Diogenes Scratching Barrel review

I recently bought a Diogenes Scratching Barrel from Zooplus. Currently it's in the sale and you can get an additional 5% discount if you buy the grey or beige version. I buy most of my cat food from Zooplus so I've paid a one off fee to get 3% off on all my orders, and also remembered to login to my ancient TopCashback account to get some money back (a mere 36p it turned out, but I'm sure it will add up given the amount of money I spend on Zooplus!)

I've seen a few of these lately in people's catios and thought they would be a nice alternative to the standard cat tree for cats who like hiding. We already have two indoor cat trees though (one each, they're spoilt) and an outdoor one. We also have a distinct lack of free space in the house. Since I blogged about the stuff we keep in the catio it forced me to think about what the cats actually like and use. Having seen our poor neighbour cat crying on his balcony to get in at 6am, I took their cat den out and put it in the garden for other cats to use as shelter, and have since seen said cat sniffing around it, so hopefully that will go to good use soon. I also took out the planter, as Opal and Mica keep digging up the poor plant I potted in it and getting soil everywhere in the process.

So, I took some measurements of the newly available space and decided I could fit in the large version. This is under the roofed section and well away from the open areas so I'm hopeful rain won't get to it. I think the large size is perfectly sufficient for the majority of cats, but if you have a large breed the XL would likely be better. The lowest section is a nesting spot and both that section and the section above have a hole in to allow access to the next step up. I think Opal could probably lie on the middle section if she wanted to but I doubted it would be comfortable for Mica. That's still two decently sized nesting spots for them to use though, plus the comfy bed on the top which can be removed for cleaning.

I bought this with Opal in mind as Mica is a bully at times and will chase her around the catio, which worries me as they only have the one exit. I thought the middle section might be a bit of a squeeze for Mica in which case Opal may be able to use it as a haven away from him when he's being a pain and she can't reach the exit. Alas, other than a quick poke of her head in, Opal is mostly disinterested currently. It was Mica who was determined to get in it before J had even put it down, and its probably him muscling in that puts Opal off. Hopefully she's investigate it properly once he's off doing other things.

It's surprisingly heavy and made of sturdy wood wrapped in soft cosy fleece. I don't have any concerns about it tipping over certainly. The diagonal holes are a great idea as it lets your cat view out from multiple sections. I've got the top hole facing the garden, the middle hole facing where we pass the catio when accessing the garden, and the lowest hole facing the back of the catio which sits against a brick wall. You can see in the photo below that I've added in a plastic ball toy they enjoy in the remaining space.

 

The weather has been quite pleasant recently and we're due a heat wave this week, so I expect the cats will stick to the wooden shelves and their cooling mat for now. I'm sure this will be appreciated when it gets colder though as it's super snuggly and the lowest section should be free from draughts too due to the placement. 

Not sure these pom poms will last long, but equally they're not dangling so Mica was mostly content to wear one as a hat rather than whack it. I doubt they'll scratch the barrel either, which is a shame given that's what they're marketed as. I just don't think it's the kind of texture they want to scratch but if you're keeping one in the home it's worth putting it alongside whatever thing they like to scratch (and you don't want them to scratch!) in case they put two and two together and use it for its intended function.

As you can see, plenty of space for Mica, who's a fairly large moggy considering he's not even 2 yet. I'm pleased to say though that both him and Opal have lost half a kilo so they're getting closer to the weight they should be! A big issue with indoor cats is getting them to expend the same amount of energy an outdoor cat would, but we're getting there, along with reduced treat rations.

Much to my amusement this is the first cat thing J actively encouraged me to purchase for the name alone. My uneducated self didn't get the reference, but I now know Diogenes was a Greek philosopher who lived in a barrel, hence the name!