Cheap Cat Tree: Where to Find It and at What Price?
Summary
– Cheap cat tree: criteria of choice
– Where to buy a cheap cat tree
– How to make a cheap cat tree
The cat tree is an accessory designed to allow the cat to do its claws on a trunk made of rope or sisal. Its two ends are fixed on supports that can be a platform to observe or a cube that serves as a hiding place. The more complex the cat tree and the more parts it has, the higher the price. Our tips for getting a cheap cat tree!
Cheap cat tree: selection criteria
According to the size of the cat
Cats do their claws when they emerge from a long nap to stretch their bodies. The cat tree must therefore be large and stable enough for the cat to stretch.
If you intend to keep your cat tree the same, get one with a trunk size of more than 60 cm and a diameter of 9 cm.
Tip: Don’t waste your money on small kitten trees.
For indoor cats
Indoor cats need exercise to stay fit and healthy: they need to be able to climb and jump. For them, you’ll want to choose a 170 cm or taller model with multiple tiers and trunks. If your space is small and sparsely furnished, it’s even more important to expand it vertically.
Tip: Choose narrow and high models to be placed near a window or in a corner.
Safety and quality
Quality is often a function of price. Cat trees have three components:
– the solid cardboard trunk covered with rope ;
– the base made of chipboard and covered with stapled fabric;
– the plastic parts, which are the fixing structures.
As a criterion of choice, a wide base of length equal to the height of the trunk, with two trunks to support a niche or platform, will ensure a good balance of the whole and will not topple when the cat hangs.
Note: Avoid cat trees with a single trunk attached to a single support unless the base has a round shape with a diameter twice the height of the trunk.
A brittle wood cluster is a sign of structural weakness if the tree falls under the assault of, for example, two cats playing on it or if it is moved regularly.
Caution: A problem that cannot be avoided if you buy online or without touching the model on display is a loose rope with staples that can be seen or guessed. If the rope comes undone by the cat’s claws, the clasps will come loose and may injure the cat or small children.
Another problem that can only be prevented by relying on the markings is poor quality plastic on the attachment brackets. If the model is properly assembled and balanced, they may break.
Note: Cat trees built by European manufacturers (Italian in particular), specializing in plastic molds for the production of transport cages, litter boxes, rabbit and mouse cages, will be of better quality than those of unknown brands (who outsource to China).
Finally, the purely aesthetic side: being able to touch the fabric to ensure that it is not too thin and that it fits well on the support, is the guarantee that it will not tear too quickly and will wash well (and will withstand the passage of the vacuum cleaner).
Good to know: If you bought online and detect a bad product quality, feel free to send it back. You have the right to a 14-day cooling-off period.
Where to buy a cheap cat tree
In pet shops or supermarkets when they have promotions, usually in September, December, and January. Online pet stores have many models of various sizes.
Please note: Due to the volume of orders, they can offer more competitive prices in general; they regularly do promotions and destock on models that have not pleased customers.
The recommended price is between $30 and $70, depending on the size and brand.
Many owners get rid of cat trees when they move or have lost their cat. This is how cat trees end up on the second-hand market: in barter stores or resold on general classifieds sites.
Do not buy without seeing the condition of the accessory:
– Has it been assembled properly? Can you take it apart easily?
– Has it been outside (check for water stains on the wood)?
– Is it stable?
Tip: You can refurbish a cat tree by changing the fabric to fit your home or the trunk if the rope is too damaged.
You can find second-hand cat trees that are still in good condition for between $25 and $60, depending on the size or brand.
Making a cheap cat tree
If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, there’s no need to invest in a cat tree. So the inside or outside of a chest of drawers lined with sisal or wool rug will do the trick and be discreet.
Wall lamps (shelves) can be judiciously arranged in a staircase: the cat can jump from one to the other, making it a point of observation and a place to rest.
A rattan umbrella pot, if stable, can also be used as a cat tree.
Caution: Large tree branches or wooden poles do not make good clawing accessories because they are too hard and treated with harmful products to air quality.
Some online pet stores sell replacement rope poles. They come in different sizes so that you can design your own. If you can find a large piece of virgin cork bark, your cat will thank you: you can buy it from cork manufacturers.
Tip: Leave it in its natural rounded shape (from the bark of the cork oak trunk); the cat will also use it as a crib. You can leave it outside on your balcony.
