Cat trees - Expensive!

I wanted to get a cat tree for Riley, but when I saw one at a pet store, it cost about $200! I mean, I could probably make one out of cardboard and carpet for like, $20.
Why are cat trees so pricey? Does anyone know where I can get one cheap?

Buy inexpensively and get cheap shoddy material and flimsy platforms. I have countless emails in my bin from broken-hearted cat owners who bought cheap condos only to have them either collapse on top of their cats, or tip over and squish kittens, smash paws or break tails.


www.felinefurniture.com has a good product, fairly inexpensive and best yet it is replaceable when the parts wear out, you just order new parts.

When I seen the topic for your post I nodded my head, and said "heck ya" so I figured I'd pop in and give my say on it too.

I agree entirely about the huge price and how crazy it is. I mean, why? you know?

I dont get it, and i dont in fact know why, but it sure does suck. Them things are pretty cool too. lol

When I was in the stores looking for one, I gave up shortly after I started, went to Menards, bought some board for 15 bucks, some carpet for another 10 bucks. Had nails and hammers at home, and built one myself. You can even go to like a craft store, and get some string and balls of something, you'll find lots of stuff. Hammer & nails work perfect, and my cat loved it for years. Untill it got kind of old, and I threw it out, Like everything does.

So I made another one. Very easy. Just make sure you nail the nails down real real good, so your kitty doesnt get hurt. It's actually kind of fun.

Just thought Id give my input.

Originally Posted by Galt

I wanted to get a cat tree for Riley, but when I saw one at a pet store, it cost about $200!

I mean, I could probably make one out of cardboard and carpet for like, $20.
Why are cat trees so pricey? Does anyone know where I can get one cheap?

Click to expand...

lol.

Business.

They are expensive. I just bought one for my four cats for $220

Ours cost 200€ ($236), but I think we got our moneys worth. It's extremely durable, no cardboard here, but sturdy steel. It's also built like a Lego, you can buy more parts, move places of the old ones etc. We got it from a local small business.

Cats need sturdy long lasting cat trees. When you make them out of cheaper material they won't last long and the cat(s) can get hurt. The ones made with real logs are one of the best investments you can make. Remember this tree will last a lifetime with your cat so if you break down the cost with average cat living 15 yrs its not all that expensive.

It's well worth investing in a quality tree house.

I've got a friend who made one for his cat and it used up a whole room. Best thing was that he could change the pieces around and take off the carpet bits so he could wash them.

His cat's name was Oxigeno a wonderful Maine Coon who died of a very sudden heart attack.

I agree that they seem to be expensive. However I looked into building one out of wood and carpet myself. To make your own *sturdy* cat tree does cost about the same as the cat store.

I agree. The tree I want went from $500 to $700 (right before Christmas, how convenient for us ). I'm looking into having someone make one for less. I think that a carpenter or anyone who is experienced can probably make one, and they could give you exactly what you want, and in the colors you prefer. Plus, you will know exactly what they use. Treated wood is toxic, as well as glue. Staples should be on the underside only, and should be thin upholstery staples, or the cat's claws could get caught in them. The wood should be real, and not pressed/particle/MDF. Plywood is best (or so I've been told by the person I'm thinking about getting to make one) if there are a lot of curves because it's bendable. The posts shouldn't be hollow, so 4x4s are best for that (or the tree parts that some people like to use), and the base should be wide and solid to keep it from tipping over--especially if it is tall. I don't know how to affix the sisal, though. I've been wondering what to tell him about that.

I just got one last week and paid about $200 for it. It's six feet tall and fairly sturdy. My three love it. I do wish I could build them one myself, but I haven't the talent!

To me, it's worth it because they enjoy it so much. The most reserved of my three, who tends to be crowded out by the other two, has taken over the very top perch and I am glad she has a place to call her own now.

I bought one from Petsmart for about $300 and two from Ebay for about $120 a piece and the ones I got on Ebay were just as sturdy and well made as the one from Petsmart, I actually like the ones I picked out on ebay better because they have more of that sisal rope scratch post stuff on it. It has been tested by oh, 40-50 cats in the last couple years, big, small, old, young, and I have never had any problems and none of them have ever toppled either and they are the huge 8 feet ones. My cats LOVE them.

I got a great one e-bay for under $100 incl. shipping and handling!

Me too. I just won my ebay auction on the cat tree for the boys. I paid just under $100. Now I just have to wait for it to get here.

I do agree however that the cost in the stores is redicious(That doesn't look right.) I priced around for the one I wanted and it was like $250 - $300 in the brick and mortar stores. Thank goodness for ebay.

I have two fair large cats. Gandalf is around 20lbs and Samwise isn't far behind so I needed something large and sturdy. I've heard nothing but good things about the cat trees on Ebay so I figured I'd give it a shot. The tree I got them says it's able to stand up to that kind of weight. We'll see.

EBAY EBAY EBAY!!!!!!!!!!

we got one of the $200 to $220 on Ebay for half the cost and that included shipping. The cats love it! and the construction is very good-easy to put together. We highly recommend you check it out.
you may have to try a couple of auctions to get the right price for you.

I would recommend going to a large cat show where there would be a lot of vendors. I know the end of year TICA show here in Raleigh has tons of vendors, including people who make cat trees. This is the best way to get them. For 60-100 you could get a decent (actually very nice!) cat tree and wouldn't have to pay shipping.

You can get a second hand one from ebay really cheap.

http://search.ebay.com/search/search...ree&category0=

Agree with you - I got my major cat stuff purchases at shows as they were discounted. Got a tree house for about $75 where the same tree in a pet shop would go for over $200.

If you go to the show, usually the tree vendor is local and its cheaper for delivery if you have a car and not a van to take it home.

Wow it didn't realize e-bay was so cheap... There are so many too. I'm going to have to look into one of the larger ones. I've been wanting another tree in the house.

We built ours for about $70 CAD (thats how much it would have cost - with a construction business we had most the stuff lying around the warehouse. So it cost only about $15 of my own money. My cats love it as we were building it but soon lost interest in it once it was finished so I gave it to a local shelter.

I half built a second one and left it there for them to play on!