These kittens are going to give me a heart attack!

Hi all,

So, I got our two kittens (10 weeks) this tree house today:
They had taken to climbing up and down the side/backs of our furniture to chase each other! So, I figured that this would help to save my furniture. Plus, I wanted them to be able to get up to the window, which is 4 1/2' high.

I should have known I wasn't a cat tree person. I hate monkey bars. I am a teacher, and I hate watching the kids on the monkey bars at recess. It makes me so nervous! Seems like a great way for them to break bones or crack a head.

They've certainly taken to it! They've spent the last hour chasing each other up and down. However, they like to be on different levels or on the ladders and paw at each other. They sneak through the ladders. They seem to be getting the hang of it and really seem to be enjoying themselves. However, it's making me nervous! Sometimes they try to defy the laws of gravity and climb in ways that don't work very well! It's faux fur, not carpet, so they can't really grip onto anything but the sisel on the pillars and the ladder rungs. (Silly me thought the cats would just know that and not try! :S)

There have been a couple of falls (once off the window because there was a blanket there that slipped off...I took the blanket away), but they seem to have come out unharmed.

Should I be concerned about them falling 4 feet off the tree? I know they are supposed to have a self-righting reflex and land on their feet, but what if they don't? Am I just being an overprotective mom? They do seem to "learn" everytime they fall/stumble. I just don't want any broken bones or necks!

That tree looks really cool!

Climbing around and falling a lot is how cats learn how to use their bodies, I think. Don't worry about it, especially as it's only 4.5 ft tall. They'll be fine!

Of course, they could fall and break something, but they are no more likely to do so on the cat tree than from your furniture. There are some risks to being a cat, but I don't think you've increased them at all.

Well, my husband made a one-trunk tree with one perch 7' in the air a couple of inches away from a wall when Goblin was a kitten. I won't go into why we did it that way at the time, but there was a big tub chair right up against it for Gobi to land on coming down. Anyhow, I was petrified a lot of the time watching him throw himself up and down the thing, and prayed he wouldn't fall asleep facing the 'wrong' way. Well, the only time he fell off anything it wasn't from the tree, and now at 3 he has the all time most gorgeous body of any cat I've ever seen (if he was a guy, he'd be Mr. Universe for sure). All that 'training' when he was a kid had to have made that difference, and now that he has a store-bought tree with lots of perches, etc., he just seems to look at the top ones and fly up in an instant. I'm not suggesting that anyone follow our example, but if there is decent carpeting under the thing, and you don't have it as high as we did (for kittens), I wouldn't worry too much.

slapping you silly!

The kittens will be fine. I thought you were talking about a treehouse about 6-7 feet tall and worrying with them on the top. Four feet tall is nothing for kittens. They will not hurt themselves.

BTW I just LOVE your treehouse! I've got a 4 foot one now but DH will be adding onto that and making a 6-7 feet tall one to connect. The 4 ft one is almost too small for Charlie and Ling; and with Jack coming next year, we will need a bigger playground for them.

That is such a cute little treehouse!

I just "built" my kittens (4 weeks old) a little playplace out of some littler cardboard boxes, with platforms for them to climb on. The first time one took a tumble off the top (maybe 8 inches off the floor) I completely panicked. But they seem to take it 100% in stride.

It's really for the best that I'm not having children -- I can't imagine what I would be like about a kid!

That's adorable!

They'll be fine

Riley's tree is much taller and he falls off the top once in a while when he gets excited and tries to get the birdies through the window

Thanks for the reassurance everyone. I'm a little hypersensitive about cat health having just gone through illness with Zoey. Before her, I always thought cats were fairly hardy little animals, given that many survive outdoors. However, once Zoey got sick and I did research, I realized how many ailments can affect them and forgot that cats are not fragile.

Haha...in any case, one of my main concerns was a 5" gap between the shelf beside it and the wall. So, I used all my might and just pushed it back right against the wall and now I feel a lot better. My main concern was about when I wasn't home, but I'm getting the impression (after today, their first day home alone), that they'll just sleep when we're out and play while we're home. So, I'm a little more relaxed.

I'm sure they'll outgrow this one soon enough, but hopefully by that time, we'll be in a bigger place...as you can see, it's a tight squeeze to fit this one in as it is!

By the way, it isn't going to save my furniture. They now launch themselves on/off the furiture by way of the cat tree. Ah well....at least they're having fun!

Better get those kittens in the habit of getting nails cut every week!

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Better get those kittens in the habit of getting nails cut every week!

Click to expand...

Funny you mention that. I had been waiting on the nails until the kittens got a little more comfortable with us (they have just started coming to us for attention). However, this morning, Belle got her one claw caught on the cat tree twice in the matter of 5 minutes. So, we did our first nail trimming this morning. It went fairly well - she meowed the entire time, but did not squirm. It's Delilah's turn tonight!