cat trees as chosen by my cats

the simple answer is - all those cute and colorful and relatively inexpensive cat condos coming from China may not be good enough for your cat and I feel they are a waste of money so think carefully if you dont have any cat trees and want to buy one

I have had 13 cats when I was a breeder and then not so long ago I managed to have 11 pet cats

without exception they dont like sissal rope to scratch and the faux fur cannot be scratched

cats scratch to shed outer casing of their claw so they need something good to scratch

the very best is a real tree so if you are poor, go find a branch and lean it against the wall in the corner

in fact if you have a kitty condo made of faux fur and sissal rope then get them a branch in the corner somewhere too

I found that cats with access to faux fur and sissal rope only, will still scratch your sofa

all mine are real wood and real carpet and i have a couch that does not have a scratch on it but the poor cat trees are being stripped horribly by destructive little paws

if yours do fine on faux fur and sissal please ignore what my cats like and do what works for you

how to teach your cat where to scratch?

I pick them up and place on the cat tree in the correct position and hold their paws and make scratching motions gently and repeat a whispered 'scratch scratch' and 'good girl' and even make scratching motions myself beside the cat pretending to join in, in a social scratching

I do that several times when I first bought a cat tree and now it is only once in a while but I still tell the cat ;'good girl' when i see her scratching the cat tree

i never used the sticky tape to safeguard my sofa but i have picked up the cat immediately it was scratching anywhere it should not and put against the cat tree in scratching position

pic of a cat tree i had since 1998

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o...king/TWOUP.jpg

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o...g/R0011361.jpg

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o...g/R0012146.jpg

it is read wood and real carpet

and why you should get a cat tree that has a central hole in the top platform?

because your cat may invent a cute game like this

http://s116.photobucket.com/albums/o...schiefplay.mp4

what an excellent idea!

dont forget if you want your cat to invent the game of hanging upside down like a bat from the cat tree then make an upper platform with a hole in it

i see on youtube that other cats do that too and it looks so cute

2 of ours have invented that game

and when yours do it can you post pictures please

My cats must be wussy then because none of them will make the effort to scratch a sissal

me? selling?

that is why I suggest the very best cat tree is a piece of a branch standing in a corner somewhere - right?

take a look at these home made ideas

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o...Picture005.jpg

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o...Picture003.jpg

let me rephrase what i recommended before

if you want your cat to have a chance of inventing a game of hanging upside down like a bat- like on the pic below

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o...9/R0010276.jpg

then you should look for a cat tree, cheap or expensive, that has a platform with a hole in it up top like the one on the picture

however if you dont want your cat to invent this game then it fully does not matter what you give your cat because your cat will be just as happy to play in an old cardboard box

very good point

and it may be the home of lizards that you do not want to make homeless

so choose a branch with care

AND

you MUST let the branch dry out before you put it inside the house

a wet branch will develop fungus on it and as ringworm is a fungal problem [i dont know if there is any connection between one type of fungus or another in terms of giving the fungus a hospitable place to develop] it is best to bring a fresh branch into the house only after it is suitably dry