Kitty advice

[smilingcat]

Don't be shocked to see a declawed cat making it to the top of a floor to ceiling scratching post with landing/perch along its height. Cats can jump really well.

Years and years ago, my partner came home from work and found out that her husband had declawed both of her himalayans (by a vet). After recovery, the two cats still managed to scale their backyard fence.

[Biciclista]

declawed or not, adolescent cats need places to play and toys to play with!

[Aggie_Ama]

declawed or not, adolescent cats need places to play and toys to play with!

Good reminder, she likes her fuzzy stick cat toy and chasing Heidi. I will start looking for a cat tower so she can have a jungle gym of her own. This morning she was trying to scale a bookshelf.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Good reminder, she likes her fuzzy stick cat toy and chasing Heidi. I will start looking for a cat tower so she can have a jungle gym of her own. This morning she was trying to scale a bookshelf.

Cat towers are very expensive, but I think they are well worth the money.
Your cat will see it as their refuge and 'lookout point', they will satisfy their scratching instincts on it (even when declawed), and they'll use it for hours every single day for years and years to come. Everyone in the family winds up being happy. It's the best gift you could ever give a cat you love.
A lot depends on where you locate it- if they don't like the first place you pick, try another location.

We don't have a cat 'tree'- but we have a tall scratching post and the special 'climbing wall' I made which Pearl absolutely LOVES:
We have a dark hallway with several corners that stick out. I bought a big 3' x 5 foot piece of brown carpet remnant and screwed it onto the wall, centered on a projecting corner and reaching five feet up the wall. OMG, you should see Pearl come racing down the hall and throw herself up onto the carpet 'wall' about 4 feet up from the floor, and then hang there for a few seconds like some wild thing with a crazed look, then ricochet off it with a huge leap and race back down the hall again. This simple carpeted wall corner has provided ENDLESS joy and excitement for Pearl over the past 6 years! She loves that it's so tall, like a tree trunk. it drives her wild.

Whenever Pearl does this wall leap, it always reminds me of the David Letterman Velcro suit classic segment (watch the famous Velcro leap at the end of the clip):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9uxxqKGmYg