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cat trees

post #1 of 13
12/4/10 at 3:53pm
Thread Starter 
My husband and I are thinking about finally getting a good quality cat tree for Christmas. One big enough for 4 cats, tall sisal scratching posts, plenty of platforms or tunnels for playing/sleeping and attractive enough to sit in the living room. Nothing too wide since we have a small apartment.
Any recommendations?
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post #2 of 13
12/4/10 at 4:38pm
Cat trees generally are not attractive, which doesn't bother me as it's for the cats needs not my own.

My cats enjoy the floor to ceiling models, they are also very stable for active cats.

For 4 cats I would have more than just 1 tree, we have at least 1 in every room (we have more than 4 cats though)
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post #3 of 13
12/4/10 at 4:44pm
I recently purchased two cat trees - during my quest I did a ton of looking at a ton of sites. I ended up getting this short one & this larger one. Both were purchased from Petco. They carry two versions of the Armarkat trees - I wanted this larger one but it wouldn't be back in stock for several weeks.

Here are pictures of my kitties on them.

I was on a budget, I wanted the most bang for my buck. I found while Amazon.com had pretty good prices, sometimes you didn't know what brand they were & with free super saver shipping it would take 3 weeks to arrive. I've seen both the Armarket ones Petco carries - a family member owns the larger one & I had leaned on the one I purchased on a previous visit to Petco.

BTW - I have 11 cats in the house now, and so I often have a whole tree full of cats. Some like the little "house" part of the tree, others like the perches, and one kitty likes the very bottom shelf. I'm not sure if all 4 of yours would fit comfortably on the same tree I have or not - I've had 5 or 6 on there at once.
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post #4 of 13
12/4/10 at 5:09pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks! I was checking out those 2 large Armarkat ones on Amazon.

I really like this one too, even though it's a lot more money:

http://www.amazon.com/Molly-Friends-...1510666&sr=1-8

I love your pictures! Your tortie kitty is so pretty! I have a soft spot for long-haired calicos and torties.
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post #5 of 13
12/4/10 at 6:47pm
I bought an Armarkat cat tree several months ago on sale. (I looked at both www.amazon.com and www.overstock.com I think I wound up going with Overstock because they have free shipping, but I can't remember lol! It has been one the best purchases I've ever made as a cat owner! I can't believe it took me soo long to get them a cat tree; that thing is worth every penny!!! Here are some pictures of the one I bought for my kitties! All 3 of mine love it and I love that they use it now instead of my furniture!


(Not the best pictures, this was taken in my old apartment the night I put it together. Plan to devote a good 30 minutes-1 hour to putting it together and another 15 minutes to cursing hahaha (it's worth the effort!))


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post #6 of 13
12/4/10 at 7:12pm
About 20 years ago I ordered The Deluxe Gym from Tiger Cats. It's held up very well over the years with 6 cats and was easy to assemble.

http://www.tigercatsfurniture.com/
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post #7 of 13
12/4/10 at 7:20pm
I got the one on black friday special from petsmart. Its my second of that one and bought my mom the same one. Ads were still up other day.

I have had many trees over last few years-petsmart seem to be good. Armarkat is good but BE CAREFUL of imitation on ebay!

Try petstores in area and big lots as they sometimes do clearence on trees. Have pick up many that way. Also got a small tree like what was first pictured at costco.
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post #8 of 13
12/5/10 at 5:36pm
Thread Starter 
After seeing the prices my husband has decided to try and build a cat tree himself (!) I'm a little scared since I've never actually seen him build anything. This should be interesting.....
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post #9 of 13
12/5/10 at 7:32pm
After figuring out labor/supplies/etc - I found it to be cheaper to just buy a "lesser quality" tree like the Armarkat ones.....I had my eye on some Molly & Friends ones, but $300 was a bit out of my budget.
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post #10 of 13
12/6/10 at 4:48pm
Here is what I bought:



I think it is the same one as StarryEyedTiGeR has.

I had given a 50% deposit to someone to make me one but he totally scammed me. I am out $65.00.
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post #11 of 13
12/6/10 at 5:01pm
There are attractive cat trees. Google "modern" or "contemporary" cat tree. The downside is that they are usually very expensive.

However, you don't HAVE to use a purpose built cat tree.

There are many contemporary bookshelves or even just regular wall shelving (although not ideal for a rented apartment) that can be made attractive and easily adapted to serve as a "tree".

I wouldn't build something from scratch though. The time/cost ratio will be poor for most to get a decent attractive result. But you can start off with affordable used or inexpensive furniture (even cheapo Ikea poop actually works quite well) and then just do small changes to fit the role.
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post #12 of 13
12/7/10 at 12:57pm
Thread Starter 
So after many man-hours, $45 on supplies and a couple of arguments with me, my husband finally gave up on the idea of building his own cat tree. Thank GOD. I saw the work in progress and it was not a pretty sight.
I just ordered the Molly and Friends one I've had my eye on. Yay!
I'm so excited for it to arrive - I hope the cats like it! I'm hoping it'll stop Sebastian from climbing to the top of the sideboard 10 times a day!
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post #13 of 13
12/10/10 at 4:31pm
Make sure you take pics!! I sure will when mine...errr, the cat's tree arrives .
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