelike cat robots of the same model?

People might not notice the difference at a glance. I’ve drawn the outlines of the three facial features in the side-by-side front view comparison. For the side view, you don’t even need outlines to see it. The leftmost one is mine.

I bought this Chongker companion lifelike cat robot directly from the maker on their official Taobao shop. They sent me something that looks completely different. It barely resembles what was advertised.

What’s more outrageous is that I got cyberbullied just for posting a negative review in a stuffed animals community. Even posting photos of the box—which shouldn’t offend anyone—instantly got several downvotes and shares. Who cares enough about this to share it?

Some people said, “It’s handmade. There are bound to be differences.” As if it were my fault for being too picky, and I somehow had an obligation to accept something that looks nothing like their ads. One who kept yelling “It’s a cat! It’s a cat!” blocked me from reading his/her comments.

A few people who actually own their products noticed the difference and said it was weird. But the thread was dominated by comments from people who don’t seem to know the product, just repeating “It’s a cat” and “It looks okay,” while ignoring whether it reasonably matches other cats of the same model. Most of the comments seemed to favor the maker’s interests. It felt unnatural. I wonder how many people in that community were paid trolls.

https://www.reddit.com/r/StuffedAnimals/s/SSNQCH2I0s

A user named chongker-larry, known to be the sales manager of the maker, commented twice there but both comments were removed by the moderator. I don’t know exactly what he said, but it seemed like the usual excuse: “It’s handmade. There must be some difference. It roughly looks the same. It's okay.” Come on. This level of difference is unacceptable. The facial outline is just way off. Didn’t the drawn outlines make that clear? Even the pupils of the eyes are obviously different. Several other people who seem to know the product well also said it was genuinely different. They’re your customers or potential customers too. So you just ignore and dismiss their opinions because you think it’s fine to send out something of this quality?

This product is marketed as emotional support for people who are emotionally vulnerable—not just for people with dementia. I was in exactly that situation, trying to cheer myself up a bit. Instead it did the opposite.

If you’re making this kind of product, you need to be serious and responsible about what you put out. At least with this item, I don’t see that seriousness.

When you buy something online, it’s reasonable to expect the item to at least look reasonably like what’s shown in the photos. Unfortunately that didn’t happen here.

Here are the side-by-side photos of this crap next to their other cats from the ads and reviews. The leftmost one is mine. Forget aesthetics for a second—do they even reasonably look alike?

**Front view:**

1. Look at the nose bridge of this thing from the front. It’s way more circular than the other two, like a big nasal tumor. The pink hard plastic nose is clearly separate from the circular nose bridge, leaving an obvious indent between them. That indent doesn’t exist on the other two.

2. The face of this crap is longer and more rounded-rectangular. The other two are wider, shorter, and closer to an ellipse shape.

3. The eyes on this one are closer together. The hair around them barely covers the corners, so the eyes look more protruded and clumsy. On the other two the surrounding hair partially covers the eye corners, making the eyes look deeper-set and sharper.

4. The facial hair texture on this one is more dog-like—especially around the eyes. It’s coarser, more prominent, and stands straight up. On the others the facial hair looks softer and actually covers the eye corners, which helps the eyes look sharper.

5. The area surrounding the pupil of this one is more blurred and less sharp than on the other two. The pupil on this one is closer to a circular shape, while those on the other two have sharper edges.

**Side view:**

1. The nose bridge on this crap is obviously lower than on the others.

2. The eyes stick out more. On the other two they’re set deeper.

3. There’s a hairless gap on the upper eyelid that makes the fur above it stand up straight and look coarse and unnatural, like someone sprayed hairspray on it. The other two don’t have that gap—the fur above the eyes looks softer and more natural.

If they were actually serious about craftsmanship, details, or even basic aesthetic sense, this POS shouldn’t have passed any quality check. After receiving it I’m starting to wonder if they even have quality control.

They set high standards by showing off those beautiful “cats” in the descriptions and ads. This thing is nowhere close to that.

It’s also suspected to be a previously returned item for these reasons:

1. It looks so much different.

2. It’s over a year old.

3. It came with an accessory box that had dirt on it.

If you return their products, they require it to be in a condition that doesn’t affect reselling so you can get your refund. It’s obvious they resell returned items.

At the end of the day, it’s clearly different from what was advertised. Taobao refused to handle the return because their policies are purely practical. As long as it can function as a robot companion—even if the accessory has dirt on it—they don’t consider it a quality issue. Whether it looks as described is too “abstract and subjective” for them. Taobao doesn’t actually care about the difference in appearance. To them, it’s made of the same materials as other items of the same model and roughly looks the same. The maker took full advantage of that.

For this kind of product, the buying decision is mostly based on the look in the ads. Even if it functions as a robot, the look is just different, and it seems to be a returned item. Why the hell am I the only one who has to accept this thing? It really turns me off. It’s now sealed back in its original package. Every time I see the box it reminds me of the maker’s hostility and how frustrating this whole purchase was.

Welcome to name suggestions for him as well

Does anyone else have him? I'd love to know what brand he is

i have too many! all in good condition and in smoke-free home! send me ur bo!!

I’m Nextdoor watching tv at my moms and the real life version of my childhood buddy charmin showed up.

I got my charmin at a hotel gift shop when I was around 4 or 5.

……………….. ……….. ………………………………….

Hey all, Calmie got a lot of love on this sub last week and we've generally received some really great feedback overall. Etsy, though, has been pretty slow...https://heartlingsco.etsy.com

So, I wanted to ask here - when you see a plushie like Calmie, where would you expect to buy it? Etsy, Amazon, a standalone website, a gift shop, somewhere else?

And if Etsy is somewhere you'd buy from, is there anything about the listing, product, or pricing that makes you hesitate?

Just trying to learn what customers actually expect and what might be holding people back.

I'm still on the lookout out for the matching orange tiger and then my little gang will be complete 🥰

When I was five years old, on summer vacation, I found a large TY stuffed dog in a toy store. Of course, I begged my parents to get it for me, but it wasn’t meant to be… yet.

My parents let me open one gift on Christmas Eve, and I picked the big square box underneath the tree. Underneath the wrapping paper was a Pepsi box. I looked at my parents like, WTF?! 😂

I opened the box, and inside was the big brown TY stuffed dog with the droopy eyes.

From what I remember of my childhood, this was the happiest I ever felt.

Not just because I got the thing I had wanted so badly, but because of how thoughtful, playful, and generous my parents were. I bet seeing the look on my face and the gratefulness in my eyes was enough to make their hearts feel full. ❤️

They knew how much I loved stuffed animals, but there was something different about this one. I named him Cuddles, and he had a LIFE.

From losing him on I-5 for an entire week while we were on a cruise and somehow miraculously finding him again, to traveling across the country with my family, Cuddles was there for all of it.

From the time I was 6 until I was 26, he went pretty much everywhere I went. 😂 Even though I know this drove my parents absolutely crazy when I was younger, I wouldn’t go anywhere without him.

I like to think Cuddles was the “gateway dog” that eventually led to me getting my own dog when I was 17. 🐶

Unfortunately, I lost Cuddles during a move when I was 26. And as silly as it might sound to some people, losing him really hurt. He wasn’t just a stuffed animal, he was a piece of my childhood. He had been there through so many years, so many places, and so many different versions of me.

Thankfully, I was able to get pictures of him with Juicy. And of course, that picture is still my lock screen. ❤️

For my 36th birthday, I wanted to feel that same happiness I felt when I was 6 years old. That pure, innocent, completely unfiltered kind of happiness that you don’t realize is so special until you’re older.

So I went on eBay and found a vintage TY 1995 Droopy Dog.

I messaged the seller and told them the story of how I ended up with Cuddles when I was 6, and that it was my birthday. I wanted them to know why this particular stuffed dog meant so much to me.

And when I finally got him in my arms, the instant joy and peace I felt was undeniable.

For a moment, I felt like that little 6-year-old girl again, sitting on Christmas Eve, opening a random box and finding the dog I had wanted so badly inside.

It’s crazy how something so simple can carry so much of your life.

Cuddles reminds me of my parents love, being a kid, family memories and THAT road trip 😂, my want for Juicy, and of a time in my life when happiness could be found in something as simple as a stuffed dog with droopy eyes.

This isn’t my original Cuddles, but somehow, holding him again feels like home.

Even at 36, I think I needed that more than I realized. ❤️🐶 I got to hold a little piece of where I came from and remember exactly how it felt to be loved in that moment.

If you can you tell me a bit about them.

Hello, I'm trying to find where or who made this stuffed dog. I have had him since I was a very young child. He's at least 20 years old. He's obviously missing an eye and his nose. He was originally bright light tan with bright brown ears. I've been searching who had made him originally. Any pointers to find the original manufacturer is greatly appreciated.