The cat tree arrived well packaged and it was relatively easy to assemble, but I have had some previous experience with similar items. My youngest feather weight absolutely loves to zoom through the round parts and she claimed the higher perch.  The tree is sturdy enough to accommodate my heavy weight darlings too and it offers plenty of vertical scratching surface on the poles. It looks presentable in my living room where I spend most of my home time and therefore my cats too. Leaves were a nice thought but a very short-lived one. No surprise there. For the money, it is all around a well made cat tree.