Feandrea Cat Tree, 59.5-Inch Tall Cat Tower, Multi-Level Condo, Light Gray

Why it's worth it

The Feandrea gives you two top perches and two enclosed caves in a 59.5-inch tower that one person can assemble with the included hex key. It's the pick if your cat likes to disappear, though Feandrea rates it for cats up to 11 pounds each.

Two caves is the real draw. Big cats den — a Norwegian Forest Cat that won't come down off a perch all afternoon will still choose an enclosed box when the house gets loud. Most towers give you one hideout at the bottom. This one has two, plus two open perches up top, so in a two-cat house nobody has to negotiate.

The published weight rating is the catch, and we won't paper over it. Feandrea lists this for up to five cats at a maximum of 11 pounds each. That's a manufacturer figure aimed at the average household, and owner reports from people with heavier cats are broadly positive — but it's below what we'd want to see printed on a tree marketed to large-cat owners. Treat the upper perches as suited to cats in the mid-teens, not the mid-twenties.

From our review of 7 cat trees for large cats, by James Bennett, Associate Editor

What we like

• +Two caves is the real draw
• +The published weight rating is the catch, and we won't paper over it
• +Assembly is genuinely easy, which is not a small thing when the box weighs nearly 30 pounds
• +The 15.7-inch platform width is right in the range large cats need

What to know

• –A recurring theme in owner feedback is that the top platform is the weak link — a few report it flexing or failing during…
• –The light gray fabric and the 11-pound-per-cat rating both point the same direction: this is a tree designed for the general…
• –Assembly is easy but not fast