22" Amazon Basics Platform Cat Tree w/ Scratching Post (Beige) Expired

I got my $12 worth just by reading this review!
"I just wanted something super simple, not too high, not too short, not too small, something just right. If it's not "just right", it will be useless to the cat and shall only serve as a reminder of how much I have failed him. Since the cat cannot use human words to vocalize his demands, I must rely on his body language that indicates one of 3 cat attitudes: Indifference. Approval. Hatred. As I present gifts to him, I plead for his approval.

From the couch, he glared at me for the entire four minutes it took for me to assemble it. I felt very judged. As if he was telling me that he could do it in three minutes if he had hands. Upon completion, I nervously put it on the floor in front of the couch and I stepped back so he could feel its brand new, unsoiled energy. He yawned and laid his head down so he could nap.

During his slumbers, I moved it to where I felt it would be best enjoyed; outside in the patio where he can watch the birds and lizards. Once risen, he sauntered towards his cat door to head "outside". There it was.... in all its only-4-minutes-to-assemble beauty. I watched from the inside. He 100% ignored it. Strutting directly past it as if it was not even there. It was not even worthy of a quick glance. Instead, he laid on the patio table so that he was looking down on it. If he even *looked* at it at all. Which he did not. This was clearly some sign of defiance on two counts. One being, we do not allow him to lay on the table so not only did want to be superior to the cat perch, he also was reminding me of who really is in charge here and that I am forever delusional to ever think otherwise.

After a week, I move the perch to a new location on the patio. The cat lays on the area of tile where the cat perch had been the prior week. I believe this means he's starting to think about maybe being interested. I tell him this with an excited tone. He glares at me and gets up to move back to his (my) beloved chair.

It has been nearly a month now, since this thing has been brought into the home. A couple of days ago, as my husband and I were sitting out on the patio, the cat very casually walked toward the perch and began to use it as a scratching post. My husband and I gasped, thus resulting in the cat very quickly retreating back inside the house, surely in an effort to make us believe his interest never actually happened.

Since then, the cat has continued to sometimes use it as a scratching post, but only when he doesn't think I am watching him. I have learned to keep my gasps and excitement to myself as to not overwhelm him with attention that he does not want at that time.

I just know that he will jump up on the perch itself.... I'm thinking in another couple of weeks or so. He's a big boy. Very large. Okay, he's fat. (Please do not tell him I wrote that) He's 22'ish pounds of "who's a chonky-hunk-of-burning-loveandhate-boy" and as I was picking out a perch for him, I had to keep this in mind. Last year, my husband purchased a perch that was too much too small for him and, as a result, we laughed at him when he laid in the bed part as his body overfloweth. We are terrible people, I know. And this is very likely a reason the cat is hesitant to get in the bed of this here tower. I understand this and have suffered for my actions daily. Every day, I hope that the cat will accept my apology and know that I have learned from the error of my ways. If he only knew the agonizing frustration I went through to find a cat tower that had a bed big enough for his fa.... er, girthy body so that poking fun at him was simply not an option.

He may never really know how long it took me to find this particular perch and that I sorted through nothing shy of 50 online options, but as soon as he's ready to take that next step and jump up on it, I just know he'll be happy up there and I will not laugh at him. (though I cannot promise I will not gasp in happiness). He will be very comfy as its size can accommodate his size.

Would I purchase this again? Yes!

Does the cat love it? We aren't there quite yet.

But, I can say this... HE DOES NOT HATE IT and this gives me hope that I can continue down my path of atonement... the same one that I have been on since pretty much 2012 when I brought the cat home and began doing things that he disapproved of and therefore resulting in my failing him constantly ever since.

He has been staring at me the entire time I've been writing this review. I snapped a picture of him and also included an image of the empty perch waiting to be loved."

My cat would probably enjoy the box it came in more. Lol

This very true, I let the cats have a new box for 2 weeks, then it goes in the recycling!