Assembling a Cat Tower

I decided to splurge by buying a cat tower.  I saw it in an ad and it looked too complicated to just copy.  Sometimes it is worth buying stuff.  So here is the sequence for assembling it...

 Be careful to use the 2-screw bolts at this point,  I missed that and had to undo some bolts!

The box wasn't drilled through all the way on mine,  I expect that was an anomaly.  Yours should be fine.  Cat not included, BTW...

 You can tighten the sisal posts very hard.  Big 3/8" bolts...

 Here you can see Iza in the box.  She liked it so much that she was IN the tower as I was constructing it.

That side ramp is hard to put on.  You might want to not bother with it,  Ayla and Iza don't use it.  But if you do, be aware that the set screw heads in the small bolts are weak and can strip out.  And I recommend you attach the brackets to the bottom of of the platform first rather than the ramp first...  It leaves better vision and set screw angle.  I did it the wrong way and had to crawl underneath the platform.  That was awkward.

 Its reaching the final stage...

 Complete!

Multiple views.

1 hour 45 minutes for complete assembly (from car to completion).  But I was taking pictures and not rushing it. And it is a heavy box.  I had to take all the parts out of the box in the car and some of the sisal rope posts are locked in pretty tight.  It would have been better to open the top box flaps and turn it upside down to get the parts out.  But its a good solid structure.  The 3/8" bolts can be tightened as hard as you can turn the posts.

Petco has this on for $149 sale til 12/18.  The $99 model is almost as good.  So far, the upper box is most popular.  The cats seem to like to look out the small square.

No home tools required, BTW.  All bolts and braces are attached with 2 hex head drivers provided.  Another thought...  To align the bolt holes with the tapped screw threads, a fat tapered pen works well. While I didn't rush the assembly, I did have to struggle sometimes getting the pre-drilled holes to match up with the tapped inserts.  And for those not familiar with hex head screws, I will point out the both ends fit the bolts.  Put the short end in for best leverage. Making the bolts really tight matters.  All in all, the structure is more solid than I first expected.

I almost forgot to mention that there are sturdy yarn loops under some of the platforms and boxes.   The instructions don't mention what they are for.  Those are for the hanging cat toys!  Do remember to hang those from the loops!  And position the platforms so the loops are where you want the hanging toys.