Cool Cat Trees
One of the questions I get via email quite frequently is what kind of cat tree is good for a Ragdoll Cat. So, I decided to put together a post of cool cat trees that I am aware of – but we only have personal experience with the first one. Would love reader input! Do you have a cool cat tree that your kitty adores? Tell me about it in the comments so I can include it on this post – please!
Vesper Cat Furniture – The Vesper line has several different styles. We reviewed the V-Tower (below). You can check out all the varieties here.
KletterLetter: Alphabet Letter Cat Tree Furniture – Visit KletterLetter’s website to learn more.
Wiser Pet Products Cat Power Tower $368.00 – The Cat Power Tower is rad. We have done a review and the cats are on it daily.
Designer Pet Products Designer Cat Tree $289.95 on Amazon.com – This modern cat tree features 6 different levels with scratching sisal on the first level. It comes in black or white and is made of non-toxic materials.
Bowsers Replus Cool Hues Cat Tree $269.99 on Amazon.com – this 5-story wooden cat tower is made in Canada. Dimensions: 21” H x 18” W x 18” D.
Catty Stacks Modular Cat Condos – they are sold in individual colors and boxes – so you can create your own. Starting at $12.99/each on Amazon.com.
Square Cat Habitat Modern Cat Furniture Baobab Modern Cat Tree in Eco-Friendly White Laminate and Black Mohair for $395.00 – This designer cat tree is made in the USA and features removable, replaceable carpet inserts as well as laminate with 100% recycled wood fiber. Dimensions: 23 x 23 x 60 inches ; 56 pounds
WhiskerStudio Cat Furniture Contoure Modern Cat Tree $297.99 – This designer cat tree has 4 (18″ x 10″) carpeted platforms for climbing and lounging. It is made of Made of solid birch plywood. Dimensions: 22 x 68 x 26 inches ; 35 pounds
Whiskerstudio Cat Furniture Medium premium wood Cat tree Tower $179– This modern cat tree is made of solid birch plywood. Dimensions: 23 x 18 x 48 inches ; 20 pounds
The Refined Feline Lotus Cat Tower $369.99 – I believe many Ragdoll cat owners own this tree – do you? Product Dimensions: 20 x 20 x 69 inches ; 74 pounds
Do you have a cat tree that your cats love? I want to know what it is to include in this list here! Please share it with me in the comments!
We made an awesome cat tree for our ragdoll, out of a sheet of chipboard-type wood, some fluffy fabric and pieces of driftwood, I had planned out the measurements and general shape, so, the flat shapes of the platforms, and the heights of the pillars. Then we cut and screwed most parts together, and attached fabric in between each new platform with ADOS glue and a heavy duty staple gun. Our kitty loves it, it’s quirky and cool to look at, and it cost about $15-20 to make 🙂
How cool is that! I want to see photos! Will you please share them here: http://blog.floppycats.com/blog/landing-pages/ragdoll-cat-stories
My cats and I love the cat trees at http://www.pussicat.com. The great thing about these trees is that they are modular. That is, you can buy a particular tree and then reconfigure it into dozens of different configurations. After 6 – 12 months, my cats seem to get bored with their cat trees. That’s when I reconfigure the trees. Once reconfigured, the cats get excited and act as if these are brand new trees. I’ve tried many different cat trees (Amarkat, Foster’s & Smith, Petco, Petsmart, etc.). Pussicat trees are by far the sturdiest of them all. Can’t say enough good things about these trees! Pussicat cat furniture is manufactured in the USA with safe, non-toxic materials.
I too love the Pussicat lines, we have three already! They are VERY sturdy and the hammocks and accessories are large enough to accommodate a large breed cat like Ragdolls. Plus they use non-toxic elements and fleece and it’s made in the USA. They are reasonable when compared to cheaper cat trees!
So you do like the Pussicat lines? I also have a Cat Power Tower for my 3 Ragdolls & they love it!! Sleep, play, relax, hangout & even clean themselves on it! Can’t say enough about it!!!
Lisa – so pleased to hear that you have the Cat Power Tower – we just got ours – here’s our arrival video – http://youtu.be/Ih_VCOYhndo
If you go to the CatPowerTower website there’s a picture of all 3 of my girls on their Tower!
my 3 Ragdolls love the 2 trees we got cheap from Petco, at 65″ tall, they are for scratching and sleeping. seems some are for looks in upscale homes, not really for the cats pleasure, more like furniture for the home owner.
Tyler and Trinity have an Armakat one, and the Lotus. I want the CurvyNest!
That is some interesting sculptural cat furniture!
My favorite choice for large, heavy Ragdolls are cat trees made by Molly and Friends. They are very sturdy with no danger of tipping over, even when multiple cats jump and play on them. Also, the perches are large enough to accommodate them comfortably. (So many cat trees I see are made for smaller-sized cats or kittens.) They are very durable and (even though they are somewhat of an eye-sore) my cats love them!
Geo, I just looked up the cat trees made by Molly and Friends – and I do like the sisal wrapped posts, but I am not a fan of carpet cat trees – I don’t like carpet on cat trees because they then think it’s OK to scratch carpet – even the carpet on your stairs. I hear you on the eye-sore!! They are not purrty! But sometimes function is more important than beauty!
We have 3 cat tree things. We got this one for Mitsy to use while she is a kitten. It was just so stinkin’ cute that I couldn’t help myself. TRIXIE Pet Products My Kitty Darling Castle –
I ordered this one from Amazon because we just love animal prints. Go Pet Club Cat Tree Leopard Print
Then my daughter made one out of cardboard boxes. She cut a hole out to be a door. She put a pet bed inside, colored and drew all over the outside of the box. Then she got another box and put it on top, so Mitsy can go from one level to the other. So creative!
Some of the ones posted are pretty fancy! I might have to order another one!!!
My cats LOVE our tree, condo and post from Angelical Cat. Strong, sturdy, and made in USA! They literally last forever!
http://www.angelicalcat.com
We have the Lotus Cat Tower and my two love it! If one Raggie is at the top, the other is at the bottom scheming how to take their place. I have had it since Splash was a kitten and other than a few scratches in the wood from over-enthusiastic climbing, it still looks great.
love it – i would love to review that!
Hi, Jenny!
I wasn’t able to share about my cat tree, when you wrote, because I’d had problems. The company was kind in resolving things, though.
But, looking up a replacement, this evening, I was reminded how very, very much I loved these by Cattreefurnitre.com.
Thought you might enjoy their gallery of pictures. Seems some are loved by ragdolls!
http://www.cattreefurniture.com/photogallery
Enjoy,
Linda
cool, thanks for sharing!
We just don’t have a budget to get a cat tree. I am happy to see the styles are a lot more sophisticated. I like that. This next week I am planning to make a cat tree out of a ladder (yes, I do know that isn’t very sophisticated) because Alice from the Palace over here really needs something in my office so she will leave me alone. She never finishes her filing anyway, so she might as well have some fun.
cool, let me know how it turns out!!
I agree with you about carpet covered cat trees Jenny. If the cat tree is covered in raggy old house hold carpets then they can also tangle up in kittys claws. By the way I really like catty stacks modular designs are they simply made out of cardboard though? I also stumbled upon a new site that has some cat trees for a decent price at http://www.cattreecity.com they look a little more stock standard compared to some of the creative designs found on this post …
Most of my cat trees are custom designed and made. That sounds snooty, but I don’t know any other way of saying it.
The master bedroom is the cats’ playroom. It’s almost all windows with southern and western exposures. Carpeted steps surround the picture window in their room, some with cubby holes, and the cats can leap from some of the upper steps to the cat walk over the windows and sliding glass door on the western side. From there they can leap to a graduated series of trees, gyms, condos, and a carpeted toy box, which gives them a beautiful view of the woods and lake (and critters). The sliding glass door leads to a catio/greenhouse, which has one real tree growing in it, and which is a real pain to trim.
I’ve removed the closet doors and installed carpeted shelves, some with beds. There’s a small area between the closet and entry door, which I’ve also removed, where I’ve hung all their wand toys out of reach.
Every room or area has at least two cat trees, again, most custom made, but some by hauspanther and others by Molly and Friends. Most are at least six feet tall because I don’t want the cats feeling like I’m looking down on them. The great room–I don’t know what else to call it–also has a cat walk 16 ft. up.
I replace the sisal every year or so, and the carpeting has been replaced probably three times, whenever I paint. I trim the frayed edges whenever I get around to it.
Jackson Galaxy has divided cats into tree dwellers and bush dwellers. An oversimplification, perhaps, but mine have always been tree dwellers. They jump and fly.
A real estate guy–now in prison for campaign contribution violations–said I’d never be able to sell this house with all the cat cwap. Good.
it does sound like a kitty play land. sounds like jackson would be impressed with your kitty accommodations.
Always enjoy reading your posts. They are so interesting and love your sense of humor. Know you kitties are in heaven with all the things you have made special for them. They are very luck indeed and so nice to hear.
What a nice thing to say!! It took a long time to get to this point. I love light but I hate sun and heat; otherwise the cats probably wouldn’t have the master bedroom.
I do like these cat trees, much better looking than the ugly carpet ones. However, we bought 2 carpet ones for our cats even though I didn’t want them. I’m glad we did because the cats enjoy them and that’s what is most important, not whether or not it looks good to me. And I had previously thought that having a carpet tower would make my cats think it was ok to tear up any carpet, but that’s not true. In fact, they quit tearing up the regular carpet when we got them the carpeted towers. Who knew.
oh that’s good to know about them not tearing up the regular carpet!
We made cat shelves for our kitten. They are white with white brackets and hold up to 70 lbs. they look like floating white clouds. They go from a foot off the ground to five other ones all the way to 7 feet off the ground. we have a small sturdy blanket on one that looks out a window (well…she pulled back the blinds to see out but you get the point) and she loves them! we have all her scratchy stuff on the floor beneath it. Vertical scratching, inclinded and flat, all sisal and corrugated cardboard (though she prefers the sisal we think). It is perfect because it isn’t as bulky for us as having a cat tree and is aesthetically pleasing as well as functional.
Oh, Analise – I would love to do a post on this – would you be willing to take photos and explain what you did and we can feature it as it’s own post? If so, please email me at jenny@floppycats.com. Thanks!
I would love to see pictures as well! Sounds very interesting!
We have the big Molly and Friends cat tree. I originally bought it in 2010, for my Angel who passed away in November 2011, from renal failure. She loved being up and looking out the window even if she couldn’t play. Now, my 3 girls, 2 Ragdolls and 1 Maine Coon, love it and use it daily, but mostly for perching to peer out the window and sleeping on the top because it has the sides that some up and kinda cup them.
Understand what some of you are saying about the carpet and then them scratching on the floor carpet, but mine have never done that because they have about 6 cardboard scratchers and they love cardboard for that purpose. I have never seen them scratch carpet on the cat tree or on the floor, but have seen Illaria scratch infrequently when she is stretching after a nap on the sisal rope of the cat tree.
The Molly and Friends cat tree is built like a brick house and weighs almost 80 pounds. It was purchased at Petsmart online and they promptly delivered it in a huge box fully assembled. My Angel who had it before my Ragdolls were born, was on it before it could even get up the steps to my room. The carpet on it is great quality and it is very sturdy with no give or movement whatsoever. Put 2 thin blankets as liners on the two levels they use to lie on, so the carpet still looks brand new and just change out the coverlet every week or when necessary. They have launched off of it like a rocket through the air and onto my bed and the base never even begins to move. Also, like it because it takes up very little floor space. Know this one will be with us for the duration.
http://ww.petsmart.com/supplies-training/furniture-towers/molly-and-friends-cat-tree-zid36-5132951/cat-36-catid-200085?_t=pfm%3Dsearch%26pfmvalue%
You described Molly and Friends perfectly. Those things are sturdy, especially for “rocket launchers.” You’ve given me a new name for my grrrllls–rocket cats.
The Molly trees don’t budge. I think the cups make the cats feel more secure when they come in for forced landings. I’ve had some hefty cats and the Molly trees have held up to them.
My Rag tended to be more of a bunny hopper or a billy goat. When he flew, it was an amazing sight.
I am going to keep this great list you posted. We finally bought a cat tree at PetSmart – on sale. The cats didn’t take to it right away, but now they love it. I am not sure if any of them had ever seen such a thing!
I just came home with a Lotus Cat Tree from Craigslist for $75! Prossimo is crazy for the box bottom and was really enjoying the levels to watch the birdies until he decided to get down…
The top level is wobbly and all levels made worse upon descending. He got scared and jumped from the 2nd level. He’s not a big jumper so I know it’s going to take some more reassurance to get him back up there.
Does anyone have any experience with this tree and/or suggestions on how to make the levels, especially the top, more stable?
I was going to wait and get the big Cat Power Tower but it appears that the new design no longer has the vertical scratcher and I loved that about the one featured here because Prossimo loves a good vertical scratcher, the base is different (not that big of a deal but I would love some feedback before committing that much moola) and I knew Prossimo would be nuts about the box in the Lotus.
I may still get their new product, the Cat Power Tower Scratcher.
Hi Christy,
I’m familiar with the Lotus Cat Tree, but I’ve never seen one personally. If you’d like to send me some detailed photos of where this cat tree is unstable, I’d be happy to address how to possibly fix it.
Andy
Thank you Andy!
While I have your attention, is there a difference in the two Cat Power Tower Scratchers on the Indiegogo site? I see that the $97 ships in July and the $119 one ships in August – is there anything else?
Upon further research, my initial excitement was seriously dampened.
I’m guessing that the model I have is old?
When I watched videos of the product being sold now it shows a “stability bar” that mine does not have (the piece that rests in the back right side of o the hideout:
http://artexposition.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/lotus-cat-tower-review.jpg
Here’s one without the stability bar, which mine doesn’t have either:
http://s1.dmcdn.net/DmJux/x240-_2B.jpg
There are wide supports on the ones online and on mine, the supports are in the center. Here are pictures of the supports wide apart on the edges:
http://www.therefinedfeline.com/images/customercats/Lotus/Lotus-Molly-Moe2.jpg
I can’t find an image with the supports that look like mine with them in the center.
Also in the video instructions are references to the “stability feet” or something similar. Mine doesn’t have “feet”.
I’ve researched this product so much but I never noticed those differences.
I’ll take some pictures tomorrow and email them to you. Thanks!!
@Andy, I didn’t send the pictures because I figured out a solution that didn’t involve me cutting, drilling or otherwise DIY’ing – which usually for me means cutting wrong, drilling the wrong spot and Destroying It Yourself’ing!
I placed the tree in a corner and put felt pads on the side of the upper platform. This seems to stabilize it enough that Prossimo feels secure.
He’s on the tree a lot and now loves the top platform more than the hiding box on the bottom!
If you have time, I would still love to know the difference between the $97 and the $119 Cat Power Tower Scratcher.
@Christy. Glad to hear you got the tree stabilized. I was going to suggest that you use a high quality wood glue, such as Titebond II Premium Wood Glue on the top shelves. There isn’t any difference between the two. The $97 price is for the first 100 customers, then the price goes to $119.
I live in Minneapolis, MN and we have a GREAT cat tree company here: Purrrrniture Inc (http://www.purrrniture.com/)! I found them at the MN State Fair Vet Center, where all sorts of wonderful pet exhibits and shopping occur. They have many different styles and, when the kitties finish destroying the carpet, we can return the wooden stand and they will give us a newly covered one for just the cost of the carpet and labor. It’s a trade in system that we need, since we have four boys that love it(we have the Orbitor)! I realize that a big cat tree is a bit much to ship, but they also have smaller units available. Plus, they will repair cat furniture that you may have purchased elsewhere. I love these people!
i love all of those, wish i could have one of each but the power tower is what i aspire to have SOON! i know my cats would love it just like trigg does. i WILL have a cat power tower, damnit!! haha
Hi Jenny,
our beloved Ragdolls Finnley and Kimba love their KletterLetter.
We are so happy because we designed it ourselves.
You are partly responsible because of your beloved Rags and Floppycats.com
Thank you so much!!!
I have a Purrfect Post Mondo with cat bed on top and an Angle Scratcher ordered from Purrfectpost.com. Very nicely made. The adult cat I had at one time loved the Mondo. She would make mad dashes into the room and jump on top of the cat bed. She took naps on the bed, and I was able to groom her there. I ordered the 32″ tall, since I have back problems, and that was the best height for me. She also used the post (covered in good quality sisal) to scratch. I’ll be getting a kitten in about a month, and plan to use the same for her. I’m considering the Purrfect View for in front of my patio door, but not sure about that yet. I’ll wait until I’ve had the kitten awhile to see what she likes.