Cat tree: which one to choose, how tall, and where to put it so your cat actually uses it

Cat tree: which one to choose, and what size? The one your cat will use, and it is not always the tallest or the most expensive. A cat asks three things of a tree: to scratch on it at full stretch, to climb it to see the room and the window from above, and to sleep on it where nobody can creep up. The trees that end up in the garage almost all share the same fault: they wobble when the cat jumps on, their posts are too short, or they were put in a corner nobody walks past. Here are our height benchmarks by cat, the stability criteria in numbers, the materials that matter, placement, the wall-mounted alternatives when space is short, and the mistakes to avoid.

Cat tree: the essentials in brief

Sources: International Cat Care, the Ohio State University Indoor Pet Initiative, Cats Protection, ASPCA; dimensions and weights taken from our product sheets.

Contents

What a cat tree is for, and why yours sleeps on it or ignores it

A cat tree is not a decorative piece of cat furniture: it is the answer to three needs every cat has, whether it lives in a flat or goes outside.

• Scratching. A cat scratches to maintain its claws, to mark visually and with the scent of its pads, and to stretch on waking. It starts at about five weeks, and it will do it all its life, on your sofa if nothing else suits better. What it is after, writes International Cat Care, is a surface that offers resistance and does not move while it pulls on it.
• Gaining height. "Cats need something that allows them to elevate themselves from ground level", sums up the Ohio State University Indoor Pet Initiative: a perch is "a safe and private place to watch the action from above", and cats "may feel safer if they can sleep somewhere high", where nobody can surprise them.
• Sleeping under cover. The dens and baskets of a tree are enclosed or enveloping beds, up high and away from traffic: exactly what a cat chooses when left to itself.

If your cat sleeps on its tree but never scratches it, the posts are probably too short or too smooth. If it ignores it altogether, it wobbles, it is badly placed, or it arrived too late: a cat that already has its habits on the armchair takes time to change them. More on that below. And if your cat sleeps all day for want of anything better, read our bored cat guide too.

How tall should a cat tree be?

Two heights matter, and they are not the same.

The height of the scratching post. "It's important the posts are as tall as your cat is when standing on their hind legs in a full stretched scratching position", writes International Cat Care. For an average adult cat that is 60 to 70 cm; for a large cat, 80 cm and more. A 40 cm post on a 170 cm tree is useless for scratching: look at the height of each post section between two platforms, not only the total height. International Cat Care adds that if your adult cat was given a short post as a kitten, "it's time to upgrade to a taller post".

The height of the perch. It depends on what there is to see. A cat wants to overlook the room and, if possible, look out of the window: the top platform should therefore clear the back of the sofa and reach the level of the glass. In an ordinary living room that is between 120 and 180 cm. Higher, you gain a feeling of safety for nervous cats and room for a second bed.

Our benchmarks, by cat:

• Kitten: a small 45 to 100 cm tree is enough for the first months, and it learns on it to scratch in the right place. But it doubles in size in six months: plan the adult model, or get it straight away if it is stable, a kitten climbs anything that does not move.
• Adult cat, flat: 100 to 180 cm, with a den, a basket or a hammock, a perch at the top, and a bottom post of at least 60 cm.
• Large cat or several cats: 180 cm and more, or a floor-to-ceiling model braced to the ceiling. The platforms must take the cat lying down: 40 x 30 cm at least, a 35 cm basket for a 6 to 8 kg cat. An adult Maine Coon lying down takes up 60 cm: read our Maine Coon guide for the dimensions.

Stability: the criterion that decides whether it gets used

All the sources say it in the same words. Cats Protection recommends "a scratching post with a heavy, stable base so it doesn't wobble or topple during use"; the ASPCA: "all cats want a sturdy post that won't shift or collapse when used"; International Cat Care explains that products "too lightweight to support scratching", which "can move around during use", are simply abandoned. A cat that has felt the tree sway once will not climb it again any time soon, and it is right: a 20 kg tree falling on a kitten does happen.

What makes stability, and how to read it on a product sheet:

• The base. The taller the tree, the wider and heavier the base must be. Our benchmarks: 50 x 40 cm for a one-metre tree, 52 x 42 cm and 18 kg for 170 cm, 62 x 52 cm and 25 kg for 210 cm. A heavy base in thick board counts for more than the advertised height.
• The base-to-height ratio. A 170 cm tree on a 40 x 40 cm base will be unstable whatever its weight. Above 150 cm, the base alone is no longer enough: it needs a fixing.
• Fixing to the wall or ceiling. "If an assembled unit feels unstable, you may get a more rigid unit if you attach it via a bracket to the wall", advises International Cat Care. Serious tall trees come with a strap or a wall bracket; floor-to-ceiling models brace against the ceiling with a telescopic rod, which makes them, for the same footprint, the most stable of all. Our cactus tree adjusts from 229 to 275 cm and screws to the ceiling with its bracket, on a 40 x 24 cm base.
• The posts. 7 to 9 cm in diameter for medium trees, 9 cm and more for tall ones; a thin post flexes, and the cat feels it.
• The load. When the manufacturer states it, it is a static, distributed load: our tall models state 80 kg in total according to the manufacturer, which leaves room for three cats, not for an adult sitting on it.

The test at home, once assembled: push the top platform with your hand. If the tree sways by more than a few centimetres, fix it before the cat tries it. And tighten all the screws again after a month: the posts work loose.

Sisal, plush, cardboard, wood: the materials

• Sisal, on the posts, is the scratching material: "sisal scratching posts are ideal because they are satisfying to scratch and tough enough to stand up to repeated use", writes the Indoor Pet Initiative. Wound sisal rope or sisal fabric, both work; the rope wears and can be replaced, which is an advantage. Avoid posts covered in plush only: you cannot scratch into it. Cats Protection notes that "a vertical weave helps your cat run their claws downwards".
• Plush, on the platforms and in the dens, is for comfort and warmth. Cats like a thick plush; it holds hair, a vacuum now and then is enough. For baskets and hammocks, check that they unzip or brush clean.
• Cardboard is the material of horizontal and angled scratchers: less resistance, which suits kittens and older cats, according to International Cat Care, and a texture many cats prefer to sisal. It is not a tree, it is an extra, to put at the foot of the tree or near the scratched sofa.
• Solid wood or plywood make trees that look better and are often heavier, so more stable, at a higher price. Plush-covered particle board, the norm on classic trees, holds up well as long as the tree stays dry.

If the cat is set on one particular piece of furniture, International Cat Care advises offering a surface that resembles the one it is damaging: vertical for a cat that scratches the wallpaper at shoulder height, horizontal for one that scratches the carpet, with "similar texture and ridges that allow your cat to stretch to the same level".

Which cat tree for which cat

A kitten. A small tree with a low bed, a post, a tunnel or a ball: it learns to scratch in the right place from the first weeks, and it sleeps in it. Choose it stable despite its size, a kitten leaps on without warning, and plan the adult model at about six months. Our small 46 cm tree is rated for cats up to 3.6 kg, according to the manufacturer.

An adult indoor cat. This is the cat for whom the tree matters most: it does not climb trees outside. A 100 to 180 cm tower with an enclosed den, a basket and a perch, placed in front of the window, replaces the garden on its own. If it is nervous, the enclosed den and the high perch come first; if it is playful, prefer widely spaced levels that make it jump.

A large cat, Maine Coon, Norwegian, Ragdoll, or any cat over 6 kg: wide platforms, a 35 cm basket, thick posts, a den of 40 cm and more, and 180 cm of height so it has room above the sofa. Floor-to-ceiling models take the weight of a large cat jumping well, thanks to the bracing.

An old cat. It climbs less high and often has arthritis: close levels, 25 to 30 cm apart at most, a den reachable from the floor, and a ramp or wall steps to reach its favourite perch. A horizontal cardboard scratcher, softer, suits it better than a stiff post. Our advice for the senior cat.

Several cats. Two rules. One bed per cat, at different heights: in a group, the highest spot goes to the dominant cat, and the others want their own. And for scratching posts, International Cat Care recommends "one scratching post per cat (plus an additional one for choice) positioned in different locations"; Cats Protection points out that "the most common cause of scratching indoors is the presence of another cat". A single tree, even a giant one, is therefore not enough for three cats: one tree and two scratchers elsewhere are better.

Where to put the cat tree

The finest tree, in the guest room, is of no use. A cat wants to be where life happens, and to see outside.

• In the room where you live, the living room most often: International Cat Care advises placing the post "in an area where your cat spends a lot of time", and the Indoor Pet Initiative "in areas where the cats congregate, and along their routes" to the bowls and the litter tray.
• In front of or next to a window, the top platform at the level of the glass: "you can place a couch, sofa, chair, or sturdy table in front of a window, so your cat can look outside", says the Indoor Pet Initiative; a tree does better. A bird feeder in the garden or on the balcony, and the window becomes a television.
• Near where it already sleeps: "cats often scratch and stretch when they wake up", notes Cats Protection, "so you can try placing their scratching post near their bed".
• Next to the furniture it scratches, if that is the problem to solve: the ASPCA advises placing the post right next to it, as a "legal" alternative, and moving it only once adopted, very gradually, a few centimetres a day according to the Indoor Pet Initiative.
• Not against a door, not in a draught, and not where a child or a dog can shake it: the perch must remain a safe place.

One last point, often forgotten: if you move a piece of furniture, ask yourself whether it can still see outside from its tree. The Indoor Pet Initiative says it in one sentence: "Can he still see outside?"

Small flat: height without floor space

In a studio or a small space, a tree with a 60 x 50 cm footprint is one more piece of furniture. Three solutions give the height without the footprint.

• Floor-to-ceiling: 40 cm on the floor for 2.3 to 2.75 m of height, braced to the ceiling, therefore stable. It is the best height-to-footprint ratio, and it fits in a corner.
• The wall course: wooden steps fixed to the wall, climbing towards a shelf or the top of a wardrobe. Each step takes 11 kg according to the manufacturer, on a solid wall: brick, concrete or wood, not a hollow partition without reinforcement. Allow 30 to 40 cm between two steps for an adult cat, 20 to 25 cm for an old cat.
• The suction-cup window hammock, which gives the perch at the glass with nothing on the floor; and a wall scratcher in sisal or an 80 cm post on a base for scratching. Together they replace a tree for a single cat.

The mistakes that make a cat ignore its tree

1. It wobbles. The first cause, by far. Weigh down the base, fix it to the wall, tighten the screws.
2. The posts are too short between two platforms: it does not scratch there, so it scratches the sofa next to it. You need a section of at least 60 cm, in sisal.
3. It is badly placed: in a corner, an empty room, far from the window. Bring it closer to you and to the light before concluding that the cat does not want it.
4. Its paws were forced onto it. Never take its paws to "show it": International Cat Care and the ASPCA both advise against it, it teaches nothing and makes it hate the object. Rub the post with catnip instead, play around it with a wand toy, reward when it climbs up.
5. It was thrown away when worn. "Do not throw away a favorite scratching post when it becomes unsightly", says the ASPCA: a frayed post is a marked post, therefore a loved one. Replace the sisal rope, not the tree.
6. One tree for three cats. See above: one place per cat, one scratcher per cat plus one.
7. A kitten model for an adult. It has grown, its tree has not.

Assembly, care, and when to change the rope

Assembly takes 30 to 60 minutes for two people for a tall tree: assemble it where it will stay, from the bottom up, and screw each post fully home before fitting the next level. Put the base on a thin rug rather than on bare parquet if the tree tends to slide. Care: a vacuum with the brush on the plush every week, covers and cushions in the machine when they are washable, and a check of the screws every two or three months.

The sisal rope ends up fraying on the favourite post, after one to three years depending on the cat. That is a good sign, and it can be repaired: remove the old rope, staple or glue the start of the new one at the foot of the post, wind it tightly, tapping each turn against the previous one, and fix the end at the top. With 6 mm rope, you need 10 m for a 60 cm post 9 cm across, 20 m for two. Our sisal rope comes in 10, 20 or 50 m.

Cat tree: our selection

From small trees to floor-to-ceiling, and the wall-mounted extras for small spaces. All our trees and scratchers are in the cat trees & scratchers collection.

• 170 cm cat tree, 6 levelsView product
• Large 210 cm cat tree, XXL towerView product
• 98 cm tree with den and basketView product
• Floor-to-ceiling cactus tree, 229 to 275 cmView product
• Small kitten tree, 46 cmView product
• 81 cm scratching postView product
• Pine wall steps, set of 2View product
• Suction-cup window hammockView product
• Replacement sisal ropeView product

Frequently asked questions about cat trees

Sources

• International Cat Care, "Scratching on furniture and carpets", updated 7 October 2026: post height, stability, wall fixing, one post per cat plus one
• Ohio State University Indoor Pet Initiative, "Perches": height and the window
• Ohio State University Indoor Pet Initiative, "Scratching": sisal, placement, gradual moving
• Cats Protection, "Scratching": the heavy stable base, the vertical weave, scratching on waking
• ASPCA, "Destructive scratching": the sturdy post, the variety of surfaces, not throwing away a worn post

Article updated on 20 October 2026. The photos in this article were generated by AI; the dimensions and weights are those of our product sheets. Also read: the bored cat, the Maine Coon and the senior cat, as well as the cat that scratches the sofa.