Should I throw this cat furniture out - or try to encourage my cats to use it?
I'll keep the single scratching post and the drum (now being used as a table for a basket of walnuts). My 4 cats only climb the trees when I encourage them to do so. They never use the boxes - sometimes they peer inside. I leave catnip toys on the platforms but they are never removed. The trees are stable - in fact we'd added a rod to keep the two blocks fixed together.
The larger cat tree is at least 8 years old. I've replaced the scratching posts at the lowest level many times but the rest is original. The smaller tree is more than 3 years old but even the little ball is still attached. I have an identical tree in the basement and can easily replace the damaged parts.
Here is a picture showing how my cats prefer to hang out. (One has just walked out of the picture). The furry thing in the hammock is a toy!
My cats are between 8 and 14 years old. None of them have any problem jumping onto tables, sofas, beds and window ledges. When I was fostering orphaned kittens in this room, the tree was always in use. And my older cat who died over 2 years ago would climb the tree simply to get away from the other cats.
Now it's superfluous and a relic. I've got some spare supports in the basement so I could repair the legs again. But, perhaps I should just throw it out before I start redecorating the room. When it's gone I'll have more space to move things around........ and hopefully I'll never feel the need to replace it.
Train the cats to use it, or throw it out - that's the question!
I'll keep the single scratching post and the drum (now being used as a table for a basket of walnuts). My 4 cats only climb the trees when I encourage them to do so. They never use the boxes - sometimes they peer inside. I leave catnip toys on the platforms but they are never removed. The trees are stable - in fact we'd added a rod to keep the two blocks fixed together.
The larger cat tree is at least 8 years old. I've replaced the scratching posts at the lowest level many times but the rest is original. The smaller tree is more than 3 years old but even the little ball is still attached. I have an identical tree in the basement and can easily replace the damaged parts.
Here is a picture showing how my cats prefer to hang out. (One has just walked out of the picture). The furry thing in the hammock is a toy!
My cats are between 8 and 14 years old. None of them have any problem jumping onto tables, sofas, beds and window ledges. When I was fostering orphaned kittens in this room, the tree was always in use. And my older cat who died over 2 years ago would climb the tree simply to get away from the other cats.
Now it's superfluous and a relic. I've got some spare supports in the basement so I could repair the legs again. But, perhaps I should just throw it out before I start redecorating the room. When it's gone I'll have more space to move things around........ and hopefully I'll never feel the need to replace it.
Train the cats to use it, or throw it out - that's the question!
