This is a completely new approach to cat climbing furniture, and I’m pretty excited about it. It’s the Kitty’scape from Solvit Products. It’s a modular climbing system, kind of like Tinker Toys for cats! It comes with a kit of parts and you put it together any number of ways. That means you can continuously re-configure it to keep kitty interested, and you can order different components and expansion kits to keep building on, as your budget allows.
To start, choose from one of three kits:
- Basic Kit for $79.95, which includes a base platform, 1 oval platform, a penthouse perch, 5 long columns, including 1 seagrass scratching column, 2 short columns, a teaser toy, and multiple connectors. Can reach up to 33” high.
- Intermediate Kit for $119.95, which includes a base platform, 1 oval platform, 1 carpeted half-oval platform, a penthouse perch, 7 long columns, including 2 seagrass scratching columns, 4 short columns, a teaser toy, and multiple connectors. Reaches up to 48” high.
- Deluxe Kit for $145.95, which includes a base platform, 2 oval platforms, 1 carpeted half-oval platform, a penthouse perch, 10 long columns, including 3 seagrass scratching columns, 4 short columns, the penthouse canopy, a hammock hideaway, a teaser toy, and multiple connectors. Can reach up to 71” high.
You can add on to your structure with a number of different accessory packages including an adjustable scratching tray, the penthouse canopy, or the platform and column expansion kit. It looks like Solvit will be adding more accessories to the line soon.
So they sent us a deluxe kit to test and I have to say, I had so much fun putting this thing together! Also, I was pleasantly surprised at the overall look and quality of the structure. The colors are not hideous and the finishes are decent for the price. The support columns are plastic, so it doesn’t have the same look and feel as one of the high-end cat trees like those from Square Cat Habitat or The Refined Feline, but this is in a different price range.
You do have to be careful about how you assemble your structure, because there can be stability issues, so you’ll have to experiment with the right configuration that gives you the levels you want, plus adequate stability. The instructions are easy to follow and assembly is a breeze. The only tool required is a little plastic wrench that comes with the kit. As you can see, everyone loves it. Andy especially loves the seagrass wrapped columns and the hammock hideaway. He got right in there before I was even done assembling the whole thing.
The Solvit Kitty’scape is available from a number of different online retailers including ThePetOnline.com and Amazon
August 25th, 2012 at 9:49 am
I love the modularity.
August 25th, 2012 at 10:58 am
This looks very promising! I wonder, though, about (ahem) larger cats and those whose hyperactivity often takes the form of running leaps.
August 25th, 2012 at 1:12 pm
we just got one too and will be featuring it in September (hopefully Mom can put it together!)
August 25th, 2012 at 2:44 pm
The stability would be my concern, mine tend to take flying leaps of the current ones, sort of using as a springboard to jump to the other one. They have three tall ones and one two level one, sometimes I wonder if they are nor part flying squirrel. Looks as much fun for them as it would be for me figuring out new designs for them. Maybe the company includes suggested configurations?
August 25th, 2012 at 4:47 pm
It is funny that cats can enjoy almost anything because that’s one of the tackiest looking cat trees I’ve ever seen (sorry!).
August 27th, 2012 at 4:08 am
I agree with you Stephanie, coment #5
August 31st, 2012 at 7:29 pm
I really like this, especially the price since I’m having a hard time convincing the husband to get any cat furniture.
Can you tell me the size of the bottom base piece? I’m trying to get a scale for this. Looked on the specs on all the websites and couldn’t find anything!