Cat furniture is known by several names. Some of the common ones are Cat Condos, Cat Trees, Cat Climbers, Cat Towers, Cat Gyms, and Cat Scratchers. In fact, there are dozens more. No matter what you use to describe the cat furniture, the aim is just the same – to give your cat’s instinctual desire to scratch without causing damage to your carpet, furniture, or other belongings.
Buying tips
Nowadays, t
here are several types of cat furniture. They are made from a broad range of materials. This makes shopping for cats quite confusing. What materials can you choose? Which design and size are appropriate? In this post, we will try to answer the above questions so that you can make a sound buying decision.
Why cats scratch
To understand why you need to buy cat furniture, there is a need to know why cats scratch. The major reason for scratching furniture, woodwork, carpets, and other places is to mark their particular territory for other cats. Even if it is a single cat in the house, it will do so. Moreover, scratching is quite helpful in removing dead cells from claw sheaths. Also, it helps them to stretch their ligaments and muscles.
Cat furniture coverings
The majority of cat furniture was covered with a carpet. This makes them look good and makes the ideal for scratching. The cat furniture made today still uses the carpet. Also, the modern carpeting contains fabric loops. After hundreds of scratches, the claws can cut through the loops. This results in messy shredding. The best material that can be used as covering instead of carpet is acrylic material particularly for the use in the furniture industry. Also, fur is becoming very popular.
Structural materials
Underlyin
g structural materials offer the strength of cat furniture. The vertical posts are made of heavy cardboard tubes and the horizontal surfaces made of pressboard or plywood. In some instances, manufacturers use cardboard for enclosure walls as they do not add much weight. There is a misconception that wooden woods provide more structural integrity as compared to the cardboard tubes. However, this is not always the case. Wood is only stronger a compared to cardboard when flat.
Freestanding or floor-to-ceiling
The cat furniture models can be either be floor-to-ceiling or freestanding. Usually, freestanding cat furniture is bottom-heavy and wide to prevent trapping of cats. On the other hand, floor-to-ceiling models offer a lot of stability.