Cat tree blues

[tabbytom]

I did tighten every bolt very securely.  If it has to be taken apart for a move, we're going to need to use a drill to do so because I am pretty good with tools.

My only concern is one that a guy couldn't have done much better on, and that's the bolts with the double thread.  There isn't a tool out there that can tighten it, so I had to twist the support until it just didn't move anymore.

The reason the cat was unstable was not the joints.  If you look at the platform that the second house sits on, you will see that it is L-shaped.  When he was scratching the front sisal post, he got really into it, scooted back and very nearly stepped off the platform.  When he felt his foot nearly go over the edge, that freaked him out and made him feel unsteady.

Oh ya, the double thread screws have to hand tightened by the post. There's no way for a wrench to tighten it.
The platform at the second house is too narrow and not much standing space. My boy's old tree was the same, narrow boards. The new one I bought him was much broader and he has more space to stand.

 

[arouetta]

I picked this cat tree because it was Shadow friendly.  Most of the cat trees I looked at had supports coming off the base more centrally located and a 13 pound arthritic cat could not have squeezed in between those spaces.  These supports were placed in a way that she could sharpen her claws (she likes horizontal surfaces) and easily fit into the middle of the base for a nap.  Plus this one has the stairs, which might encourage her to at least get to the house on the second level.

Not counting the 4 sisal posts coming off the base, there are 3 other sisal posts that are on huge surface areas.  Montressor simply picked a different post in a smaller area.  And since he did well at first and only ran into problems when he was stretching out by moving backwards, I think he'll adapt pretty quick.  He certainly took to the higher house.

 

[arouetta]

 
Loved the play by play. As we recently did our own 'some assembly required' cat tree, I could easily relate. I found with my boy that the cat nip spray works much better than the dried catnip. Anything new for him that comes into the house I give it few squirts and he knows it is his.

I stole your idea and mixed liquid valerian root with water and sprayed the entire cat tree.  I put Shadow in the lower house, she jumped right down but sniffed the air and is staying near.  I put Montressor on it, he started licking the cat tree.  I put Midway on it, he jumped down and started eating.

Sigh.  I'm starting to think the cat tree was a waste of money.

 

[greypaws]

Don't give up on the tree and send it back. I'm thinking there must be an odd odor probably in the fleece that the cats don't like. Fleece is notorious for chemical smells due to how it's made. Mr Sparky ignored the first cat tree we got him for 2 weeks. I had it set up in front of a window in our master bedroom suite, kept putting him on it, praising him and he'd jump right down as soon as I walked away. A couple weeks later I found him on it, watching bird TV, happy as a clam. Catnip spray didn't work on that one but did on tree # 2 & 3 the same day they came in the house. You know how the kitties are, they take a message and get back with you

 

 

[arouetta]

This is the first time we've had the luxury of dumping a couple hundred into a cat tree.  I'm wondering if there's an age limit, that maybe waiting until the cats are senior kitties was the problem.

 

[tabbytom]

arouetta ...........What you can do is get a piece of towel, rub the scent of the of your cats off their body or places they like to lay down and rub the towel on the cat tree and leave the towel there. This is better than any cat nip or spray.
Yes, Greypaws is right about the odor either coming from the fleece or sisal rope. Sometimes it could be they were being kept for too long in the warehouse. My boy's previous tree had a very strong ropey smell and it lingered on for a few weeks but my boy dosen't seem to care. The new one I bought has got no smell at all.

 

[arouetta]

Partial success.

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• arouetta
• Jan 16, 2017

I've been putting them on the tree a few times each, at a level I think each would be comfortable with.  Shadow immediately leaves and finds somewhere else in the living room to lie down.  Midway immediately jumps down and finds the nearest food dish.  But Montressor usually stays for a bit, checking out the upper house and sharpening his claws on the post that he's above in the picture.  I put him a little higher this time and he just settled right in.

 

[arouetta]

Today I put Shadow on the back lower level instead of the lower house.  I stayed and petted her a bit and opened the window shades and she eventually settled into lying down.

I put Midway on and he jumped down and found a food dish.  I was scrolling through my posts last night - that seems to be all that cat does is go find a food dish and eat.  I hadn't realized how much of our lives involved Midway finding a dish with food.

 

[greypaws]

Too funny about Midway. Is his nickname Lunchbox like someone else's cat in a different forum on this site? 

Have you tried putting a bit of his food or treat on one of the shelves to encourage him staying there for a few moments at least?

 

[basscat]

IKEA cat tree and instructions???

 

[arouetta]

 
Too funny about Midway. Is his nickname Lunchbox like someone else's cat in a different forum on this site? 

Have you tried putting a bit of his food or treat on one of the shelves to encourage him staying there for a few moments at least?

Actually his nickname is "Destructo-Boy" because he has destroyed a whole lot of stuff during his time with us.  One apartment, we switched from regular venetian blinds to vertical blinds because we got tired of replacing them.  I threw out all my glass glasses and bought plastic because I got tired of someone forgetting a glass somewhere and in the early morning I'd hear the glass shattering because he would sit next to it and tap it a little at a time until it went over the edge.  My toaster oven has a dent from him sitting on it.  We've lost a lot of artificial Christmas trees because he had to climb them and break the branches.  Ditto for glass ornaments, he'd pull them off the trees.  I have to hide fruit because things like apples and oranges are fun little balls to roll around and dig your teeth into in his eyes.  A couple of apartments have claw marks in the door jambs because he had to climb the jamb to the top and yowl.  Broken screens in windows before I wised up and opened the windows only 2 inches.  I'm sure there's more that I've blocked out of my memory.

But the food idea is pretty solid.  I think I'll lace the cat tree with canned tuna.  They all go nuts over canned tuna.

 

[tabbytom]

Actually his nickname is "Destructo-Boy" because he has destroyed a whole lot of stuff during his time with us.  One apartment, we switched from regular venetian blinds to vertical blinds because we got tired of replacing them.  I threw out all my glass glasses and bought plastic because I got tired of someone forgetting a glass somewhere and in the early morning I'd hear the glass shattering because he would sit next to it and tap it a little at a time until it went over the edge.  My toaster oven has a dent from him sitting on it.  We've lost a lot of artificial Christmas trees because he had to climb them and break the branches.  Ditto for glass ornaments, he'd pull them off the trees.  I have to hide fruit because things like apples and oranges are fun little balls to roll around and dig your teeth into in his eyes.  A couple of apartments have claw marks in the door jambs because he had to climb the jamb to the top and yowl.  Broken screens in windows before I wised up and opened the windows only 2 inches.  I'm sure there's more that I've blocked out of my memory.

But the food idea is pretty solid.  I think I'll lace the cat tree with canned tuna.  They all go nuts over canned tuna.

He sounds like a cat to me!

 

[imaginewizard]

I impulse bought River a cat tree and he used to occasionally like once in a blue moon use it, he did every now and then go into the cave - but now he just uses it as a scratching post. I think the more effort you have to put into making a cat tree, Murphy's Law will invoke your cats to be less likely to use it  

 

[tabbytom]

I impulse bought River a cat tree and he used to occasionally like once in a blue moon use it, he did every now and then go into the cave - but now he just uses it as a scratching post. I think the more effort you have to put into making a cat tree, Murphy's Law will invoke your cats to be less likely to use it  

Where did you position the cat tree? Is it placed by the window so that he can perch on it and look out and see the birds, people and traffic?

 

[imaginewizard]

Where did you position the cat tree? Is it placed by the window so that he can perch on it and look out and see the birds, people and traffic?

Hmmmmmm. I mean he uses the window sill for that but you might be on to something ...

 

[tabbytom]

Hmmmmmm. I mean he uses the window sill for that but you might be on to something ...

Anything interesting out of the window?

 

[arouetta]

I tried canned tuna last night.  They would get up, snag the tuna on the lower levels and immediately jump off.  The tuna higher up didn't even disappear until after we were in bed.

But.......

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• arouetta
• Jan 18, 2017

Midway got up there on his own a couple of hours ago.  He's now on that same level, curled up in a ball with his face turned outward (not his butt like in the picture), sleeping.  He hasn't left it in 2 hours.

Edit:  You can see the top of Shadow's head on the couch.  She is still in that exact same pose 2 hours later.

 

[imaginewizard]

Anything interesting out of the window?

A street, full of shops, cars and people. Pigeons roost in the morning. Then there's the window in my bedroom which looks onto the garden, where he also sits and watches out for other cats coming into his garden.

 

[tabbytom]

I tried canned tuna last night.  They would get up, snag the tuna on the lower levels and immediately jump off.  The tuna higher up didn't even disappear until after we were in bed.

But.......


Midway got up there on his own a couple of hours ago.  He's now on that same level, curled up in a ball with his face turned outward (not his butt like in the picture), sleeping.  He hasn't left it in 2 hours.

Edit:  You can see the top of Shadow's head on the couch.  She is still in that exact same pose 2 hours later.

That's very good. Maybe you can tie a soft toy or ball up below the bottom edge of the top platform and hang in down six ins. Some cat trees comes with the toys but I don't see that yours has it. That'll attract them up to play.

 

[tabbytom]

A street, full of shops, cars and people. Pigeons roost in the morning. Then there's the window in my bedroom which looks onto the garden, where he also sits and watches out for other cats coming into his garden.

That's a very interesting window. My boy will never vacate the place if my windows have such interesting stuffs.