Cat trees, why you need one

I was very determined to never have a huge ugly cat tree in my condo. Now I have two, and I couldn't be happier! 

Watch any cat show (There's only one right? My Cat From Hell) and one of the main theme's is making sure your cat has space of their own. This will benefit you as well. If your cat has a nice cozy cat tree to call their own, they will hopefully be less interested in your furniture/counter/closet with the treats.

I have two Armarkat cat trees. Believe it or not, the one shown is the smaller one! I have been very impressed with them. They are very solid, have great scratching post and some of the most neutral colors I have found (that are in my budget at least!). I have this 57in Armarkat cat tree in my bedroom, it was the second one I purchased. It has a cubby for sleeping, perches for jumping and laying and post for scratching. Bonus points for putting your tree next to a window, cats love to look out!

Recently I've seen a lot of cat trees that look like actual trees, like this one from CatHaven. I could see my cats liking this but also driving me crazy playing with the leaves. 

If you still aren't ready to get a cat tree, another option is cat shelves. They are just screwed in to your wall, so they can be a bit less intrusive. 

Supplemental to our cat trees, my cats Loki loves to hide and jump out of his tunnel. My cat Mia loves this little ball game, there are a lot of options but she plays everyday on her own (usually at 2am!). Their favorite toy though (other than important papers I have sitting around) is string I made out of old promotional tee shirts, they will chase it endlessly! 

The main goal of cat furniture is to give your cat a place to call their own where they can run, stretch and scratch without getting into trouble. A place where they can feel safe and see any predators as the approach. They are able to relax and nap away from other pets or little hands. Cat furniture may seem like a luxury, but it is vital to the health of your cats. Scratching post help them stretch, exercise and reduce stress and aggression. Within the limited confines of your home cats natural behavior can seem destructive. If you feel like your cat is being naughty, they probably are just bored, and need more opportunities to hunt and explore. You should play with your cat everyday to help them with this, but since you can't be home at all times, cat furniture will be there for them when you can't. 

We'd love to hear what cat furniture you love!