When you think of a cat tree what do you think of? Something pretty standard probably comes to mind, right? Maybe 4ft tall, covered in an earth tone colored ,carpet a scratch post and a bed up top? Just about 10 years ago, thats what I would've thought too. Over the last many years, I have been trying to change this image that people tend to have in their head when they think the words "cat tree". I wanted to create places for cats that were a bit more fun visually. Something less dull, more colorful; artistic. Thats how we landed on cat cribs. More specifically, "Elite Models", eye catching and whimsical feline hangouts that offer cats a unique, yet practical place to lounge and play. We have made cribs based on countless themes and colour schemes and in doing so have made hundreds of families happy across North America.
Almost 10 years later, I have built over 2000 cat cribs (with the help of 2 employees who joined me in recent years) and I want to share some of my favourites with you today.
10. Cobra's Tomb
This has always been one of my favourite models I've made. I made it when I was 18 I want to say. In my early business days I was making all kinds of models like this. I would pick a theme or concept, draw something up then see if I could bring it to life. I would love to get back to making these kinds of funky models again one day when I have more time to just play around with wood and carpet.
9. Mini Maine Tree
We have made probably 50 of these models by now, but this is definitely one of my favourites. This is a model we designed for Maine Coon owners who have big heavy cats and don't want their tree toppling over. We have made this model, as well as lots of our luxury models (see our site) in all kinds of colors but this blue one has been a favourite of mine. The base is massive as 42" x 24" and 9" high and ensures this tree isn't going anywhere! The whole tree is 6ft tall.
8. Arizona Dessert House
Another old model I made back in 2020. I always like the models where I move away from the traditional green and brown, "tree and structure", style models. Those are great, but its not often I get to make something as out there as this model. This customer had given me free reign on everything, she just wanted a tunnel system of some kind. A tunnel wraps around inside the unit and comes out up top where Sam ,our dog, is. Super fun theme and cool color concept.
7. Enchanted Forest
This model was the first large custom order I had ever gotten. It was also the first model I ever shipped! This exact picture is a remake of the original model, but the design itself is the same. Theres lots of space for cats to play on this one given its 6.5ft length and 6ft in height. The details were super fun to put together too. The waterfall, stone wall and path, the curved green hill, toadstool; so many little details that bring this model to life!
6. Heaven
Heaven is right. This model ws 10ft across and one of a kind. I had worked with my customer to come up with the extravagant model that was perfect for her house full of cats. This piece (along with the next 5) is certainly the centerpeice of the living room.
5. Lotus Lodge
These next 5 are all all pretty cool. I really liked the dimension of the main house on this piece and how I was able to make a house structure that wasn't just 4 walls. The little details too were super fun to come up with too. Flowerbox, balcony, lotus flowers...
4. Graveyard Shift
I knew I had to include a spooky model in this list. This model is a ton of people's favourite and I can see why. The coffin opens up and acts as a tunnel with a hole at the bottom and top to climb through. We also cut out little bat toys to play with and use our Cricut to cut out a vinyl sign with the customer's cats name (or whatever they choose).
3. Enchanted Village
Now this, is our biggest model ever. This was a super fun project we created for a family of 5 cats in the US. This model was 8ft long, 5ft deep and 7ft tall at the highest point. The customers wanted a whimsical forest vibe with lots of accents in purple and blue. This model took probably a month to make (we weren't working on it all day every day for a month). But these models require a ton of time to just visualize and try things to see what does and doesn't work. There are tons of little details in this model so I encourage you to check our social medias if you'd like to see some more up close photos.
2. Eden
It was super close for the number 1 spot (honestly this one and what I picked for #1 are probably interchangeable). This, at the time I am writing this, is our most recent Elite Model. I think its one of my absolute favourites because I really wanted to make it different from most of our other Elite Models. Usually people like to go for the aforementioned tree x structure combo, but since I had complete creative control (beyond a garden theme) I wanted to do something a bit different. The colors are different from usual too; a lot lighter in pallet. I painted on a floral design on the door which was a fun addition, but my favourite detail is definitely the flower archway. Again, lots of details in this one, so check our socials if you'd like to see more angles.
Jungle Paradise
And my favourtie model goes to.... Jungle Paradise. I think personally this is my best work to date. A lot of the time, my customer's want me to go all our with details, but this is a good example of less being more. Don't get me wrong there are still lots of cool details here, but I chose to not go any further with anything so that I could let certain parts standout. I am a sucker for symmetry too, so I think thats what really makes me like this model. The tunnel up top was such a fun piece to make, but my favourite detail is definitely the torches.
That concludes our list of our top 10 coolest cat trees. If you liked looking at these, feel free to check our facebook, instagram and tik tok as we have done tons of other Elite Models over the years. We also have less extravagant "Luxury Models" that we offer that are a bit more practical, space wise haha.
Anyways, thanks for reading,
Brad
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