On A Mission: To Find A Purrfect Cat Tree

I promised our cats all new trees when they get to their new home – and have been donating their current trees to local rescues. Most of them were purchased from Angelical Cats and – although they’re about 10 years old – they’re still in remarkably good condition. Particularly the ones we spent a little extra on to get Berber carpet and ordered with natural tree posts instead of sisal or carpet covering that tends to shred and pull off as the cats scratch.

For our new home I’m looking for trees that look good, and are both fun for the cats and low-maintenance for me – de-furring most cat trees is a challenge – usually requiring a combination of using a dry sponge to remove hair from small areas and a handheld vacuum to get the larger surfaces. Every time I do it, I think how wonderful it would be if they could be easily vacuumed. This means no more pagodas even though from every other standpoint the pagoda design works great – see photo.

Fortunately I found a web site that has a collection of arty cat trees that were designed with the three factors I’m looking for in mind: ModernCat.Net. The three I’m considering are the Whisker Studio’s Egg-shaped Climber Tower, The Square Cat Habitat Baobab, and The Refined Feline Lotus Cat Tower – or the scaled-down 4’ version called Little Lotus. One of those plus three or four of Angelical Cat’s small contemporary trees should give our cats all the scratching and perching space they want – and will keep them from scratching and perching in areas we’d prefer to keep for human use.

Cat trees come in all shapes, sizes and price ranges to fit the number and ages of your cats – and your budget. If you don’t have a cat tree and want to get one, here are some things to consider before purchasing one:

1. Decide how much money you’re willing to spend – the nicest ones are priced accordingly. If it helps, think of it as a piece of furniture for your living room.

2. Evaluate the trees relative to the age and agility levels of your cats. As cats age, their jumping skills diminish and need perches closer together – if the perches are too far apart, the older cat simply won’t be able to use them.

3. Visit local pet stores to see what they carry – but don’t be put off by what you see. They tend to carry the lower-priced trees that your cats will enjoy but won’t hold up over time and may not fit with your living room décor.

4. Search the Internet for more creative alternatives. Many can be shipped unassembled to save on shipping. If the tree is too large for UPS delivery, be wary -- as the shipping may double the cost.

5. Make sure the tree is heavy enough that your cat can’t knock it over.

6. Make sure the tree is easy to clean – nothing looks worse than a cat tree covered with hair.

Once you get the tree, choose a prime location for it. Put it in the room your cats spend most of their time – possibly in front of a window. If the location is right, your cats will immediately choose it over less desirable areas – for sleeping, scratching, and peeping.

Trees help expand the area cats have by making good use of vertical space – and when you have cats that are just starting to live together – the more timid cats can find safety in climbing a tree. Once the cats bond – as Emmy, Robin (hidden inside the pagoda), Onyx and Simon are – they can congregate on the perches together much like kids at a playground.

Can Feral Cats Live Indoors?

Recently I commented to a friend that the most challenging part of our cross-country move will be getting Larry, Joyce, Cleo and Emmy into the van for the journey. Unlike our other older cats, these four are feral– or heirloom -- as I prefer to think of them. They were born outdoors and were never socialized to people during their first 8 weeks of life. Although they’ve enjoyed our indoor hospitality for four years, they still won’t allow us pick them up – much less put them in carriers. They trust us, but only so far. So my friend suggested we return them to the outdoors -- intimating they’d happier that way.

I love the friend dearly, but was saddened that I’d been so ineffective in explaining to her what a feral cat is. Like many people, she’s bought the concept that a feral cat is wired differently than a companion cat. And – given the option – they would choose living outdoors and hunting for their food to living indoors with all the amenities a companion cat enjoys. This is simply not true.

The terms feral and companion refer only to how a cat relates to humans and not to where they live. Locator terms like “house cats”, “barn cats”, alley cats” and “yard cats” depict their homes – there are feral cats living indoors (as Larry, Joyce, Cleo and Emmy) and companion cats living out doors as well.

The term feral wasn’t used very much to define a cat until Alley Cat Allies began promoting trap-neuter-return (TNR) in the early 1990’s. Before then, a cat was a cat and was tagged only by where they lived – house v. barn etc. The value of identifying feral cats as a category was to gain community acceptance of cats living outdoors – something they’ve done since they were first brought to North America by the pilgrims.

By accepting cats as viable outdoor wildlife, it was then possible to begin a pro-active spay/neuter campaign. Before Alley Cat Allies, only pet cats were routinely sterilized and this resulted in large numbers of kittens each year born to the outdoor cats. The pre-1990 Companion Animal Movement – largely defined by the old-guard humane societies and county animal control agencies – campaigned that it was unsafe for a cat to live outdoors – possibly as a justification of their routine killing of those outdoor cats when well-meaning people bring them to the shelter – a practice most still follow today. But now, thanks to Alley Cat Allies countering that practice with advocating TNR programs to leave the cats in place and sterilize them so they won’t reproduce -- we have our best chance at ending the unnecessary killing of healthy but homeless cats.

When that day comes, perhaps all cats – even those tagged as feral – may be able to have an indoor home with a loving guardian pampering them in the same way companion cats are today. If not, as we already have learned, they can continue to live outdoors the life of an heirloom cat.

And no, we wouldn’t consider leaving Larry and company behind. Although they’re not proverbial lap cats, they do provide us with unlimited enjoyment and we provide them with a safe home and plenty of food and comforts. We believe very strongly that all cat lives have value –feral or friendly. And once you commit to the care of a cat, you’re committing to that care for life.