Are cats happier with a cat tree?
Though some cats don’t care about trees, many cats are happier with a tree, particularly if they don’t have other high-up places to climb and perch, places to scratch, and safe places to hide. Cats that like to be higher up are often on (your!) chairs, the backs of couches, the kitchen counters, the refrigerator, and/or the windowsill.
Cats don’t always exhibit obvious signs of anxiety or stress, so to bring more awareness to a cat’s environmental needs, The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) has established five pillars of a healthy feline environment. These pillars support a cat’s emotional and physical well being and can reduce undesirable behavioral issues like fighting or inappropriate urination.
Though cats are predators, they are also prey for larger animals. Even if your cat lives indoors without other animals, they may consider the area beyond your windows a part of their territory. Seeing or hearing something threatening outside will cause them to want to hide. If your cat lives with other cats and/or dogs, that’s another reason to have a tree (or, dare I say, trees.) Though cats can live in social groups, they need the option to withdraw when they want.
This brings us to AAFP’s first pillar, which is a safe place. One quality of a safe place for cats is an elevated surface, which a tree provides. A safe place also has sides, which the condos on some trees have. Of course, there are other places that are elevated that some cats can reach in a home like the top of the refrigerator, though that doesn’t provide as safe a feel due to the lack of sides.
The second pillar is providing cats with multiple and separate key environmental resources. Key resources are things like food, water, rest areas, litter boxes, toys, and scratching posts. A cat tree provides a place to play, scratch, rest, and hide, so just like that amazing Litter-Robot 4 and premium wet cat food, a cat tree is a key resource. Since cats are territorial and might view housemates as competition, having separately located resources (including more than one place to perch, hide, and play) is important, even among cats who get along. Sometimes you just want to be alone while you relax or eat, and cats are no different.
The last of the five pillars that I’ll cover here is that cats need the opportunity for play and predatory behavior. Though a tree isn’t necessary for that, it can definitely be a part of it. My summary of the first three pillars is quite brief, but you can read about them—and the remaining pillars—in some more detail here or at length here.
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