Kitty City Premium Scratching Post

I have now ordered three of these. I have been using them for three years now and am well pleased with the quality and durability. I bought the first nearly 3 years ago and another for myself about a year ago after getting another young cat who liked the first one. I got the perch accessory for the second one and the young cat absolutely fell in love with being able to sleep and judge everyone from it. After this duration of time and three cats (2yrs, 4yrs and 8yrs) using them constantly, the post covering is showing a lot of wear, but the actual units are in excellent shape. I wish they sold replacement coverings or just the covered post itself. The base and toppers are perfect and the structural integrity of the post is still great. I am currently looking into replacement materials for the scratching cover, otherwise I will buy another one to replace the oldest. I can't imagine not having at least one of these in the house.Another thing I dearly love about these posts is the size. They are much taller than the carpeted or roped posts that I used to use. Even my longest cat can reach up and get a good vertical stretch and scratch on these. On the shorteer posts, he had to reach out lengthwise to scratch on them. My Maine Coon wouldn't use the shorter posts at all, opting instead for my carpeted studio speakers. With the height of these, even she uses them and has since ignored the speakers.I will never go back to the shorter scratching posts with sisal rope or carpet again. The cats adore them and they hold up much better than the others. Carpeted/rope post = useless after about 3 months. These posts are still used daily after almost three years. Excellent bang for the buck.I liked this post so well that I bought a third one and gave to my mother for her "cat room". She also loved it, however it didn't fair so well in her environment. The cats managed to actually break the post away from the base and crash the whole thing. Mind you that this took a home with 11 indoor cats (most of them very young and high energy/rambunctious) to break it and they only had one to share amongst them. She has since bought two more of them and they are faring much better as the cats are getting a little older and aren't having to fight over only one of them.Plain and simple, if you have cats then you need this scratching post. You will not regret it and the fur babies will thank you.

Update: Almost a year and a half later, I'm buying a new one of these to replace the one our cats have used heavily every day. They finally managed to tear one section up enough to warrant replacement, though the unit itself is still solid, and most of the surface is still good (except that one spot). We did have an odd experience, though: When we first got the scratching post, we rewarded our cats with treats (actually, healthy dry food) for using it. They quickly started using it to get our attention, and it became the place we'd set any treats down for them to eat. Once the one section finally started fraying, the small strands from it drifted down, and the cats ate some. We saw those in their poop, thought they'd gotten worms, and took them to the vet unnecessarily. They're fine, and that's probably a risk if you feed cats by any scratching post, but I thought I'd mention it in case it helps anyone else diagnose a problem. :-) Overall, this has proven to be a very good scratching post. This time, we're buying the bed, too, to see if our younger cat will like it.Original Review:I bought this while training our cats to use a scratching post, because our old one was short and light, and the cats would sometimes get a claw stuck and end up carrying it with them in their attempts to get free. Eventually, the carpet started pulling away from the core, and I decided it was time to get a new one. I chose this one despite some warnings about its smell, and it's been working fine for months now.It had a very mild scent when I opened the box, which quickly dissipated and which I probably only noticed because other reviewers had me a little paranoid. I sit right next to it when working on the computer (I work from home), and I'm sensitive to chemical smells, so I would definitely notice if this one were a problem, but it's not.It's taller and heavier than the old one I was replacing, so the cats can stretch upwards when they scratch, and it stays in place nicely. In fact, it's strong enough for our younger cat to climb up the side of it onto the perch - something he frequently does when I'm absorbed in a meeting and not paying him enough attention. (He puts on a good show by climbing up, reaching down, and pulling at the toy to make it ring. My coworkers are very amused.) When I eventually need a replacement, I might get the bed option for him.BTW, for the many reviewers who've complained that their cats ignore scratching posts, it's definitely possible to teach them. With our current two cats, I started by putting treats on the base of it to get them interested. Then, I gave them treats whenever they scratched it. After they got used to that idea, I started alternating treats with petting and verbal praise (in which I repeatedly used the phrase "scratching post" so they'd associate those words with the actual item). Whenever they scratched anywhere else, I'd tell them "no" firmly and then more gently tell them to go use their scratching post. The older one has the concept completely at this point and now uses the other scratching posts in the house, too; I haven't seen him scratch the carpet or furniture in months. The younger cat still occasionally scratches something else, so I might try an approach that worked really well for a cat we had many years ago: I'd tell her "no," pick her up and take her to the scratching post, set her down there and hold her paws while mimicking the scratching motion and praising her enthusiastically, take her back to where she was scratching and tell her "no" while mimicking the motion there, and then return to the scratching post. I still remember the "lightbulb" look in her eyes when she abruptly understood. For the remainder of her lifetime after that, she'd go to the scratching post whenever we were in the room together, scratch it joyously while looking at me, and preen while I praised her. Scratching is natural cat behavior, and they get upset and confused if they're yelled at for it, but you can definitely turn scratching into a positive interaction for both of you.

Great scratch post. Built tough big and tall and nice decoration to any room. What's not to love right? right? I think it looks pretty darn good. It's built tough also. Did I mention that? I'm not willing to drop $24.99 for the top upgrade where they can lay in. Bring it down to $19.99 and add in the little toy ball on string hanging from it and we got a deal. It doesn't have the toy ball for an extra $25 the standard top would have nothing on it and it does. It's the little toy ball on a string. As is out of the box this is a winner, but make the upgraded top attachment $19.99 and include the toy ball to it. Now you'd have a really deluxe cat scratcher with sleeping until on top and the ball to play with.Out of the box though this one shines! I like it quite a bit. I liked the first one I bought that I bought a second one. Remember when they were out of stock for a hot minute when everybody was going nuts over this? LOL Yeah I remember when you all went nuts! I got one though. Hated when it went up to $49.99 because ya'll went nuts. I paid $37 for the first one and $42 for for the second one. I didn't pay $49 when you all acted half freaking insanely nuts. Calm down it's a cat scratcher post. Act nuts about it lately? Not me.

***Update~ I contacted Kitty City about our scratching post since we were past amazon’s return period. Kitty City was quick to respond and eager to help with our problem. After emailing some basic information, they volunteered to send out a new scratching post to replace the broken one. It was refreshing to deal with a company that cares about customer service and doesn’t just send out a canned response or make you jump through hoops.I’m updating my review to 4 stars to reflect the excellent customer service. If our new scratching post passes 6-8 weeks without a wobble, I will happily bump it up to 5 stars.***We ordered this scratching post because we have a larger breed kitten and this post is nice and tall and a little wider than some of the other tall posts available. Also, we liked that it came with a perch on top for her to use. It arrived 6 weeks ago with some damage and A number of scratches and scuffs to the finish on the base. We were willing to overlook that because it we figured it would soon have scratches from our kitten anyway and we could put the damages section against the wall. We set it up right away. It was very easy to put together and seemed really sturdy for our 6.5 pound Ragdoll kitten.Within the first week, I started noticing the post had a wobble to it when she would climb. I thought maybe it just needed some tightening, but all of the bolts were snug. Our kitten loves the post. It has been her favorite place to scratch since we got it. The texture of the woven sisal is very enticing for her and she loved to climb on top to get a better view out the window. I give it 2 stars for that, but sadly, ours was very lacking in quality. This morning, as she was scratching and climbing, the post came right off the base! It’s a good thing we were there when it happened, because she immediately tried to crawl inside the tube and the inside has a bunch of sharp staples poking through. Thankfully she didn’t get hurt, but she is not even big yet and this thing only lasted her 6 weeks with normal kitten use.She loved it so much, I would have easily given it 5 stars if it had been sturdy and lasted...

UPDATE two years later: this is still my cats’ favorite piece of furniture/cat toy and hands down the BEST scratch post we’ve ever had. It’s started showing significant wear and tear recently (the seem of the woven sisal cover was splitting open towards the top) and when I contacted the company about getting a replacement cover or repair, the responded immediately and favorably. We’ve had no problems with the base slipping or scratching our hard wood floors and it looks nice enough as part of our living room decor. Sisal has held up ASTOUNDINGLY well after two years of heavy use. One of the cats sits on top all the time and one enjoys climbing it like a tree. They both stretch and scratch it regularly throughout the day.ORIGINAL review: Both of my 1 1/2 year old cats LOVE this. We had a shorter scratch post (that was still considered tall) with wound sisal rope that they destroyed and both cats are vertical scratchers so we decided to replace it with this taller one. The woven sisal on this has held up really well (we’ve had it for about 5 weeks) and both cats took to it very quickly. I was worried about the texture being different for them, but it didn’t seem to matter. It’s tall enough for both kitties to get a good stretch and even climb it like a tree! They pretty much ignore the hanging toy, but one loves getting on top and taunting the other one below. It’s much taller and thicker than traditional scratch posts, but it’s very well made with a sturdy base and solid construction. I like that the top platform is big enough for my cat to sit on and has a comfortable hard rubber surface with a removable cover. I will probably have to wash it every now and then because it is well used so the removable cover is important! Only one of my cats jumps on top, and it took a few weeks and some coaxing before he realized he could do it. Now he sits up there all the time like the King of Sheba. We couldn’t be happier with this product. I will update in a year to share how well it’s held up, but I think it will last quite awhile.

Our cat loves her new scratching post. She’s ripped her previous two to shreds. This one looks to be of a sturdier construction with the added bonus of a cat perch and toy ball. She can stretch out and dig her claws in, then climb on board. Too soon to tell how it will hold up over time but we have a good beginning.

Excellent! Attractive. Easy to assemble. I just set it up, so I can't comment on durability, but it was $20 less than a similar version I bought a few years ago. I’m very happy this far.

The height and the stability of these posts are great. I do have an orange cat who is quite large and this post is great for him. The only drawback is that he is so aggressive on the scratching of this post that he literally tears the scratching surface apart. My other cats are not as aggressive as he is, and the post stands up to their abuse. Based on that observation, I can't blame the product for what one cat does to it. It's a good product and has outlasted all other posts that we have had.

I barely had a chance to get this assembled before the cats were all over it. Both my senior and young cat use it several times throughout the day, and so far it is holding up well. The height of this post allows them to stretch their muscles and the woven sisal works well to help them keep their nails in good condition. The younger cat loves the cylindrical shape to 'pole dance' around when she gets excited, and the top perch is just a nice size for her to sit on to survey her kingdom. The post seems to be very sturdy and we have had no tip overs thus far. It's also quite a nice looking post.

Easy to assemble. The height allows a cat to stretch fully and scratch, with room to spare. My cat took to it instantly, scratching and climbing, and she enjoys just sitting at the top. I place toys on top for her to retrieve, which she enjoys, and I also sometimes put it on its side for a change of perspective. She has an assortment of diversions which are rotated so that she doesn't become bored. This scratching post is constantly available to her, obviously, and she doesn't tire of it but now takes little notice of the attached plastic ball. Highly recommended.

This is my 2nd purchase with the first made a couple of months ago. I have tried other brands where the seams come apart after a few days of kitties' scratching. If the platform rest is an inch wider, it would be perfect for my big kitties and given a 5-star rating for the product.

Cats took to it really well for scratching. Only one cat will sit on it and usually to swipe her brother from it. Neither use the ball. 8 months of use and it still looks new. Excellent quality at a very reasonable price. Has saved the furniture from scratching!

Amazing quality and very sturdy. Have had it for 5 years and it's still in good condition and my cat uses it multiple times a day.