I had gotten a new 6 foot tall cat scratching post with shelves and a bottom cubby over the winter and when I opened the box it smelled horrible, a combination of glue and a weird wood smell. I had to leave it in the garage for over a month, slowly assembling it to help it air out. Since it was winter and cold here, I had to wait for sunny, not snowing or raining and breezy days to leave it outdoors for the smell to finally go away.The new Condo has a strange smell to me,can't place it but the smell of sisal spool?
I assume since it came from China and contains wood products, it needed to be treated or fumigated to enter the country. I almost returned it to Chewy but thankfully it no longer smells.