Cat suddenly terrified of toy he loved

[Panther40]

Have one of those fishing rod toy things that I wave in front of the cat and he catches it. He used to chase it and jump for it all the time which was good exercise.

Now for some reason he's terrified of it, I only have to pick up the toy and he will leg it out of the house and outside, even if he doesn't have contact with the toy.

So I've stopped trying it, just not sure what brought the change on really, has anyone else had this before?

Has anyone else played with your cat using this toy?
The obvious thing would be if someone had used the rod in a threatening manner, hitting your cat with it until it no longer views it as a plaything.
You mentioned that your cat goes outside , could someone have hit it with a stick, or broom handle, or something else that resembles the toy?
Really that's the only thing that I can think of that would make your cat suddenly become terrified of a toy that he formally enjoyed.

Cats are odd - that’s the most logical explanation!

He wants a new one and has a cunning plan…

He wants you to buy him a new toy. Mine do this when they’re bored.

Could he have hurt himself jumping for it?