Cat tree advice

Hi Everyone...

SO I am getting some extra money from school in (Leftover Grant money) and want to buy a cat tree, I am so bemused on the enormous amount of things to choose from.....

My cats are large (14 and 16 pounds) and so they need the following criteria

--Sturdy

- If it has an enclosed area, needs to be large enough for them

We only have 8 foot celings, so it needs to be .. well... lower lol (Thinking 5- 6 feet)

Also, Smokie has arthritis so it needs some easy way for him to climb to the top (if he desires)

Needs to not be top heavy.

I want to spend $100 or less if possible

Okay kitty people, help me out please!

Our first tree was a Whisker City brand from PetSmart.....well designed tree with one major flaw.  It tipped over when a 10 lb cat took a flying leap onto it.  (Against a wall it might have been fine, but we need one that can be free-standing in our living room....pushed against the wall it is not close enough to the couches and isn't desirable to the cats.)  I handed it down to a friend who wanted to put it in a corner, near a window.  Her cats loved it.

When shopping for a second tree, "untippable" was our main priority.  We decided to spend the extra money and get a Molly and Friends brand.  Here's the one we got....

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12298344

I know it is well above the $$ you are wanting to spend, but it is untippable.

If I didn't need something freestanding and was putting it against a wall, I might have gone with Armarkat brand.  People seem to get a lot of tree for their money with those.  Maybe if you read enough reviews you could find a really sturdy one.  (And if you putting it against a wall, that might be the way to go.)  Have fun shopping.

I have numerous cat trees. Most are Armarkat and they work fine. Not the highest quality, but IMO the 'best bang for my buck'. I also have a Whisker City one, which is much sturdier, better carpet, better sisal, etc.

Do you have a Petsmart or Petco nearby, that you can go look at the quality of some of the trees there? That can also give you a better idea of what can be 'design flaws' or things that won't work for your cats. When I was looking at buying cat trees I went into Petco & leaned on all of them & closely inspected them, to rule out features I didn't like - and get an idea of what features I wanted in a tree.

I never found anything sturdy enough that met all of my criteria, so I ended up building one myself. I know it's not feasible for many people, but it's the only way I could get what I wanted.

I have a bunch of Armarkat and Go! Pet Club cat trees. I can't find my favorite on Amazon right now, but if you do a search for Armarkat and Go! Pet Club you can look at the options. They aren't super high quality but are good enough and are in your price range.

General advice: looks for one that has a wide base with at least 3 points to the floor. I got one that has only 2 points to the floor and it's tippy. The others have never tipped over (and in my house, that's an accomplishment! :lol3. The taller it is, the bigger the base should be.

Since money is so often tight for you, why not search craigslist, and keep the money for meds or an emergency? :rub:

LDG said:

Since money is so often tight for you, why not search craigslist, and keep the money for meds or an emergency? :rub:

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I know it has been hard to afford meds and treatment to your kitty.... I remember not long ago even kitty food was an issue.... Imho although tempting, saving for health needs and food would be a priority.... Imho....

Honestly...if money is an issue why even spend money on a cat tree? You have large cats and low ceilings. Go to your local home depot or do it yourself store and buy cheap but sturdy wood and cheap carpet that you can staple gun to to it. find wall fastenings that fit your cats weight requirements and bingo...you have yourself fun cat walks you can place wherever you like (and as far apart or together for you furbaby with arthritis) . You can make them as long or as short as you want. The carpetca be color of your choice, the height can be up to you. You can put them in multiple rooms and have "steppings" around rooms to window sills or anything your kittys are permitted on. They can be as wide or narrow as you would like too. And if you want to be handy and take the time to do it screws are cheap as well. Buy some more cheap lumber and screw a little "lip" to the outside portion thats not against the wall so theres a bit of a "rail" if your worried about the older cat falling =]

And this way you can always ADD to what you already put up. You dont have to worry about just spending the 100 on one thing and that be it. Put a few up with that 100and as you get some extra spending money you can add and make it more interesting =]

And have fun with it!!

Ah, yes, UNLESS there's going to be a steady income from now on for sure. . .I'd put it in the emergency fund. Vet care and food are more important than climbing toys .

rad65 said:

I never found anything sturdy enough that met all of my criteria, so I ended up building one myself. I know it's not feasible for many people, but it's the only way I could get what I wanted.

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Rad.. Pics please??

Okay you guys win

Part of it will go in our car fund, and the rest in the emergency cat fund (i.e meds, vet,, food etc..) thanks for the advice!! Sometimes it is just tempting to want to spoil them...

If you're handy or want to try, you could find a sturdy set of shelves or something like that and make your own.  Look at thrift stores and garage sales.  If you have a Freecycle group in your area, you could post on there looking for one.  Search the forums for cat trees and see what folks have made that you could do.
 

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Cat-Furniture

The above link has some do it yourself ideas too.  I used the stepladder idea (we just happened to have an old unused 4 ft wooden ladder) to make a window perch tower for our foster cat to see out our bathroom window while she lived in isolation for a month.  It was very simple....didn't want to put much work into it since it was a temporary situation.  But if you found an old ladder at a yard sale you could really fix it up nicely.