Cat won't use the cat tree? The 7 causes, in order

Nine times out of ten, when a cat won't use the cat tree, it isn't a bad cat tree: it's a good tree in the wrong place. Before you think about sending it back, work through the causes in the order below — they're ranked from most to least common, and the first three solve the vast majority of cases.

1. Location — the number one cause

A tree in a hallway, a closed bedroom or the dead space behind the sofa doesn't stand a chance. Your cat wants to keep watch over their territory from somewhere safe: they need a view and life going on around them.

The same reasoning applies to a scratcher that gets ignored: location tops the list of causes, well ahead of material. The full diagnosis, ranked by frequency, is in my cat won't use their scratcher.

Move it into the room where you actually live, 30–50 cm from a window, somewhere people pass. It's the first thing to test, it costs nothing, and very often it's enough. The good and bad spots are covered in detail in our dedicated guide: where to put a cat tree.

2. The height doesn't suit their age

An older cat or one with arthritis won't go up a tree whose first level is 60 cm off the floor. A young, active cat will lose interest in a 70 cm model that gives them no vantage point.

Watch where they settle of their own accord around the home: if they live on top of the wardrobes, your tree is too low. If they never leave the floor and the sofa, it may be too high or too hard to climb. The guidelines for each profile are in how tall a cat tree should be.

If they already live on top of your wardrobes
At 160 cm, above human eye level, your cat gets the one spot in the flat where they look down on everything, with an enclosed nest at the top to sleep tucked away. Discover the tall rattan cat tree →

3. The platforms are too small for them

This is the blind spot of cheap models, and it's a deal-breaker. A platform must let your cat lie down completely, legs stretched out, with nothing hanging over the edge. A cat who has to curl up tight won't come back.

The problem is obviously more acute for big cats: if you have a Maine Coon or a heavily built cat, that's probably where to look.

4. It smells new, not of home

A new piece of furniture smells of the workshop, the box and the journey — in other words, of the unknown. Cats read their surroundings through smell, so to them it's a foreign object planted in the middle of their territory.

The fix is simple: put a piece of fabric they already sleep on onto the beds, or gently rub a cloth on their cheeks and then on the tree's posts. You're transferring their facial pheromones, the ones they use to mark what belongs to them. Within a night or two, the object is no longer foreign.

5. Nothing draws them to it

A bare tree gives no reason to climb it. Three ways to tempt them, in order of effectiveness:

• Catnip — it triggers a reaction in around 70% of adult cats. Sprinkle some on the platforms and beds, and top it up every two to three days at first. In the remaining 30%, it does nothing: that's not a failure, it's genetic.
• Treats placed up high, never at the bottom. The goal is for your cat to climb on their own, level by level.
• Play — run a fishing-rod toy along the posts and across the platforms. You create the first contact without ever touching them.

If your cat is particularly anxious, a calming pheromone diffuser in the room can help break the deadlock. Use it alongside the right location, never instead of it.

6. You put them on it by force

It's the most natural reflex, and the most counterproductive. A cat lifted onto a platform doesn't learn that the spot is pleasant: they learn they were made to go there. Some cats hold on to that association for months.

If it's already happened, stop all handling completely for one to two weeks, leave the tree where it is, and start again using only play and treats.

7. They simply haven't had enough time

Some cats climb up on delivery day; others circle it for three weeks before settling in as if they'd always lived there. Age, temperament and history play a huge part — a recently adopted or naturally timid cat will take longer.

Before you call it a failure, give it a full month with a good location and a familiar smell on it.

The ten-day plan

1. Days 1–2 — move the tree into the main living area, near a window, and do nothing else.
2. Days 3–4 — put a cloth that smells of your cat on the lowest, most accessible bed.
3. Days 5–7 — catnip on the platforms, treats up high, and one play session a day around the tree.
4. Days 8–10 — add nothing, just watch. Most cats have taken the plunge by this stage.

What if it really is the tree?

There are still cases where the tree is simply unsuitable: too low for a climber, too high or too steep for a senior, platforms too narrow for a big cat, or an unstable model that sways at the first jump — and a cat who has felt furniture move beneath them won't go back up.

In that case, it's better to start again from the right criteria than to persist: our guide to choosing a cat tree goes through the five criteria in order of importance. Our three cat trees suit different profiles, and you have 30 days to make sure, at home, that your cat takes to it.