Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Ok, Let me start off by saying I LOVE THIS THING! (Please pay special attention to the part in here regarding assembly!!! I have a BIG piece of advice that will save you some serious anguish, and it's SUPER simple).... This is a legit review, no one paid me to write this. I was pretty nervous when I read the reviews for this product after purchasing it. Some reviews said this thing was great, and others said it was cheap junk. Here's the reality of the situation. You are paying $56 for a cat tower that is extremely tall with multiple tiers.... good luck finding anything with a comparable price as it is. I paid $20 for a small cubby/hidey-hole cat cave that is barely two feet high, and it's made out of pretty much the same exact material as this cat tower. What you see in the picture is EXACTLY what you get sent to you, but there is assembly required. Speaking of assembly, here is that simple but crucial advice I wanted to give you. If you've read through other reviews, I'm sure you've read about how some people had issues with the holes in the caves/boxes and the poles not lining up... THIS IS NOT THE PRODUCT'S FAULT, YOU ARE ASSEMBLING IT WRONG lol... Sorry for the CAPS but I want to make sure I have your attention. The instructions for this aren't given step by step, it's just a labeled diagram, so I will help you out. Feel free to come back to this for help, because I wish someone had written this out for me before I'd started, but after seeing the reviews I was on the lookout for this issue, so I had it solved in no time. My first piece of advice is to take all the actual pieces out and put them into piles according to type. You'll have the poles (a couple different sizes), the tiers, the steps, the boxes, and the base. The screws are labeled so they are VERY easy to know where they go. First, put the boxes together, which involves using the medium sized screws and placing the correct sized pole into the box *two of the poles for each cat-cave/box. Do this step first, as it makes the rest of the assembly easier. Next, and this is the MOST important part!! The base of this is NOT a square, it is a rectangle, and the "front" of the tower is the "width" side of the rectangle, not the longest side "length". This thing is like two-foot by two and a half-foot, so the shorter poles (size 38) go on the front with the 2 foot side facing you. If you put them 2 1/2 feed apart, the holes on the bottom cat cave won't line up with the poles, because the cave's holes are 2 feet apart, but the poles in the wrong position will be 2 1/2 feet apart, see what I mean? This will prevent the "not lining up" issue some people had. So to recap, unbox the parts, put together the caves (use the L shaped tool to line up the hole in the box to the hole in the pole), then put the shorter (38) poles on the front (width) side, then the longer (52) poles on the back. Then you want to put the bigger/bottom cave onto the shorter poles. After you've done this, put your two-sided screws (size S1) into the tops of the larger poles in the back (the 52 poles), then slide the B-labeled platform onto the 52 poles. Screw on the two 52 poles on top of the B platform, then screw on the size 38 pole onto the top-right of the bottom cat cave. Once you have this done, you will want to install one S1 screw into the 52 pole on the left, and another S1 screw into the 38 pole on the front. Install platform A (the L shaped platform) onto top of all three poles, lining up the two screws through the platform. Next step is to put together the two tiers that are on the very top of this thing (one on the right, one on the left **left one has the mouse), then install them onto the tower using the S1 screws you've already installed. Next, put the top tier onto the top cat cave BEFORE putting the cat cave onto the tower, just makes life easier. Once you have that together, use the S3 screw to install the cave-tier combo on top of the corner of the A platform. Lastly, install the steps using the two small screws (S4). This will be difficult, but saving this step for last is best, because that way the steps aren't swinging around while you are trying to assemble this tower. The steps aren't held up by much, but I don't think that will be a problem, as they seem pretty secure, but if you don't like them, just don't install them, they aren't necessary. As long as you don't over-tighten the screws, the material will hold, but don't under-tighten, as it will be wobbly. If you hear the material crackle when you tighten, you're going to crack it, it's not rocket science lol. I know these instructions seem long-winded, but some people aren't well versed in "assembly required", so I am hoping to help them out with these instructions. Also, as far as the "smell"goes that some people were talking about, it just smelled lightly like a factory, but you have to like stick your nose right INTO the fabric to even smell it. Maybe it's just mine, but it didn't stink at all. The mouse thing smelled like catnip, but that was it. My cats jumped all over this thing within minutes. It's very sturdy, and my cats are pretty fat, so I don't know how people had any issues with it. I do have mine against the wall of the room, so that most likely aids in it's stability, but with such a small base, it isn't meant to stand in the center of a room. I love that it doesn't take up a TON of space, but goes into the air instead. It doesn't get in the way, and it looks impressive, and the cats love it. For the price, how can you go wrong!!