Window Hammock Cat Perch

An indoor cat has a fairly short list of needs beyond food: somewhere high, somewhere warm and something moving to watch. A window perch delivers all three at once, which is why it changes the behaviour of a bored cat more than any toy in the shop.

The cups are 8cm industrial units, not the small ones that come on a bathroom hook, and the frame is rated to 12kg, comfortably more than any cat that will fit on it. It holds on smooth glass and on sealed uPVC; it will not hold on textured or dusty glass, so clean the panel with an alcohol wipe first and press each cup until the lever seats.

Check it weekly for the first month. Suction relaxes with temperature swings, and a south-facing window in July is a harder job than a north-facing one in March. If a cup has softened, unseat it, wipe both faces and re-press. That takes ten seconds and is the whole maintenance schedule.

The cover is fleece over a rigid board, unclips at four corners and machine washes at 30°C. Most cats take a day or two to find it; a warm towel from the dryer laid on top for one afternoon usually does the introduction for you.