How To Buy Cat Tree Furniture

For those of us lucky enough to have cats in our lives, we find ourselves constantly watching our little furry friends. Everything they do seems to be the next cutest thing we have ever seen. As cute as they can be, cats have certain needs. These needs are hard wired into them from mother nature. If these needs aren't fulfilled in some way, cats can develop behavioral problems.

One of these needs is to climb. Mother nature didn't exactly design cats to live indoors. Our furry friends come with razor sharp claws, unmatched agility, and natural athletic ability.

Two things that every cat likes to do are scratch to sharpen their claws and climb on things. We humans have domesticated cats and bred them into so many variations that they come in nearly every size and color. We give them cute names, buy them collars, teach them to poop in a box, and ask them to live in harmony with us in our homes.

By bringing them into our homes, many cats never get to enjoy the things that are most enjoyable to them and that is climb. If they do find something to climb on they often get scolded for climbing somewhere that we don't want them to. This is where cat tree furniture comes into the picture. Cat tree furniture comes in a variety of sizes and shapes.

Some are small and simple scratching posts with a base and a little platform for kitty to jump up on. Others are large and elaborate cat condos. The more elaborate cat tree furniture often has multiple bases, and lot's of separate posts for your kitty to climb on. There are often little nooks and cranny's for kitty to snuggle up in for a nice nap. Some cat trees come with built in toys that bounce back when your kitty smacks it. There are really some nice options to choose from when buying cat furniture.

A well made cat tree condo can be a virtual amusement park for your pampered pet.

As with anything that you can buy, some cat condos are junk and others are well made. You should look for some important characteristics when buying cat trees.

• Avoid cat tree furniture that is made out cardboard with carpet glued onto it. These cat trees often look the same as the higher quality wood and carpet but they aren't nearly as sturdy. Quality cat trees are made out of wood with high quality carpet securely glued and stapled to it.
  
• Buy kitty condos that have large enough bases to support the entire jungle gym. A cat tree that has a base to 2 square feet should not be 6 feet tall. The exception to this would be if there is some way securely attach it to the wall. Stand alone trees are fine and sometimes quite convenient since you can move them around. Just be cautious and buy models with large and heavy enough bases to prevent the cat tree furniture from toppling over.
• Don't buy cat tree's with berber carpet on them.  The berber is the looped type of carpet.  If you get a snag in it, your cat will pull on the snag and it will unravel the carpet.
  

There are a variety of places to buy cat tree furniture online.  Ebay, Amazon, and other online resources are available to prospective buyers.  Only buy from reputable companies.  Ebay and Amazon have track records that speak for themselves.

If you are buying a large cat tree online, inquire about how it will be shipped and find out what the shipping will cost before you commit to the purchase.  There are a lot of bargains to be found on the Internet but sometimes the shipping charges will get you if you don't agree on the charges beforehand.

Ask as many questions as you can about the cat tree furniture that you are going to buy.  You don't want it to show up and then find out that it's not what you expected. 

Inquire about how difficult it will be to assemble and ask what type of hardware will be shipped with it.  Good hardware can make the difference between the cat tree being safe and sturdy and a a big carpeted piece of junk.

It's a good idea to know what the return policy is.  Who will pay for shipping if you have to return it.  That can be a big deal.  Make sure you know the answers to this before you buy.

Here's a fun little video showing you what it will be like to assemble cat tree furniture that you buy online.  There are some cute kitties in it as well.