I just put this together yesterday, so I may amend this review in a few months if it holds up. Picture attached shows how I put the kit together, on my screened-in porch. As you can see, I put the hood/ramp thing on as an extra platform instead of how it was intended. I did this to improve sturdiness and also because I did not like where it was supposed to go in the instructions (impeded my intended function for the cat tower). Also, I put a blanket over the top two platforms because that is where my cats like to sit the most. The purpose of the blanket is to help prevent the cats from ripping the incredibly thin material the platforms are made out of. The loss of three stars comes down to this: overall instability, thinness of platform material, and quality of the velcro. I was very disappointed to find other reviews were correct in stating that the velcro is poorly sewn onto the fabrics. It is fine velcro, but the stiff side of the velcro on the "flap" attachments on the platforms is sewn on with just one straight stitch on one side (not even the middle of the strip). The rest of the velcro strips are sewn on with four straight stitches, one on each end and side. Unfortunately, this leaves little corners sticking up on the velcro strips, which irritate the cats (especially the stiff Velcro strips on the upper side of the platforms next to the fabric loops. The material used for the platforms is so thin, you can see through it. My cat stands on it and I am afraid she will fall through, and she is 8lbs, a normal sized little thing. She won't even stand with her feet on the platform, but wouod rather put her front and back paws onto the plastic tubes for support. My other cat is larger and he is 11lbs. The bigger cat will very reluctantly stay put if I place him on the cat tower, but he does not feel comfortable getting onto it himself. The cube things that the kit comes with are a joke. Nothing is there to stiffen the bottom to support the cat's weight. The bottoms of the cubes do not even attach to the poles. Even just an attached string to tie down the corners of the cubes would have been nice. This is where I am at on the stability: it won't break or tip over, BUT it does sway quite a bit. I get that it won't be perfectly stiff, and it is probably better for it to have a little flexibility given the cats will be jumping on to/off of the platforms. However, the amount it moves when the cats just use the scratching posts is ridiculous. I used a rubber mallet to ensure all of the joints were securely fastened. The whole thing shouldn't move with my cat just turning her head to watch a squirrel. I think the amount of wobbling that happens when my bigger cat tries to jump on is why he is unwilling to use the tower. The redeeming qualities of this cat tower are that it was easy to put together, it came with everything it was supposed to, the main structure won't fall apart, and at least one of my cats enjoys using it. Was it what I expected for $50? No. But maybe I should have lowered my expectations. This is a mass-produced item made by a company that sells other poor-quality items. If this were made by a company who specializes in modular cat towers, I would have expected far better quality and at a higher price. If this product is made in a 2.0 Version, I would gladly pay $80 for it, IF the following things are improved: thicker & more durable fabrics, better stitching, more attachment pieces for the cubes, and bigger discs for the feet of the base (or just make some joints with one top hole and the bottoms flat). I really like the concept of this cat tower and I want to get more kits from Kitty City to make my tower bigger. However, I will have to DIY some modifications to make it safer and more enjoyable for my cats. All this kit is good for are the plastic pieces for the frame of the tower. The rest of it is basically trash. If you want to improve the stability of your own tower (if you have bought one or plan to buy one), I suggest cutting the bottom tubes off of the feet of the base and not use the plastic discs they give you to cover the tubes on the feet of the base. I also suggest getting more pieces so that you can expand the base. The base level of the tower would make the whole thing more stable if you have a 2x3 or even 3x3 cube unit base, instead of the kit's suggested T-shape configuration.
