Getting cat acclimated to new cat tree.

We just bought a new cat tree about a week ago and Oscar is kinding warming up to in a sense that he will play around and sit on the second shelf. But he wont go any higher than that. It has another step up that is a round shelf with a hole in it to crawl up to get to it. Is there anyway to I guess get him up there. I've triend using treats and things like that and he will go up there for those but wont go up to the top any other time. Any help would be appreciated.

My cats won't go on the top level of their cat tree either. I don't get it. They like to be higher than that in other places. Maybe they think it is not sturdy enough.

Try playing with a string with him. If you dangle it at the top, I bet anything he will go there.

My kitty likes the top the best (probably away from my two kids!).

Originally Posted by meow meow

Try playing with a string with him. If you dangle it at the top, I bet anything he will go there.

My kitty likes the top the best (probably away from my two kids!).

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Great answer! Dangle his favorite toy on the top bed and he'll go after it! Once he's up there, continue to play with him with his toy. Also once he's up there, you can put his toy away and just stimulate him by scratching underneath the bunk.

Is your tree in a window with sunshine? They prefer that the best! But if the top beds are above the window line he'll lay on the lower beds preferring the sunshine over the top beds.

You can also entice him with catnip leaves or spray.

I also agree that the tree has to be sturdy. We bought one of the biggest, sturdiest ones I could find. My girl has no problem with it, she's 10 lbs. Her twin brother is an absolute MONSTER at 17lbs (and still growing according to our vet!) and he shakes that thing like no tomorrow.....but he still loves the top bunk lol.

Just wondering if Oscar has a playmate? Most cats love to climb on the beds and "bat" at each other playing as they romp around. If he's single, he may just not be sure what he's suppose to "do" with the tree. If you play with him on it, he'll use YOU for entertainment (not you physically, I mean with toys) then and soon you'll find him jumping up there and rolling around when you are in the room, waiting for play time!

This is all I can think of, hope it helps.

i have just brought a cat tree and i am trying to encourage my cat to use it, it has scratch posts but she wont use them yet, instead she still scratches the side of the bed i have tried to rub catnip on the scratch posts but she just smells it and tries to eat it or rub herself on it lol (it's the snack form) she doesn't even attempt to scratch it, the cat tree also has a little hammock at the bottom and she hasn't used that either, what ways can i try to encourage her apart from toys which i a good one to try.

Here is a few pictures of the tree. The first is rare time Oscar is up there and that is because we did use a toy. As you can see, we have a toy off the bottom of the second and top shelves. He plays with those and lays on the second shelf. The last picture is of the hole he needs to climb through to get to the top. He can get his big tushy up there. We are scared to put a toy off the side of the top or off the wall next to it just because we don't want him falling off or the tree toppling. Anymore information would help a bunch!

here is what my cat uses



i think the very best thing to do is to use your cats favorite food, so in my case a tasty piece of tuna and just put it at the top and keep encouraging the cat until they learn for themself how to get up there, my cat favorite sleeping spot is to sit on my desk chair or near the window so i guess she has to get out of this habit, it's the same with the scratching post, i have no idea how to encourage her to use the scratching posts instead of my poor bed i guess it has to be more cat nip!

oh yeah when playing with toys or food don't get too carried away becasue your cat may fall off lol, actually try using catnip and see if the cat goes up there with that.

edit: the cat nip sure does work, now that i have rubbed in some she can't resists and just jumps up there, as time goes on she will jump up there more often just to see if her favorite treat is up there

I've never had the problem with my cats climbing up new trees. I put it in the middle of the living room and it's not 5 minutes before they are vieing for the top perch. King of the hill is a favorite game in my house.

I hear you are getting Oscar a little sister soon. I suspect that between the 2 of them, your top perches will soon be full.

Nice tree by the way!!