I love this tree. I just got it so I can't speak to the longevity of it, but putting it together was easy and my cats adore this thing. The leaves seemed cheesy at first but they actually really make it look good! And my cats enjoyed chewing on them. :) There was a pretty potent smell when I pulled out the pieces and it lasted for a few days but it's gone now and it never bothered me or my cats. Overall I'm SO HAPPY with this and my little terrors are too.