I bought my kitties a huge cat tower, and they show zero interest.. why?!?

I bought my kitties a huge cat tower, and they show zero interest.. why?!?

So, I have 3 young kitties (all under 1 year with the oldest being 11 months)

All 3 are kittens (older kittens, but kittens) and they still act as if they are 2 months old when it comes to playing non stop!

A Petco store was going out of business for the past couple of weeks last month and I was in there about 10 times buying stuff for my dogs and ferret mainly.. i kept going back to the cat condos/trees since they were selling them dirt cheap and they were selling quick!

I finally got talked into getting one (I was on the fence because I wasn’t sure if they’d play on it). It was cheap for how big it is, so I went ahead and got it. (I got it for 0 and it was originally priced at 9.99.)

Its a big one. Its 6 feet tall, it has 2 little caves to sleep/hide in,and 3 perches to sleep/stand/sit on. Also at the tippy top it has a round bed for them to curl up in and a 2 feather like toys hanging from string.

I have had it 2-3 weeks and they show VERY little-zero interest in it! My fiance told me I should put it on craigslist and sell it.. but I am still holding on to hope that they are going to eventually wind up using it.

I don’t understand, and am confused as to why they don’t like it.. They CONSTANTLY play on my 5 foot fake tree in my living room, they seriously play on it as if it were a Kitty tree.. they also played in my Christmas tree too!

They sleep on my bed/couch/dog beds/even in my linen closet up on one of the shelves with towels..

My ferret has been on it and slept on it more than my cats! lol.

I try picking them up and placing them on it, but they just jump right off! It almost makes me sad in a way, I know that sounds off.. but it does! I kinda wanted to see them enjoy it and use it.

I have some dogs that like to chase them around, so I definitely thought they’d like to escape them by getting high off the ground from them.. but nothing yet. I even tried putting some catnip on it.. to no avail. :(

2 of them actually look like they are curious about it, they just stand and look at it sometimes.. but never go on it.. weird lol.

SO, any ideas as to why they don’t like it? Any way I can get them to like it? Should I give it some more time, or should i go ahead and get my money back by selling it on craigslist (can’t take it back to the Petco since its out of business and other petco’s wont take it back since when i bought it.. they colored over the barcode.)

Thanks for any/all advice!

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4 Comments for I bought my kitties a huge cat tower, and they show zero interest.. why?!?

  • 1. Brett  |  February 15th, 2011 at 9:12 am

    give it a little more time. try setting it right by your fake tree for a while, that may help. then if they gain interest then move it to a better place. you just cant try too hard to make them want to like it, because that never works. the day you dont care any more is the day they will start playing on it.

  • 2. Elia  |  February 15th, 2011 at 10:11 am

    I don’t know if there is a true answer for why cats do what they do. Maybe that’s what makes them cats. Who knows why when there’s a big comfy couch, they go lay on a hard book. As an owner of 5 cats, I’ve gone through similar experiences. I’d say return the structure if possible. If not then try to sell it. Some cats “take” to things while others don’t. Some cats enjoy simpler play structures like a box or a big paper bag. If you really want to give them exercise, just do the good ol’ dangling something (by a string or a stick so you don’t get scratched) over their heads. They will have as much fun with that as anything. Plus you get to spend time with them!

  • 3. cats 3  |  February 15th, 2011 at 10:26 am

    This is fairly simple. They aren’t ready for it. Your description shows that it’s huge. Never mind, they are now cats (past the kitten stage) let’s say teenagers, what with your dogs etc ferret, why would they want to be up there. They want to be where the action is “baby”! Forcing cats to do anything, will end up pointless. They’ll get to this man-made cat tower, soon enough. I have a thought. Is there anyway you could give the tower a good cleaning? Could be that they are objecting to the smell of it, not what it’s for! Can you (depending on where you live) take it out side and give it a vacuuming or hose it all down. The sun will dry it..unless you live here where everything is frozen solid! I sense that may be the problem and it won’t cost you anything, to try it. Right? Hope it works. Putting it outside in the wind, that alone should start to make it smell cleaner. It was in that store for ???? months/ years, bet no one bothered to think of cleaning the darn tower there.

  • 4. bloomorningglory  |  February 15th, 2011 at 11:23 am

    Give them awhile longer. You can also encourage them using treats or catnip. Sprinkle some on the lower shelves and see if it disappears. Sometimes it takes them awhile to warm up to things like that.

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