I do hail from the North, but have live in the South for years now!
I have a cat flap all ready and will fix it during the 4 weeks of baby leave\holiday I have.
Back on the cat
I bought one of these as I have seen it on My Cat from Hell and even the worst cats ended up liking it. They are expensive for a cat toy, but she was never that bothered with other toys. Also when it comes to replacement lures you can get 3rd party ones that are a lot cheaper
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bird-Interactiv ... B000F9JJJEMy cat loves it, she will jump 2 or 3 feet in the air chasing it. Recently I have found the toy outside as she gets it from the conservatory herself and plays with it. The other day I was sat in the conservatory reading and she jumped up on a table, picked up the lure in her mouth whilst dragging the rod behind her and dropped it at my feet!