Cat furniture is a commodity that is known by means of countless names. The a good number regular take in Cat Trees, Cat Condos, Kitty Condos, Cat Towers, Cat Climbers, Cat Scratchers along with Cat Gyms. There are dozens more, excluding what term you exercise to explain cat furniture, the reason is the similar - to enable your cats to go behind their instinctual desire to scratch lacking damaging your furniture, carpet, or additional belongings, along with along to give them a place of their hold where they can exercise, play, along with lounge.

There are countless unlike types of cat furniture, made from such a variety of materials, that shopping for cat furniture can be confusing. Which materials are better? What design is the a good number stable? What size should I buy? Which style would my cat like? In this article, I’ll endeavor to help out you reply these questions accordingly you can make a more informed buying decision.

Why Do Cats Scratch?

In regulate to be completely informed when buying cat furniture, it’s helpful to realize why it is that cats scratch in the first place. The primary cause for cats scratching furniture, carpets, woodwork, or additional objects is to mark their territory for additional cats (this is instinctual, accordingly they will do this still condition they are the barely cat in the house). Additionally, the scratching helps remove the dead cells from the claw sheaths, along with stretches their muscles along with ligaments.

Feline performance is consistent, whether it’s a tiger in the wild, or a Maine Coon in a condominium. Scratching is the way they reply to additional felines in the area “Hey, I’m here, along with this is my place”. Scratching communicates this in 2 ways. The first is obvious - the scratches supply a very visual cue to additional cats. Additionally, cats have scent glands in their paws, which go away pheromones that additional cats can smell. For persons of you that have experience with declawed cats (PLEASE don’t declaw your cats!), that’s the cause that they maintain to scratch still following the claws have been removed.

Cat Furniture Coverings

In the past, a good number cat furniture was covered with carpet. This was a well-deserved choice, because it looks good, along with it provides a material that cats obviously similar to to scratch. A quantity of of the cat furniture manufactured today, in particular hand-made models, static exercise carpet.

Most carpeting at the moment contains fabric loops. Unfortunately, following thousands of scratches, cat claws can cut through these loops, resulting in unsightly along with messy shredding. You’ve maybe seen this yourself.

However, with today’s technology, engineers have developed an acrylic material specifically for exercise in the cat furniture industry. This material, commonly referred to as fake or faux fur, has turn into increasingly popular. The main cause for this popularity is the information that it does not contain loops, accordingly it doesn’t shred similar to carpet does, along with for that reason tends to previous longer than carpet. The drawback is that since it doesn’t offer the resistance that carpet does when they scratch it, cats don’t similar to it for scratching as a good deal as they similar to carpeting.

As a result, a good number cat furniture that provides faux fur along utilizes sisal rope as a covering. Generally, the vertical posts are wrapped with sisal rope, along with the platforms along with enclosures are covered with the acrylic fur.

Sisal rope is made from the Agave Sisalana plant, which is native to the Yucatan area of Mexico. Cats seem naturally drawn to this material, along with not like the acrylic fur, sisal rope provides the resistance that cats require to tune their claws along with stretch their muscles.

Some cat furniture manufacturers that exercise carpet as a covering along offer sisal-wrapped posts, along with in a good number (but not all) cases cats will scratch on the sisal instead of the carpet.

Structural Materials

Obviously the strength of the cat furniture is provided by means of the underlying structural materials. Vertical posts are usually wood 2 x 4’s or heavy cardboard tubes, as horizontal surfaces are also plywood or pressboard. Manufacturers now and again exercise cardboard for enclosure walls that do not bear a few weight load.

It is a regular misconception that wooden posts offer more structural integrity than cardboard tubes. In actuality, this is not necessarily true. Of path each person knows that wood is stronger than cardboard when flat. However, when thick (at slightest 1/4″) cardboard is made into a tube, along with stood up vertically, it can seize an incredible quantity of weight. The addition of a layer of sisal rope wrapped approximately it adds still more strength. One big gain of cardboard posts larger than wooden ones is the weight. Shipping rates are based on weight, along with shipping expenses for a piece of cat furniture made with cardboard posts will be considerably fewer than a comparable model with wooden posts.

For platforms along with weight-bearing walls in enclosures, manufacturers commonly utilize also plywood or pressboard (also known as particle board). Pressboard is fiber pulp that is mixed with a chemical adhesive to create a smooth, uniform board. Plywood is manufactured by means of gluing thin layers of wood together, resulting in a board that is actually stronger than solid wood of the similar thickness.

Generally, plywood is preferred to pressboard for cat furniture platforms for a number of reasons. All through shipping, pressboard is a good deal more likely to be damaged than plywood, in particular condition the carton is dropped on it’s corner. Additionally, pressboard tends to crumble approximately the edges of screw or bolt holes condition the hardware is tightened else much. Pressboard platforms are along more likely to smash condition enough weight or vertical strength is leave on it, as happens condition a child sits on it.

Floor-to-Ceiling or Freestanding?

Cat furniture models will be also freestanding or floor-to-ceiling (commonly referred to as cat trees). Freestanding cat furniture is usually broad along with bottom-heavy, to avert it from tipping larger than when cats are at the top, or are very active. Floor-to-ceiling models exercise tension against the ceiling to supply their stability, along with accordingly do not need as broad a footprint as freestanding models. A properly assembled along with installed floor-to-ceiling model cannot tip over. Usually, the tension against the ceiling is accomplished also through exercise of a spring-tension rod or a screw-based mechanism. This doesn’t imply that the cat tree is screwed into the ceiling. Rather, the topmost post has a threaded bolt, usually topped with a soft protective cap that screws up against the ceiling. Generally, the screw-type cat trees are more stable, in particular condition you have lively cats, along with are along fewer likely to damage the ceiling surface.

So What Should You Buy?

The pick as to what brand of furniture to purchase for Tabby along with Fritz should be determined by means of a combination of factors:

- Do you would like a freestanding or floor-to-ceiling model? This is really more of a personal choice issue than whatever thing else. Condition you have very lively or very large cats, a ground to ceiling model will maybe offer more stability. Condition you have a multi-cat household, particular concentration should be paid to the weight rating of the furniture. It’s along usually potential to secure a free-standing model to a wall with regular brackets along with hardware available at a few home center, in cases where rambunctious kitties root it to rock or tip.

- Which covering? Carpet provides the gain of more color choices, along with condition you’re very particular as regards your cat condo fitting in with your dcor, this might be your most excellent choice. Faux fur models are commonly made in neutral colors similar to beige or taupe, while there are a quantity of exceptions. In also case, having a sisal scratching surface should be a goal condition at all possible.

- Structural materials. Condition you have a choice, choose plywood larger than pressboard. As for the posts, in cooperation cardboard along with wood offer well-deserved stability. As stated earlier, models with wooden posts are heavier along with may price more to ship.

I anticipate that this article has been helpful in explaining the unlike types of cat furniture available, along with the strengths along with weaknesses of all type. In the end, don’t forget that the safety along with happiness of the feline members of your folks should be the a good number chief factors in choosing cat furniture for them.

Nick Bulka operates a number of pet-related web sites. You can visit his sites at http://www.petsupplyguy.com, http://www.cat-scratch.net, http://www.pet-guide.us