It is strong and if the cats don’t use it, I can display sculpture on it! There was only one problem assembling— I had to loosen the two ended connectors that I had twisted in as far as they could go—so that the top pole fit snugly— otherwise it would be loose, but I figured this out. My cats prefer to sit on me, but I got some nice soft mats to add, instead of nasty carpet — put it near radiator by the window so they can observe the world.