The Ultimate Guide to Modern Cat Trees

Elevate your cat's happiness and your interior design with this guide to choosing and seamlessly integrating a modern cat tree or tower into your home

Cat trees play an important role in enriching indoor cats’ lives. Our pets live in a sheltered indoor world from the forests and jungles where their ancestors once roamed. And contrary to dogs, our feline friends haven’t evolved much from the natural instincts of big wild cats. 

Multi-level interactive structures, called a cat tree or cat tower, bring a bit of this wild nature inside our modern living, allowing them to act on their instincts, leading to healthier and happier cats.

Despite this, many people don’t have cat trees because they can be an eyesore in our homes. By necessity, cat trees are medium-to-large structures that tend to stand out no matter where you put them in your house. It doesn’t help that big box (pet) store’s modern cat furniture, unlike a well-designed luxury cat tower, is generic and unappealing, usually made of ugly beige carpet and plywood and held together with glue or staples.

Your cat’s tree or tower doesn’t have to be an eyesore in your home or shoved away in a place where your cat doesn’t like to use it. A large investment piece like a cat tree should feel like a piece of art you’re proud to display in your main living areas — because, despite their reputation for independence, your cat wants to be with you wherever you spend most of your time. Modern and aesthetic cat furniture is designed to blend with your home decor while still being functional for your cat’s enjoyment. 

This guide covers everything you need to know about choosing the right cat tree and integrating and styling it in your home in alignment with your aesthetic and interior design.

 

Is a cat tree necessary?

Cat trees play an important role in maintaining your cat’s optimal physical and mental well-being.

A safe place for cats to act on their natural instincts

Despite thousands of years of domestication, cats retain many wild instincts and behaviors inherited from their wildcat ancestors – far more than dogs. It’s important for our pet cats to have outlets for these instincts: namely, to climb and perch. Cats innately want to climb to high vantage points to feel safe and observe their environment. Acting out these natural behaviors with a cat tree not only relieves their stress and anxiety but also protects your furniture from wear and tear.

Encourage physical exercise to maintain your cat’s physical health

Since they don’t need to hunt for their next meal and their space to run is limited, our indoor feline friends don’t get as much exercise as they should. Because of their less active lifestyle, indoor cats are at a higher risk of obesity, which can lead to diabetes, arthritis, and heart disease.

Cat trees encourage the natural exercise cats need, like jumping, climbing, and stretching. Regular activity helps maintain muscle strength, flexibility, and joint health, which is especially important as your cat ages. 

Mental stimulation

Cats need to not only be able to exercise their bodies but also their brains. If you have a cat, you know that they’re intelligent and complex creatures, just like us. A bored, anxious, or depressed cat tends to lash out with problematic behaviors, like destructiveness or aggressiveness.

Cat trees keep cats’ minds occupied and entertained, providing the mental stimulation they need. Keeping watch from a high vantage point engages your cat’s mind, whether they’re watching birds through the window or just their human’s daily activities.

 

How to choose the right cat tree for your cat

Of course, you want your cat to actually use the tree, so consider functionality first. Different cats have different needs from a cat tree. 

Things to consider:

• Your cat’s age

Age and mobility are also factors in choosing the height of your cat tree. Average cat tower heights can range from 24 inches on the small end to 60 inches for medium-sized trees. Extra large floor-to-ceiling towers are around 100 inches.

• Activity level

Usually, kittens and young cats have a lot of energy and need more interactive features from their cat trees. Older cats who tend to sleep may not need all of the bells and whistles and would prefer their cat tree’s primary function to be a comfortable place to nap.

• Your cat’s size

Cat size is an often overlooked component when choosing the right cat tree. If you have a larger cat, you’ll need to ensure that the cat tower is big enough for them to be comfortable and sturdy enough to support their weight when they jump up to the perches.

• If you have other pets in the house

Other pets in the house also play a role in deciding which cat tree is right for your home. If you have dogs in the house as well, you should consider buying a tall cat tree so your cat can feel safely out of reach. If you have other cats, you’ll want to make sure the cat tree has different areas the cats can stake their territory on to avoid competition — and it’s even better to have more than one cat tree to prevent fighting. 

 

Where can you put a cat tree in your house?

The best place for your cat tree is wherever your cat most enjoys spending time. Other factors include windows and natural light and places where the tree won’t intrude on your own space.

• The rooms where you spend your time

To determine the best room to put the cat tree, observe where your cat likes to spend their time. Often, cats like to be in the same room as their owners, such as the main living area, or a home office if you work from home. Since you’ll be seeing the cat tree often, it’s important to choose one that isn’t ugly!

• By the window

Putting a cat tree by a window allows your cat to observe the outside world and bask in the sunlight. Be sure to position it at an angle to avoid obstructing natural light — a particular concern the larger and taller your cat tree.

• Utilize corner space

The corners of our rooms are underused. Putting a cat tree there solves two problems: it fills awkward empty spaces and prevents a cat tree from dominating your main living areas. Just make sure the corner you choose receives natural light.

• Put cat trees in separate rooms if you have multiple cats

If you have multiple cats, it’s wise to have more than one cat tree placed in different parts of the house so the cats can claim their territory in different rooms.

 

How do I choose a modern cat tree with the right aesthetic?

There are many varieties of modern and aesthetic cat furniture available, far beyond the ugly traditional tan carpet you’ll find at big-name pet stores. There are aesthetic cat towers designed for many home styles, from colorful and playful to modern minimalist. 

When choosing your cat tree, first consider your home’s overall aesthetic. Even though a themed cat tree, like a cactus, may be cute on its own, it could clash with your interior design. Common aesthetic cat tower options on the market today include minimalist modern, whimsical, bohemian, and Scandinavian cat trees. 

Achieving an aesthetic with a cat tree mostly comes down to the materials used in its construction. To harmonize the cat tower within your home decor, try to pick one made from the same materials you already find in your interior. For example, if you’re looking for a cat tree that matches your modern interior design, look for cat trees that use marble or stained wood. Alternatively, if you have a more bohemian look in your home, stick to wicker and rattan. Whimsical homes can go for colored jute and faux fur. Scandinavian cat trees often use light, natural colors like unstained wood or bamboo.

 

 

How can you integrate a cat tree into your home decor and design?

• Be strategic with its placement

Treat your cat tree as a piece of furniture just like any other. It should be strategically and intentionally placed in your home decor, not randomly shoved against a wall without a second thought. It often looks nice when a cat tree is placed next to your human furniture, such as placing it beside a couch or next to a bookshelf. Also, keep heights and proportions in mind, making sure the cat tree fits in well with the surrounding furniture.

Designer’s advice: Consider putting the cat tree in places where it visually serves a dual purpose. For example, our Sundial Tower resembles an end table, so it looks great positioned at the end of a sofa or beside a plush armchair. 

 

• Match colors and materials with your furniture

It’s pleasing to the eye to see continuous shades of colors and materials. For example, a cat tree made of soft textiles would pair nicely with an upholstered sofa, while a wooden cat tower would look great next to wooden shelving.

• Make the styling feel intentional with non-cat-related accessories and decor

Contextualize the cat tree within the room the same way you would any other piece of (human!) furniture. Anchor the base of the cat tree (and give your cat a soft place to land) with an accent rug; bonus points if it’s made from synthetic material or is even designated machine-washable, which makes cat-related messes easy to clean. Add visual interest — for you and your cat — and soften the structure of the cat tree by placing cat-safe plants beside it. A parlor palm, Boston fern, or any calathea would be a great choice.

   

How much does a cat tree cost? 

Aside from vet bills, cat trees are one of the most expensive aspects of having a cat. They’re by far the largest piece of cat furniture you’ll purchase, so you can expect to pay more than you would for a simple scratching pad or litter box, for example. 

Prices of cat trees can range wildly. A cat tree from Petco can cost anywhere from $20 to $450 — and those are the traditional carpet-and-particle-board styles. These cheaply constructed generic pet box store cat towers have relatively short lifetimes. Cats' claws easily rip out the carpet, and the structure is rarely sturdy. In my experience, the cat tree ends up on the curb within a year. These cat trees are a poor investment and an environmentally unsustainable choice.

Higher-end and luxury cat towers and trees come at a higher price tag, but they’re built to last. Premium, aesthetic cat towers use sustainable materials, like wood and high-quality textiles, that are not only durable for your cats to enjoy for 5–10 years but also look sophisticated in your modern home.

Key takeaways

• Cat trees are essential for your indoor cat's health and happiness, tapping into their natural instincts and encouraging mental enrichment and physical exercise.

• Cat trees come in all shapes and sizes; choosing the right one for your cat comes down to her age, size, and activity level.

• There are plenty of modern cat tree styles and designs that complement your interior design without sacrificing functionality.

• A cat tree or tower is a piece of furniture like any other. Thoughtfully consider its placement in your home using the tips above to strike a balance between your cat’s enjoyment and key principles of interior design.

• Generic big box stores offer budget cat trees, but opting for a well-constructed and aesthetic cat tree that you actually like and your cat will use for years is a better investment.