I recently purchased the Catcraft Cat Tree from Walmart for around $40. As most of you may know, cat trees usually cost double or more this cost. I was impressed with some aspects of this, and not so impressed with others.
First, the parts that impressed me:
- Price. A $40 cat tree is unheard of, go to major pet stores like PetCo or PetSmart and you will not find a floor to ceiling cat tree this cheap.
- Weight. The posts are hollow cylinders which makes this very light weight.
- Environmentally friendly. The carpet is made from recycled materials.
- Ease of Assembly. This product actually lives up to its advertisement when it says it’s easy to assemble. There are instructions, but I found I hardly needed them. This tree fits ceilings up to 9 feet tall. An hacksaw may be needed if you need to cut the top pipe to fit the ceiling. I did not have to cut the pipe so I don’t know how much harder this would make it.
Cat
Photo credit:
Vania Maldonado
Now the cons.
- Each perch is a little on the small side. I have five cats, most of which are very long and weigh over 10 pounds. The perches hardly fit their bodies and they look a bit like overgrown children trying to play with a toy that’s too small. They can sit and climb fine but if they try to lie down, parts of their rump will be hanging off the edge of the perch.
- While it is very sturdy and does not collapse, the cat tree does wobble a little when in active use.
- I’ve had the cat tree a few weeks now. Of my five cats, only one regularly uses it. Four out of five cats prefer their older, heavier, shorter cat tree that has larger round perches with walls.
- My cats are older, ranging in age from 7 - 14 years, and only the 7 year old favors this cat tree. Even sprinkling catnip on the cat tree does not entice the other cats to use it.
Overall, I’d rate this tree 3 of 5 stars, mainly because only one of my five cats likes to use it. It’s a great price, easy to assemble, and fairly sturdy. This would be a great cat tree for smaller, more active cats or kittens.
Comments