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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Cat trees/activity centres. Are they worth it?

24 replies

RaspberryRipple53 · 03/08/2017 20:26

I have a mainly indoor cat,about 4 years old,had her since she we took her in at about 4 - 5 months as a stray. I live in a second floor flat with a balcony that she does have access to,but I have always been reluctant to let her outdoors properly as she has no way of getting back into the block as there are security doors front and back. Also,when she has gone out a few times in the early days that we had her,she disappeared for hours,and one of us had to keep going down to the back door to see if she was waiting to come in,so not ideal. Plus we live near a busy road. I've considered getting one of these cat activity centres/trees for her. She seems contented enough but I sometimes feel a bit guilty about not letting her out and being able to run about much. The problem is,will she actually use it? I know realistically no one can give me a definitive answer,but what are your experiences of these with your cat/s? She is a bit fickle,changes her sleeping place every few weeks,and totally ignored the nice cat bed that we bought her 3 years ago. Ditto the scratching post. She DOES like sleeping in an elevated position though,never sleeps on the floor. Would I be wasting my time and money?

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OutingMyself · 03/08/2017 20:28

Ours use it daily. One of them sits on the top of it and they both sharpen their claws on it so much it's starting to fall apart.

Orangebird69 · 03/08/2017 20:28

Yes yes yes! Get one.

OutingMyself · 03/08/2017 20:34

We had a stand alone scratching post and they completely ignored it, but the cat tree is different to them for some reason!

They also absolutely love those cardboard horizontal scratching things.

RaspberryRipple53 · 03/08/2017 20:38

Positive responses so far!

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RaspberryRipple53 · 03/08/2017 20:42

She is also a compulsive claw sharpener! She absolutely shredded the boxes that were propped up in the hall for a few weeks,with flat pack furniture in. She also keeps scratching at the front door mat and the rubber car mat on the balcony. Thankfully so far she hasn't turned her attention to any of the furniture.

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EachandEveryone · 03/08/2017 20:47

This is the one i bough gets used every day

Cat trees/activity centres. Are they worth it?
dementedpixie · 03/08/2017 21:00

Mine have this one. They sleep up top and it has scratching posts on some of the legs

Cat trees/activity centres. Are they worth it?
dementedpixie · 03/08/2017 21:02

My boys

Cat trees/activity centres. Are they worth it?
EachandEveryone · 03/08/2017 21:08

Aw they are so lovely he looks like my girls twin brother,

I have to say i was the same with mine being in a flat i felt sorry for her so i got her a sister, now she has loads of exercise, just saying......

Allergictoironing · 03/08/2017 21:35

My 2 are indoors only. I got them an enormous tree right at the start, and Girlcat was using it within a couple of weeks (she did hide for a week to start with). Boycat is thick as shit and pretty clumsy as well, so it took him almost a year to get the nerve up to climb up it but now does so loads. They both love scratching the posts which are all sizal rope covered, and go through phases of sleeping in the caves. Boycat isn't the smallest & really doesn't fit even in the larger one, but that doesn't stop him trying!

Cat trees/activity centres. Are they worth it?
Allergictoironing · 03/08/2017 21:36

Should have said - the pic is him trying to squeeze into the SMALLER cave - I did say he was thick Grin

Toddlerteaplease · 03/08/2017 22:21

My two are indoors. I bought a Diogenes scratching barrel but although the scratched it it wasn't used. I've currently got a sisal one from PAH. Fatty loves to climb up it vertically and sit on the top, Snorg doesn't climb at all but it's very well used. A smaller version of the same thing has been ripped to shreds.

Toddlerteaplease · 03/08/2017 22:25

Fatty on her tree.

Cat trees/activity centres. Are they worth it?
everythingissoblinkinrosie · 03/08/2017 22:38

Barrel and tall climbing frame thing for our indoor girl. Went on zoo plus and got the tallest we could with smallest footprint.
Also scratch posts in various spots.
She follows the sun so we have one in front window and one in back window.
Google Jackson Galaxy- on YouTube and Animal Planet. US cat behaviourist and as USA cats are usually indoor he has lots of tips.

meltingmarshmallows · 03/08/2017 22:44

Ours absolutely love ours! Got a massive one from Amazon a while back for a fraction of the price they're in Pets At Home etc for Grin

CatchingBabies · 04/08/2017 05:26

Definitely get one! We have a large cat tree and also the barrel that are both well used and enjoyed. They seem to sleep and scratch on the barrel more and the play on the tree more. Money well spent though!

Cat trees/activity centres. Are they worth it?
Cat trees/activity centres. Are they worth it?
Cat trees/activity centres. Are they worth it?
RaspberryRipple53 · 04/08/2017 16:45

Aw gorgeous cats! Grin at Allergictoironing 'Boycat is as thick as shit'. Toddler Is Fatty fierce? She looks like she'd take no nonsense!

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PinkSparklyPussyCat · 04/08/2017 16:57

I love seeing pictures of Fatty Toddler! Please can we have a picture of Snorg to make me really happy?

RaspberryRipple53 · 04/08/2017 19:10

Allergictoironing - Your boy looks just like my girl Ebony!

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RaspberryRipple53 · 04/08/2017 19:14

EachandEveryone - I would love to get another one,but my girl is a bit of a grumpy whatsit. She gets agitated just seeing a cat walk past outside. I hate to think what she'd do if she actually came face to face with one!

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Allergictoironing · 04/08/2017 21:24

@ RaspberryRipple53 He really IS very, very thick; he's also rather clumsy and nervous. This is the cat that took 14 months of watching his sister sleeping on my bed during the day to work out that it is comfortable. Most toys confuse him. He fell off the arm of the sofa once when he woke up with a start. Took him a year to work out how to get up on the windowsill. He can lie on his back totally blissed out at having his belly rubbed, drooling & purring away, then panic & run off for absolutely no apparent reason.

We have started to refer to him as being slightly "special needs" - don't get me wrong, he's an absolute sweetie and I adore him beyond anything (except his sister, who shares the top spot with him), but he really isn't the brightest or most agile cat ever Smile

Spangles1963 · 05/08/2017 19:11

Allergictoironing He sounds hilarious! If I tried to even touch,let alone rub,my cat's belly,she'd try to kill me! When my DD was living with me,she (the cat) would hide around corners and jump out at her! I swear she would have shouted 'BOO' if she could.

IamDBCooper · 05/08/2017 19:14

My indoor cat ignores her one but my sisters cats love theirs.

CheeseAndOnionIcecream · 05/08/2017 22:01

Thanks for all the advice. And the gorgeous cat pics!

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