My husband and I are going to build our boy a climbing pole with sisal rope and PVC pipe. We have very high ceilings (20+ feet).
We are going to put some shelves on the wall so he can jump to those as well from the pole. How high should we go with the pole? Is it too dangerous to go higher than 8 feet? We have tile floors so I'm worried if he falls he will hurt himself.

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The little monsters 3

I definitely would not go up the 20' that you have. Most cat trees top out at 8 feet and the one I have is only 78 inches, but when Raiden is on the top platform, I'm afraid for him. He fell off the lower platform once onto a recliner. Just remember with a climbing pole, once he gets to the top, he has to get back down and the logical thing is for him to jump instead of climb down backwards, so having some steps on the wall where he can jump over and then use the steps to come back down to earth will be nice. I hope you'll post pictures of your kitty using this. It sounds like a fun project!

I will definitely put shelves close by on the adjacent wall. I might go about 10- 12 feet because the pole will look weird if I stop sooner. We will have to figure out a way to make it safe. Thanks for the replies. He will be able to get up to the second floor loft from the pole which will be cool. I'll post a pic when it is done. I just ordered 1220 feet of sisal from Amazon. We are changing the carpeted stairs (which he loves) to wooden steps so I'm trying to give him something else to replace his beloved carpet that he kangaroos.

We finished the pole! It took about 2 days for the boy to get used to it and learn he knows how to climb. Now he's running up it all the time and loves it!

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/280x20 ... je8JbL.jpg

Sorry, I can't make the picture show up. It came out pretty nice though. Now I want a wheel for him.