Cat trees

[Plump82]

Is taller better when it comes to cat trees? I'm researching them now and can't believe the price of the taller ones. But if they are better then I dont mind paying for it.

We bought a large tree from Cat a Tree King as our British Shorthairs are quite chonky. The quality is noticeably different to the smaller, cheaper trees. They also sell the posts separately so can be replaced in parts when they get scratched to bits.

Our cats are only kittens so I'm not sure what size theyll end up. I see that site says the cat trees are specially for large cats.

My boy is a big bugger, but won't use cat trees at all. He has an enormous cardboard box he batters the crap out of. I wouldn't spend a lot of money yet.

@24YesItsMeIDontCare yes that's also my concern. I know cats can be fickle little burgers. We have plenty scratching things, toys, tracking ball things and the cardboard boxes all those stuff came in which if course will be the thing they love the most!

Or even fickle litter buggers! NOT burgers!

Cats love being high up. Mine will climb the wardrobes at every opportunity! It might be worth waiting a while to see if your cats are equally as obsessed with being nerve wracklingly high up.

Our flat has really high ceilings so we have the space to have a really tall one. We only really have the kitchen cupboards the could jump on and I really don't want them doing that!

Mine regularly swing from the top of the doors and the kitchen cupboard so I would say the higher the better. Cats love being up high lording it over everyone else. Mine have an assault course of kitchen worktop-dining table-cat tree-kitchen door-top of fridge-top of kitchen cabinets and back to worktop. I’ve told them off but do they listen.

Next month I’m going to invest in a large scratching post as devil kitten has taken a liking to the wallpaper

Swinging from doors!!! 🙈 Luckily my kitchen only has one wall of cabinets and none near the door so I'll hope for the best when it comes to door swinging.

My cat wouldn't use the very expensive cat tree I bought. I donated it to someone who fosters cats for a rescue shelter.

Maybe start off with a cheaper one then, and if it gets used or scratched to pieces, get one of the pricier ones next time.

I find most cats enjoy being high up, the “top level” of our tree gets fought over.

Then whoever has lost ensures the winner can’t get back down again 😂 and no, they won’t share!

Cats do like being up high, but with cat trees the taller the more unstable they become. We have a ceiling height one, the top pillar has a pressure fit on the top so you can sturdy the whole thing. Zooplus and Ebay have them for very reasonable prices, ours cost 40€, in stores they are VERY expensive and no better quality.

Sorry, wrong photo!

I bought this from ZooPlus for £20. Daft cat loves to scratch it, play with the little mouse and sit on the top tier.

www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/scratching_posts/small/small_cat_trees_height_80_cm/37574

The unstability does worry me. Sugarplumfairy28, how high are your ceilings? Mine are about 12 ft. I've not seen anything the height of yours as cheap as that. They've been about £80.

DH made ours out of scrap wood, scavenged branches & some carpet bits the carpet shop gave us for free.

Cordless drill, hand & power saw, box knife... don't think it took more than 2 hours.

Ooh now there's an idea! My partner is pretty handy and would probably manage something like that!

www.coolcattreeplans.com/free-cat-tree-plans/

Ours is a bit like this, but with carpet strips wrapped all around arms, and at the base, and several wide ledges (carpeted) for the cats to lie on, especially at high point. Ours is on the carpeted base so we can move the whole thing around. It started out wider but DH reshaped it over time to take up less space.

Zooplus have some good ones. And there are loads of ideas on Pinterest as well. Ours was brilliant when they were kittens and is still popular, even though only one of the platforms will take their weight and theres a lot of overspillage.

I am just about to order something replacement sisal rope for my cats' fave tree. They have several newer but return to the same knackered one time and time again.

Got mine off amazon for £30 (three years ago though) there are cheap ones out here on eBay and Amazon, mine love sleeping right at the top and scratching the bottom.

Lljjk that's amazing!! Don't suppose you live in the West cost of Scotland and your husband could come and make me one!

DaisyMay25 that's the one im considering buying. Is it fairly stable?

@Plump82 very, mine chase each other on it all the time. I'd have to put a lot of effort into pulling it over myself (I'm not actually sure I can)