I have two cats. Miso is four years old, confident, and has strong opinions about where she is allowed to sit, which is everywhere. Pickle is two, anxious, and follows Miso's lead on most things, including the sofa situation. The sofa situation, by the time I decided to do something about it, involved one arm that had been scratched to the point where the fabric was coming away, a cushion that both cats had claimed as a sleeping spot and which smelled accordingly, and a general sense that the sofa was no longer primarily mine.
My name is Helen Cartwright. I am a librarian from York, and I had been meaning to get a cat tree for about eighteen months. I had been putting it off because the ones I had looked at were either too small to be genuinely useful, too large for my living room, or too expensive for what they were. I had also, if I am honest, been slightly sceptical about whether my cats would actually use one or whether it would become an expensive piece of furniture that they ignored in favour of the sofa.
The Sofa That Finally Pushed Me
It was the arm. I had been watching it deteriorate for months, telling myself I would sort it, and then one Saturday morning I looked at it properly and accepted that it was beyond recovery. The fabric was gone. The foam underneath was visible. Miso was sitting next to it looking entirely unbothered.
I ordered a new sofa and, simultaneously, a cat tree. The logic being that if I was going to have a new sofa, I needed to give the cats somewhere better to be before it arrived.
I found the Feandrea 143cm Cat Tree at ALTOE. The spec addressed everything I needed. Multi-level design with side climbing steps, accessible for cats of different ages and mobility levels. Two top perches for observation. A cat condo cave for privacy and sleeping. A soft hammock. Four scratching posts, which was the key number for me because four posts distributed across the structure meant there was always one near wherever the cats were. Two hanging pompoms with bells for engagement. At 143cm it was tall enough to be genuinely interesting without being too large for my living room corner.
At £52.42 it was considerably less than the new sofa, and considerably less than the cost of reupholstering the arm that Miso had destroyed. I ordered it on a Wednesday. It arrived Friday.
Assembly and First Reactions
Assembly took about forty-five minutes and was straightforward with the included instructions. The structure was solid when finished, no wobble, which matters because a wobbly cat tree is one that cats will not trust. I placed it in the corner of the living room, near the window, which is where both cats already liked to sit.
Miso investigated it within about ten minutes of me finishing assembly. She sniffed the base, scratched one of the posts, climbed to the top perch, and sat there looking out of the window with the expression of a cat who has decided this was always hers. Pickle followed about an hour later, found the condo cave, went inside, and did not come out for two hours.
By the end of the first week, territories had been established. Miso owned the top perch and the hammock. Pickle owned the condo cave and the lower perch. The scratching posts were being used by both, which meant the sofa arm was not. The pompoms had been batted off their attachments by day three and were on the floor, which I consider a sign of enthusiastic engagement.
Eight Months On
The new sofa arrived six weeks after the cat tree. It has not been scratched. Miso has sat on it occasionally, but she prefers the top perch. Pickle has sat on it once, decided the condo cave was better, and not returned. The sofa is, for the first time in four years, primarily mine.
The cat tree has been used every single day for eight months. The scratching posts have worn down slightly, which is exactly what they are supposed to do. The plush covering on the platforms has flattened in the spots where the cats sleep, which is also exactly what it is supposed to do. The structure is still solid. Nothing has come loose or broken.
The side climbing steps have been particularly useful for Miso, who has a slightly arthritic hip and finds direct jumping more difficult than she used to. The stepped access means she can still reach the top perch without the jump, which she does every morning and which I find quietly moving.
My scepticism about whether they would use it was entirely unfounded. They use it constantly. The sofa is fine. I consider this an unqualified success.
The Verdict
If you have cats and furniture you would like to keep, a cat tree is not optional. The Feandrea 143cm is the right choice: tall enough to be genuinely interesting, well-structured enough to be stable, with enough features to give multiple cats their own territories. The scratching posts work, the hammock is used, the condo cave is beloved, and the pompoms lasted three days before being liberated. At £52.42 it is considerably less than a new sofa arm.
Find the Feandrea 143cm Cat Tree at ALTOE. Listed in Pet Supplies, Cat Supplies, Cat Furniture, and Cat Trees & Towers.
Get the cat tree before you need the new sofa. Learn from my mistake.
— Helen Cartwright, York
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