5:24 PM Product Review - Kitty City Climbing Hill

When I adopted my love, Lord Dunbar, his first Christmas present was one of those carpet covered cat towers. It was the budget version as I couldn't afford one of the $200+ deluxe versions, but nevertheless the tower was instantly named "The Tower of Power." I bought that tower 5 years ago and I still have it. My goodness it sure is ratty, though. I keep wondering when I'm going to have the nerve to throw it out in the garbage. The truth is that it is a favored scratching post for at least one of my cats and it would be truly stupid of me to throw it out without a replacement.

Today I was in Target picking up some home supplies and I strolled past the pet supply area. I usually avoid that area lest I find something I can't leave without. Well, that's precisely what happened today.

For years the only options for bargain scratching posts or cat condos were either very small boring basic posts, or were terribly put together and still $80 or so. So I was quite shocked to see that Target was offering a modular budget kitty condo unit with all kinds of perks! With the unit being modular, you have the liberty of choosing whether to go all out at once with building an expansive condo or "kitty city", or you can invest in building a city in pieces. Today, I settled for one modular piece - the Climbing Hill.

As you can see, this unit pieces together in pvc-like sections and all the connectors allow for easy expansion. Even the cloth bottom has velcro allowing for easy connection to another unit. The curved "hill" is made of a mesh material and the cloth bottom is made of nylon. Both are easily cleaned up with a wet rag if soiled. Both the scratching tube and the floor toy can be moved wherever you prefer to set them up. This presents even more options when you add the other modules. You can go to the Kitty City USA website to view all the different modules available. Click on the combos tab to see examples of the different combos you can make with different modules.

But how to the cats like it?

Based on their initial reactions to it after I put it up, I'd say it was an immediate hit in this household.




Time will tell if the module ends up being a lasting favorite, but for now, I'm happy with my $18 purchase and I can now see a point where I can finally throw out my ratty, carpet tower.

Update 7/22/09:
I purchased another section to the unit. I purchased the tower. The cats still love this, however due to the velcro fastening the fabric to the poles, it's a little light duty for two of my cats. Frankly, they're too fat for the velcro to hold, Haha! Actually, one of them isn't very fat at all. He's just a Big Cat. So I would not recommend this product for a larger sized or heavier cat. You'll need something sturdier.