The Refined Feline Lotus Cat Tower Furniture, Multi-Level Cat Tree with Scratching Pad, Perches, House to Climb, Play, Relax for Kitty

I have bought three of them over the past 10 years. They all look beautiful, and they are easy to clean. Our cats love to climb up and lounge on them. They are not so good as scratch posts, though.

After many years of buying (and replacing) those hideous carpet covered monstrosities (including making our own), my husband and I decided to purchase the Refined Lotus Cat Tower in Espresso in Jan 2019. It is a fabulous piece of furniture and I do mean "furniture". It sits in the living room with our Ekornes furniture and looks like part of the set.The cushion covers unzip, the carpet pads come off, and you can machine wash the carpet pads (if you have a washing machine with a hand wash cycle). Note: this is my personal experience and I cannot make this claim for any other washing machine. If concerned, always follow what the manufacturer recommends.About a year ago, we brought into our home a Balinese kitten and he recently showed great interest in the tower and started perching on it. In the past, the tower was used by another cat and we had sprinkled catnip on the pads. The Balinese is a bit unusual in that he is very sensitive to catnip. Normally, he is very loving and playful. But if exposed to catnip, he hisses, growls, swats, and attempts to bite. This is when we found you could wash the carpet pads. However, the catnip smell apparently remained after machine washing and sun drying the pads, cushions, and covers. Whether the catnip smell remains permanently in the pads or in the wood, I have yet to find out, as Amazon does not seem to offer the replacement pads. (Turns out I had to go directly to the Refined Feline website to order the pads and they were quite reasonable and shipped quickly - Christmas 2020 hint: check there for sales!)One other comment, the price. When I purchased this 22 months ago, it was $330 and it has since increased to $400. Is it worth $330? definitely and it is still worth $400 (watch who you buy from). In six to seven years, you will spend around that much on decent carpet versions ($50 - $70 each), not be able to clean them, and then throw them away in six to twelve months if you are fastidious. Meanwhile, the Lotus will still be beautiful and functional. It is hard to find any other cat "furniture" out there that is of similar quality and style.So kudos to The Refined Lotus, you made a beautiful and lasting product!Amazon? Please stock those replacement parts!.The price? Your decision.picture 1 - after 22 months - hidden until new pads are foundpicture 2 - only damage to one corner of pad, catnip nibblerpicture 3 - King Rufus on his throne (with a new pad!)

Amazon decided to ship this via USPS. I waited at home until about 1 pm at which point I received a message saying that delivery had been attempted which was most certainly not the case. Off to the post office where the package was sitting in the back - the post office had never attempted delivery. It was 69 pounds and luckily I have a mid-sized SUV which made getting it home possible but USPS does not help load the car and it is my understanding that heavy items like this won't ever be loaded on the truck. The lesson here is that if you purchase this and it is shipped USPS you will not receive it on the day they tell you because they won't ever load it on the truck due to its weight. I blame Amazon because UPS would bring this right to your door.The perch is REALLY nice. It took me 2 hours to assemble it by myself after lugging it into the house and checking and rechecking instructions. There is an online video that was super helpful (it's noted in the printed directions).This perch is not for older cats - it's too tricky for them to get up and down. If you are OK with them hanging on the lower tiers, you're good. That said, my older cat has shown zero interest in the perch despite catnip and treats being scattered all over it but her nickname is Rain Cat (like the Rain Man movie with Dustin Hoffman) because changing any part of her routine does not make her happy. The 7-year-old (pictured) is using it and seems to like it quite a bit but he only hangs out on the very top area because the two middle spots are more like "lie straight" areas and not the round nap spaces he was used to on the old carpet covered perch.Despite the price, I highly recommend this unit. I got the espresso one but I had also gotten a sample of the Mahogany color from the manufacturer and it is a beautiful warm medium brown. This was going in my office so I opted for the darker color because it's a better match but I bet the mahogany one is spectacular.You'll need a rubber mallet to get the little wood things that cover the holes to stay in (trust me - they will just keep falling out unless you do that).Another thing to note is that the cat scratcher part is on one side of the perch and the opening for the cubby at the bottom faces is on another so you cannot plan to rotate in one of the 4 directions to accommodate your furniture because there are really only two ways you can position it without missing out on one or more of the features mentioned but there is no way you will not love it.