He's 4 years old and likes to sleep lol, he's a bit chubby so I was thinking of putting his food on the top of it. He's a lazy boy, but he jumps up on the coffee table all the time, so he might enjoy it. Do you think I should make him one or should I even bother?
Answer:
Mircat:
The problem with cats not liking cat trees and scratching posts most often is that they are not stable. Quality trees and posts MUST be weighted heavily on the base because if you get a full sized cat standing and pushing against a post to claw it's going to tip the post over or rock it back and forth. That kind of movement scares a cat away. Because 99 percent of the posts are not tall enough or weighted enough they are frankly a big waste of money.
As for cat trees, mostly they are a waste of money if they are not minimum 5 feet tall but 6 feet is better. Most cats love the height and feel safe and very territorial up there resting and looking over their estate. I used to have a tortie who would dangle off the side of the tree hanging onto the top shelf and rock the tree back and forth. If it hadn't been weighted she'd have crashed it many times.
I would NOT recommend putting cat food up there! That's not going to help the cat lose weight and if the cat rocks the tree the food is coming down. If you want to exercise your cat, make sure it receives a health clearance from the vet meaning that the cat's heart is okay. Overworking a cat that's too fat or has a medical issue could kill the cat.
If you want to exercise the cat, go to the pet supply store and get two items: a kitty teaser and a laser light. Set up two play sessions every day of 30 to 60 minutes and play hard. It's the sustained play that makes a cat burn calories, not climbing a cat tree. It's same as with people, walking is okay but the heart rate needs to be raised to make it count so it needs to be fast walking.
Look on Amazon.com for cat trees sometimes even with shipping you can find a good buy.
Good luck!
Meow: I would focus on getting the weight off him because obesity is REALLY bad for cats. It leads to diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease, arthritis.
Instead of wasting your money on a cat tree he's too fat to climb stop feeding him cheap grocery store dry food. Obviously that's what you're feeding or you wouldn't have a fat cat. Foods like that are made mostly of corn and with NO real meat.
Switch to a food that's grain free and with real meat as the first ingredient. Both Petco and PetSmart have quite good selection. Then just put out a small handful twice a day - that's all your cat needs. Also give it a bit of quality canned food daily.
Lucius: Why's a tree much money? Get your cat a tree stump from someone who has, well, tree stumps, and the cat will be happy, and the stump won't cost you anything except the money you give voluntarily.
Even in a big city, it can't be so hard to
- find one who goes out in the woods
- cuts trees, and
- is nice enough to give your cat a tree stump for christmas
I'd have three in a day if I were you.
Rae: I have seen some pretty good sized cat trees on amazon for like $50. The ones at the pet stores like Petco are usually way marked up, and you can find them much cheaper online. I made my own cat tree with an actual tree. My cat loves it.
Unless you have double doors though a tree like mine probably wouldn't fit in your home. I also had someone who made me a custom base for it out of metal so it didn't tip, which is another thing most people cant do on their own. I have seen some pretty nifty cat trees made out of cardboard boxes and tubes.
Karina: Yes you should. Cats are made to be sitting on things above the ground. Being on the ground makes them feel cornered and can then make them angry. If you don't have the money you could always make one. There are tutorials online, but you need to get your cat off the ground. Watch 'my cat from hell'. It's a good show that covers a lot of common issues/mistakes people make when owning a cat.
Mr.Trims: Honestly I don't think he will use it:(
There are a lot of people I know who are selling their cat tree because the reason is their cats don't use it,it's the same with scratching posts I made a lot of scratching posts for my cats they never use it only when they go outside they use the trees.your right it's a waste of money just get him something like a tunnel to play in not a whole cat tree.good luck!
Jhon: All cats like to sit up high and watch everything. I made one years ago with a 4 X4 and two fiberboard disks with holes cut to crawl through on each one. I used L brackets and screws to connect the disks to the 4 X 4.
At the top there was a 12" X12" 1/2 plywood. At the bottom was another one but I drilled a hole in the bottom of the 4 X 4 and put a 1/2" stove in it with a large washer and a nut to adjust the height so it stayed. The bottom of the stove bolt rested on the other 12" X 12" plywood piece.
I attached carpet with contact cement and carpet tacks.
I have a open screened in porch and just used a piece of plywood screwed it to the railing and added a leg for support. Covered with carpet and my cat loves to sit and watch the birds. He is about 14 ft above the ground.
Nameless: Armarkat trees are not too expensive. I used to have one and it lasts years with several cats. The only reason I tossed it was because it got dirty (due to feeding my cats on it). But it never broke down, tipped over etc.
Now I have shelves everywhere. My cats seem to prefer them and they don't take up floor space. They are cheap if you make them yourself.
