Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This cat tree is awesome! We got our female cat as a kitten, and had no idea how big she would grow to be (adopted, didn't know anything about her when we got her). She was kind of a runt when she was born, so we figured she'd stay small. My husband said we could get a cat as long as it was female, short haired and stayed fairly small. Well, she ended up being part Maine Coon, and at 2.5 years old, she weighs almost 18 lbs. Long haired and massive. Whoops. At least she's female? The cat tree came quickly with Prime shipping and was so easy to put together. Overall, this cat tree is awesome. There are some minors cons that I'll get into later. Pros: 1. Stability - Like I said, she's a big girl, so I was worried about stability. This cat tree is probably the most stable I've come across. It's still a tiny bit wobbly, but not to an even semi-concerning level, and in a corner it's near perfect. If the base had been made 1-2 inches wider, it would be absolutely perfect. The lower single standing ledge box (no clue what the actual term is, on top of a single sisal scratcher) causes the tree to come away from the wall about 1-2 inches on one side. I'll probably have my husband cut a piece of wood to wedge in there so it's even more stable. If she was a smaller cat, I wouldn't have any concerns at all, and your average cat doesn't usually meet or exceed 18 pounds. 2. Materials - I love the fleece part instead of the ugly orange-brown, shiny carpet that cat trees are usually made with. It's a light pinkish color, and I think it's actually pretty attractive (for a cat tree). It's cute without being girly. So much better looking than the typical materials used. It doesn't stand out like a sore thumb, which I appreciate. 3. Assembly - As I mentioned earlier, it was incredibly easy to assemble. Some large bolts, a washer, an alan wrench and 30 minutes (max) later and you're done. My two daughters (1.5 and 3.5) helped my husband put this together. He put the first ledge on backwards (not the base) so I took it partially apart and fixed it, and it maybe took 10 minutes total from partial disassembly to fixing it to reassembling. He said that originally he had it the correct way, but it looked strange so he switched it. At first it does look a little strange, but follow the picture on amazon. The rope behind it should be hanging straight down, not resting on the shelf. This provides a platform for the cat to use to get into the house on the next level. Sure, some cats will be brave enough to jump all the way up, but for larger cats, this could cause the tree to feel unsteady under their weight/size, and frighten the cat. Then your cat tree is useless, because kitty won't go near it. The platform also provides kittens with a way to climb up the tree easier. So make sure it's the right way, especially if your cat isn't into the tree at first, which is how I noticed the error. 4. Use - My cat has had the same small scratch post since we got her when she was roughly 8 weeks old (http://www.amazon.com/Best-Choice-Products-Scratcher-Furniture/dp/B008GG9FSS/ref=sr_1_53?ie=UTF8&qid=1434488930&sr=8-53&keywords=cat+scratch&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011 - just like that, except instead of a sleeper basket it had the additional posts and balls). The base was that shiny carpet material usually used for cat scratches, and it has a half dome of sisal that she loves scratching. It used to have a scratch post and 3 mini scratchers with balls hanging off, but she destroyed that part very quickly. She is obsessed with it, and scratches it intensely every time I go to clean her litter box or feed her. The sisal is finally starting to come undone from the half dome (I’m actually pretty impressed with the quality of that part of the scratcher), so I knew it was time for a new one. I came to Amazon looking for a good deal on a larger scratcher for her, and found this cat tree. The reviews are plentiful and at the time of this review has 4.5 stars. There was also one available on Amazon warehouse with no defects at all, for around $55, so I pounced on it (dad-joke pun intended). My cat loves this tree. Initially she was very unsure of it, even before she got on it. After about 10 minutes she started rubbing her face on the corner. I left her alone and came back 10 minutes later and she had already killed one of the toys on the top, so I knew she had at least tried it out, which was reassuring. Nothing worse than trying to get an unwilling cat to try new things. She was pretty hesitant of it, until I brought it into my bedroom and adjusted the bottom platform. Since she chewed through the string of the toy, I tied some thick hair ties together and strung that through the loop provided. (Shown in picture, I also tied the ball to the bottom for now). She's obsessed with hair ties and plays fetch with them (to an annoying level). That instantly spiked her attention and she wanted at them. Cons: 1. The base - As I mentioned above, the base is about 1-2 inches too short on one side. This minor addition wouldn't have cost the company too much, and would have made this cat tree perfect. It already blows the competition out of the water, but the incredible stability would have really set them apart. 2. The toys - Good god, the toys. I don't know what they were thinking with those thin little strings. They basically made an amazing, sturdy cat tree, built for withstanding the brute force of multiple felines, and then included these puny toys. Seriously, a newborn kitten could chew though one of these while still blind. I figure the company threw the toys in as extras, but didn't care much what people thought of them, because even without them the cat tree is great. And since there's a built in loop provided, the owner is free to hang their own cat toys from it anyway, which is pretty cool. Most scratchers have the toy stapled to it, so when the cat destroys the string in 1 second, it's worthless, unless you want to put another industrial sized staple in the scratcher (which will, as you know, last 1 second before annihilation). That being said, the balls coaxed my cat up onto the tree, so she must like them. She's pretty desensitized to toys like that, since I have two toddlers and she's around toys all day long. Apparently there's just something about them that she likes. I'm going to find a way to reattach them with something much more sturdy. Thicker hair ties work great, since they can stretch very far without breaking. If you do this, PLEASE MONITOR your cat's play with them. Inspect the hair ties for breakage, and use thicker ones. Don't use child's hair ties, as they break easily after minimal use. If one does break it could pose as a choking or blockage risk if ingested. Despite the few flaws this product has, I’m rating it 5 stars. This cat tree is attractive (for a cat tree), affordable, sturdy and well liked by a cat as large as a Maine Coon, whose only scratcher (which she loved to death) prior to this tree was a smaller, floor scratcher. I’ll update with durability once we've had it for a while, as this is her first day of use.