Cats and cat trees/condos

ecp

ecp

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We are looking for a Christmas present for our cat. My fiancé suggested a cat tree so that she can look out the windows and be up high; however, Mac is a weird little kitty. She was a feral kitten about 5 months old when I brought her in before the first snow. She loves both of us but everything else on earth is so scary for her.

She does love to watch squirrels and birdies through the window and she loves playing with her toy mice but it took her almost a year to start playing with her toys.

I'm just worried that we will spend $100 on a store bought cat tree or build one and she will ignore it.
She prefers to be "under" but has shown interest in being up high a few times.

My previous cats just loved to be up high and would climb anything.

Any ideas? We are in grad school most of the day but we make sure she has windows to look out of.
 
Why not buy a real condo for her so that she would live on her own and bring in as many roommates as she wants to? She'll thank you for it.
 
we have big two cat houses and tiny house and they all like it. weird some months they arent interested in them until you move them and near the windows then they would go up on it. it depends on where you have space that nears the window then it will be worth it. we usually move the cat trees so cats find it interesting. Like we will put x mas tree in there this weekend sothe cat house will move again.
 
If your kitties like catnip, you could use that to associate the cat trees with "good stuff/fun" - rub or sprinkle some on it, and/or play with them using catnip toys - near or on the cat trees. Eventually, remove the catnip as a learning tool once the cats start investigating and staying near or on the cat trees by themselves, without use of the catnip.

Food- same idea. Feed them on cat trees...eventually fade <remove/end use of> food.

Don't some of those cat towers have components with spaces for cats going underneath? You could get one that has that, or arrange one in your place so there is a way for her to get "under" somehow<cardboard boxes as part of it, or part of a chair arrangement>, and once she learns that she has someplace safe "under" in the area of the cat tree, she may also investigate further about it and go up or on it.

If you really want to try go with the cat tree idea-
 
cat nip might work for your kitty. I know all of my kitties who were under one year old and were interested in cat nip until they become late 1 yr old or two. They grow to love the catnips a lot. one year is a good time to get a cat house once cat knows how to jump, and climb first.
 
Thanks for the advice.
Mac Cat is approximately 4 years old. I took her in when she was probably a year old.
We recently moved and I guess after spending the first year of her life in the wild she is scared of just about everything.
She has finally gotten used to our new apartment and has been exploring and playing much more than she ever has.
I think a cat tree/condo will be a good Christmas present for her. If she seems apprehensive we will use catnip. She LOOOOVES the nip.

The most interesting thing for me is that Mac seems to know I'm deaf so she doesn't meow at me. Sometimes she opens her mouth but my fiancé says she doesn't make a sound when she is "talking" to me. However, my fiancé, who is hearing, says that when am not home Mac will not be quiet. Mac has even started to meow at him and stand on his chest in the morning when she wants to be fed. I, of course, sleep through it all.
 
I built our own cat condo.. I notice one love to be in box, one love to be on a pillow but softy blanket.. and other one is seem like he always hot, loves kitchen laminate floor or foyer tiles to stay cool and spread out far as possible. So I mix them together into a cat condo... all carpet. Two scratch posts, two slabs, one closed box like house with slab for entry/exit... side catwalk with open top box...and one deck of flat wood (which I will add laminate later to make it feel like its air conditioned)... they all loved it.. then about a month later, they quit using it.. so I have to move it to new spot.. and add some more things to it.. thinking about adding cat walk so they can walk above us when we check our coat closet, and some toys. They always like something new.. so I made our condo available for that. Moving it around is pain in the ass but it is worth it.. saves money and no worries about what condo or toys to buy.
 
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