First of all the top perch and house is to small for a normal size cat. My male cat is a normal size cat and not fat at all. The platform that the small house sits on is too big, because it leaves no room for your cat to jump down from to the bigger house. My cat used to be an outside cat and climbed all over everything. He wasn't able to use this without falling on his face. I had to put him up there to begin with, cause he wants nothing to do with this cat tree. I think that has a lot to do with his temperament, not the cat tree. I also think he is still getting used to being indoors and prefers things like tree limbs and block walls. I do have to say that this cat tree is very sturdy and good quality, even though I had to rearrange it so it's safer and easier to climb on. The instructions are just pictures, but is very easy to follow and put together.