The balls on the string are actually very durable. My cats love it and the bell balls really keep them entertained. My cat is super rough and he plays hard on this thing without any wavering.

My 10-month old kitten fits nicely in his tree. Have had no problem so far. My little kitty absolutely loves this climber!

Two hyper male cats tore this scratcher to shreads within 2 months. The plastic base is still attached, the hollow post is upside down on the floor, and a nail brad is sticking into the hollow. The dangling ball thing is useless.

The base is not heavy enough to stabilize the tree so it tips over a lot. You cannot use a single steel nut, mounted in a round plastic tube cap at the ends of cardboard tubes, and expect that single steel nut to withstand the daily force applied by a...  Read More

At first great - but in less than 2 months horrible! Don't waste your time and money trying to save money. I suggest you take your business to a company that takes responsibility for its mistakes and actually values its customers.