DESIGNER PET PRODUCTS The Sebastian Modern Cat Tree in Black

I ordered this cat tree as an alternative to those awful carpet covered trees that most companies make. I wanted something that would be easier to clean (the carpet ones get really dusty and fur-filled) as well as something that would look nice in my decor. I was a little concerned by the prior reviews that it looked cheap and might be difficult to put together, but I decided to take a chance.The package arrived in a large very heavy box. It does require assembly, but it wasn't very difficult to assemble. In the package, each piece of wood was nicely wrapped in bubblewrap as well as surrounded by foam, so I did not notice any damage to any of the wood pieces. The veneer color and consistency looked very good on my unit - no uneven areas as had been noted in prior reviews. The unit is a semi-gloss black color with nice insets on the outer edges. The particle boards are thick and the whole thing appears very sturdy.Assembly was tedious but not too difficult. You will need a drill or electric screwdriver - putting the screws in by hand would be way too difficult. I had two screws where the inner nut didn't line up with the hole and required a bit of brute force to get together. The L-brackets lined up fine - no issues with the holes there. The plastic caps all fit fine, although a did need a hammer to light tap some of them in. I did have one that was too loose in the hole, but it was in an unobtrusive location, so I left it alone as opposed to gluing the cap in.The stickers are difficult to remove. I found that using a fresh, sharp razor blade and carefully scraping with the grain seemed to remove them the cleanest. A light residue was still left behind, though. I did try mineral oil, but no luck. Luckily all the stickers are on the inside of the unit, so it is not very noticeable overall. It is MUCH easier to remove each sticker from the piece as you assemble it vs trying to remove them all at the end.Once the whole thing is together, it is fairly tall, so I did install one of those anti-tip devices at the top from an old set of bookcases I had. I also put some of those clear plastic bumpers between it and the wall to protect the wall and reduce the noise when the cats jumped on it. I do recommend the anti-tip device, especially if you have large cats. If they are at the top and are jumping around a lot, it gets a bit tippy.There is carpet on the lower two levels as well as a piece mid-way up the unit. There is no carpet on the top two levels, but that did not seem to bother my cats. My cats like it so far - they were even trying to climb it while I was still assembling the unit. So I think it is a win for the cats. There are no vertical scratching surfaces, so you may want to add a stand alone scratching post adjacent to the tree.Overall, it looks 100% better than a typical carpet covered tree. It is a particle board piece of furniture, so I would equate it to the stuff you buy at IKEA. Looks nice, but isn't put together quite as cleanly as a solid wood piece of furniture. It is nicer than your typical Walmart particle board furniture though.

What I like... lots of levels for the kitties and I can use as an end table for my laptop, water and remoteS. Plus very little dust-collecting carpet. Easy to install. Felt like quality. A few dings/scratches, easily hid with a felt marker. Pretty stable.What I do NOT like (and I knew this prior to purchasing)... all surfaces are slick AND SLIPPERY except for two small sections with a small amount of carpet and the bottom has sisal. I don't believe this is the most cat friendly of products advertised as a "cat tree." However...The reason I bought it even though I did not like the slick surfaces is because I ordered the spongy pads that go with the Ferris Cat Wheel. So... I am going to put these pads on all the flat slippery surfaces. This is going to make me happy! 😊. You could also use stair runners and double sided sticky tape.NOTE: I would NOT recommend for BIG cats. On of my cats is only 11 lbs and the other is 10 lbs. Much bigger cats and I would not suggest until you put something on the slick surfaces so that they can climb the tightness of each level. PLUS moving from level 3 to level 4 is ridiculously tight for a good size cat. My 10 lb cat has a hard time because there is a teeny tiny landing pad when coming down. Which also means launching off from a tiny place when going up.Otherwise, a solid, modern piece of furniture.

I like this furniture piece. I purchased it in black and it works well with my very modern decor. I normally shy away from anything that has to be put together but I wanted something for the cat as well as something that could work as a beautiful piece in my studio. I had no problems putting the furniture together. Everything lined up well - thank goodness. The only thing I didn't like was that the stickers that indicated how to put everything together were really stuck onto the furniture. It took a bit to get them off but I did and I have exactly what I wanted a beautiful, unique piece of furniture that I can use and that the cat can be happy with. Well, now we come to the cat. She never liked the piece. She refused to get up onto it. I used cat nip. I coaxed her up. I put her inside the little cubby hole and gave her the favorite cat toy. NOTHING. I decided not to return it, since I had no intention of disassembling the thing and shipping it back across the USA, so I ended up with a nice piece of furniture that for me was too expensive a piece to get had I known that the cat was never going to use it.

Like you, I was excited to find a cat tree that looks like a nice piece of furniture, so I took the leap and spent the money. Take my advice and don't do it.First, it arrived in over 20 pieces and with a huge box of hardware -- but without complete instructions. The instructions should have been downloadable from the site but weren't. At least the company responded to my issue the same day and sent me a copy in the mail.But once it was assembled, I discovered there's noticeable damage on the front. And that the panels don't meet up evenly in many places because of where the pre-drilled holes are placed. And that the paint finish is uneven when the light hits it because the paint was touched up and every mark shows with that shiny finish. Oh, except parts of the finish aren't actually glossy. Some are matte, and it doesn't make it look interesting. It makes it look even cheaper.Be aware that the product photos are touched up, so that this looks like it's a higher quality piece than it is. If you do decide to buy, be sure to examine every piece before you put it together. And be sure you have the time, patience, and a drill with a screwdriver bit to assemble this unit. If you tried to use just a screwdriver, it would take even longer than the 2 hours it took me and a very handy friend to put mine together.It would take me even longer to disassemble, rebox, and ship it back to the company, so now I'm stuck with something I don't like and regret buying.

Very awesome cat tree. I loved how unique it was and how it perfectly matched the decor in our living room for our small apartment. My own car enjoys the height of it. Also, it was a heavy package but very easy to put together. Didn't take long.I bumped down one star because of the "wobblyness" of the structure when finished. Might be better if there was something to anchor it to the wall.

I bought this a few months back. I think this is a cool looking piece of furniture, and it fits in well with the decor of my place. Kitty likes it as well, she frequently uses the scratching pad on the bottom and the cubby hole / cat house on the 2nd level, though she doesn't often go to the 4th. (Mind you she has a proper cat tree that she's in love with, so that's likely why....ya I spoil my kitty).Overall I'm quite happy with this purchase. Four stars out of five because, there were a couple of holes that didn't line up properly with the screws during assembly, but that's an easy fix: drilled new ones. Also, there are numbered white stickers on the different boards to help with assembly instructions, but they don't come off easy so I left them on as I was afraid it would rip the paint off or otherwise ruin the surface below them. Most of them you can't see once it's set up because of the placement, but one or two you can.

Would be nice if it had more pads or carpet on it but other than that it's a much nicer unit then most

Easy to put together and looks like a sleek piece of furniture

This unit smelled like paint or wood sealer. It also has some sharp corners. Furthermore, it is also not square, plumb and true when fully assembled. The weight of the upper pieces and compartments made the lower parts flex making the assembly aesthetically unappealing and crooked. We returned this product and bought a second of the other cat tower I purchased and reviewed previously.