Attn: Ontario cat tree owners!

I know there are a lot of Ontario members on TCS. I'm looking for a good place to buy a cat tree that's good value in Ontario or Canada. Are there any on-line Canadian spots? Everything I've researched on-line is shipped from the USA. I've found when ordering things from the States, us canadians get charged a lot of extra shipping or hidden Fed-ex fees.

The prices for cat furniture on-line are dramatically better than in the stores. I'd love to find a site that ships within Canada so I can avoid the extra border-crossing costs.

I found one place near Beaverton, but the prices were $250+.

I've been asking that same question for a long time now. I hope someone comes along with an answer because I haven't had any luck finding one.

E-Bay is definitely the way to go - I have bought mine there several times!

I made mine.

The ones on e-bay that I checked out fall into the same problem as buying from retailers in the states. It's the cost of shipping the hidden customs fees etc. Just doubles the price of the cat tree!

Unfortunately you are very right! Most of the places on the internet are US based and many won't even ship to Canada. Even if they did the duties and custom charges, plus the cost of the item would be prohibitive.

My husband ended up making one just this past month for our kitties but if you are going to do it right and do it well, it's still expensive and time-consuming. With the carpet remnants, sisal rope, glue, etc., we spent close to $300. Now bear in mind that we bought two carpet remnants since we wanted to do it in dual colours so that added to the cost. That did not include the wood which he got free. Then he spent many hours of his time.

I've seen some nice ones at PetValu which are not terribly expensive (at least cheaper than it cost us to make one) and of course there are no duty and customs fees.

If you don't see one you like, ask the staff - our local place had a book under the counter with all the models available that you could order and you could choose colour as well. So, just because you don't see one at the store doesn't mean you can't get one there.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Unfortunately you are very right! Most of the places on the internet are US based and many won't even ship to Canada. Even if they did the duties and custom charges, plus the cost of the item would be prohibitive.

My husband ended up making one just this past month for our kitties but if you are going to do it right and do it well, it's still expensive and time-consuming. With the carpet remnants, sisal rope, glue, etc., we spent close to $300. Now bear in mind that we bought two carpet remnants since we wanted to do it in dual colours so that added to the cost. That did not include the wood which he got free. Then he spent many hours of his time.

I've seen some nice ones at PetValu which are not terribly expensive (at least cheaper than it cost us to make one) and of course there are no duty and customs fees.

If you don't see one you like, ask the staff - our local place had a book under the counter with all the models available that you could order and you could choose colour as well. So, just because you don't see one at the store doesn't mean you can't get one there.

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I've thought of making one as a weekend project, but don't want it to look shoddy as it will sit in my living room! Perhaps you are right. Buying one may just be easier. The on-line option is frustrating as you see them listed for $70 etc. on sale. But, I know this would turn into $200 when all is said and done (same price at Pet store).

Originally Posted by Fred&Nermal

I've thought of making one as a weekend project, but don't want it to look shoddy as it will sit in my living room! Perhaps you are right. Buying one may just be easier. The on-line option is frustrating as you see them listed for $70 etc. on sale. But, I know this would turn into $200 when all is said and done (same price at Pet store).

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That's so true. Ours in in our living room and is definitely part of the furnishings and that is why hubby spent so much on the carpet and sisal rope - it had to look good. I do believe that you get what you pay for. We had one that our daughter got a couple years ago - it was "inexpensive" and was tipsy, and butt ugly.

My husband is a perfectionist when he does anything, so you can believe this tree he built is solid. It was definitely more than a weekend project. It is well made, very sturdy and he made it easy to disassemble should we ever move or need to take it apart. He made 2 "houses" - one for each of the cats and two "sunning" platforms for looking out the window watching the birds and squirrels.

Materials - 2 rolls of remnant carpet - $150.00 plus tax
1 100 ft. roll Sisal rope - $85.00 plus tax
2 types of Glue - approximately $30 plus tax.

That's $302.10 with taxes. Then I went to a fabric store and got some upholstery material to match the carpeting for the inside of the two house which was another $30.00. I am going to get pictures on the weekend when the natural light is coming in the window and will probably be posting them in the Paws and Reflect section.

Mine is ugly- I know. But it was cheap- It's in our basement so it doesn't really matter for the looks!

It would probably be cheaper to just buy it from the store, or if you are close enough to drive across the border, buy one and pay duty but not shipping.

The other good thing about buying it up here is you can see how sturdy it is, and if it has to be returned, you aren't paying to ship it back to the US

There is this place in London called Petceteram and they have hugs cat trees for like $59!! I never got one because even $59 is alot to me right now..but try that place if you have one near you.

OR I know alot of peeps on here use Armarkat..you can buy those on ebay.

Originally Posted by Trouts mom

There is this place in London called Petceteram and they have hugs cat trees for like $59!! I never got one because even $59 is alot to me right now..but try that place if you have one near you.

OR I know alot of peeps on here use Armarkat..you can buy those on ebay.

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We (cat rescue) saw the ad in the Petcetera flyer for the cheap cat trees, and we went to check it out. i personally didn't like them there, they seemed like they would fall apart. Maybe good for a single cat home, but definately not for a mulitple cat home.

We ended up going to the Petsmart on Fanshawe Park Rd (I think?? Not the one by Superpet) We got one for $216 with a $10 discount that Petsmart gave us. It's a good one, VERY sturdy and looks nice too.
I can't find any pictures of it, but I'm going in later today, I'll take my camera and get one .

I looked at the ones in Petcetera and there is no way they would hold 2 of mine let alone all 4, they just look too unstable standing there without a cat jumping on it.

Pet Valu only have small ones, but like Yosemite said, they have the catalogues and can order which ever one you want

Yosemite, your trees sound like true works of art! Post some pics!
Going over to Buffalo might be an option, plus I could visit Target!
Or I'll just shop around at Petsmart, etc.
Thanks everyone for the tips.

Originally Posted by Fred&Nermal

Yosemite, your trees sound like true works of art! Post some pics!
Going over to Buffalo might be an option, plus I could visit Target!
Or I'll just shop around at Petsmart, etc.
Thanks everyone for the tips.

Click to expand...

The tree hubby built really is awesome. I've been waiting to have a nice sunny weekend so I could get pictures in natural lighting to best show it off! Our living room walls are a medium taupe colour so we chose a cream carpet for the different levels and a taupe colour for the houses and a couple of the posts. The upholstery fabric for the interior of the 2 houses has both the taupe and beige colours and kind of looks like "wallpaper" in the houses.

We had seen cheaper trees but they were not very sturdy and John said if we were going to have one, he wanted it to be sturdy and not cheap-looking.