How to Clean a Cat Tree: Hair, Odor, and the Sisal Problem
Moon & Star Cat Wall Shelves (B0GWRGY9L4) vs. Globlazer 70-Inch Tree (B0DGKR5MMP) vs. Heybly Cat Tree (B0B7RQTSB7)
The best way to clean a cat tree isn't a magic spray or a special vacuum attachment, it's understanding what you're actually cleaning: hair woven into sisal, dander baked into carpet, and odors trapped in the base. I've cleaned more of these than I can count, and the process changes completely depending on whether you bought a $40 budget tree or a $150 investment piece.
| Product | Price | Why it won | Why it lost |
|---|---|---|---|
 Globlazer 70-inch Tree (B0DGKR5MMP) |
~$150 | Removable washable top bed, soft fabric that doesn't trap odor, sisal that survives scrubbing | Instructions vague on certain parts, top cover difficult to stretch back on |
 Moon & Star Shelves (B0GWRGY9L4) |
~$50 | Thick wood wipes clean easily, hammock is machine-washable | Drywall anchors snapped, hard wood base needs a blanket |
 Heybly Tree (B0B7RQTSB7) |
~$40 | Cheap enough to replace, neutral colors hide fur, tiny ball toy is a hit | Lightweight, photos make it look bigger, cubby and platform are separate pieces |
The Globlazer 70-inch tree is the easiest cat tree to clean that I've tested, because the top bed comes off and goes in the washing machine, and the sisal posts actually hold up to scrubbing instead of shredding into a mess.
I've been a vet tech for eight years and I've fostered over sixty cats. I've cleaned trees that smelled like a barn, trees that shed carpet fibers all over my living room, and trees where the sisal disintegrated the first time I actually tried to scrub it. The Globlazer is the one I'd recommend to most people, and the cleaning routine is a big part of why.
Pros
- Top bed is removable and washable, which is huge for me
- Fabric is soft and doesn't feel cheap, so it doesn't hold onto odors the way rough carpet does
- Sisal posts have held up to daily scratching and actual cleaning attempts
- Every single part was included, which is rare
Cons
- Instructions were slightly vague on certain parts, took me about an hour and a half
- The top bed cover was difficult to stretch back on after washing
- At 70 inches, you need a tall ceiling and a stable corner
Compared to the Heybly tree, the Globlazer is in a different league when it comes to cleaning. The Heybly is a fantastic price and my kittens love it, but the fabric is thinner and I don't trust it to survive repeated washing. The Globlazer's fabric feels like it was made to be cleaned, not just looked at. The Heybly's neutral colors hide fur well, but that just means you forget how much fur is actually on it until you vacuum it and the canister fills up.
The Moon & Star shelves are a different story entirely. They're wall-mounted, so the cleaning routine is simpler, but the hammock is the problem. The wood base is hard, so I laid a small blanket in it, and now my cats fight over it. That blanket needs washing weekly. The wood itself wipes clean with a damp cloth in about two minutes, which is a relief after wrestling with a full-size tree.
How I tested
I've been living with all three of these for the past month. My foster crew is five cats right now, and I've got a chunky boy who tests weight limits, a skittish former stray who needs high perches, and kittens who will destroy anything that isn't built right. I've watched them scratch, perch, sleep, and shed on all three products.
For the cleaning test, I did what I do every week: vacuumed every surface with the brush attachment, scrubbed the sisal posts with a damp cloth and a mild soap solution, and checked the fabric for odor. I also washed the Globlazer's top bed cover in the machine, which is the real test.
Cleaning the sisal posts
Sisal is the hardest part of any cat tree to clean. It's rough, it catches hair, and it's almost impossible to get truly clean once it starts to fray. The Globlazer's sisal posts are the best I've tested for cleaning, because they're tightly wound and don't shed fibers when you scrub them.
I use a damp cloth with a tiny bit of dish soap, and I scrub in the direction of the fibers. The key is to not soak the sisal, because it'll shrink and pull away from the post. The Globlazer's posts have held up to this routine for weeks without fraying or loosening. The Heybly's posts are thinner and have started to show wear, but for the price, I'm not surprised.
My chunky boy, who weighs about 15 pounds, scratches the Globlazer's posts daily. I've scrubbed them three times since I got the tree, and they still look almost new. That's not something I can say for most trees I've owned.
The hair problem
Cat hair gets everywhere, and it's worse on carpet-covered trees than on fabric-covered ones. The Globlazer's soft fabric is a blessing here, because hair doesn't embed into it the way it does with rough carpet. I vacuum it twice a week with the brush attachment, and it takes about ten minutes for the whole tree.
The Heybly's neutral colors hide fur well, which is a double-edged sword. It looks clean longer, but when I do vacuum it, the amount of hair that comes off is shocking. The Moon & Star shelves are the easiest of the three, because wood doesn't hold onto hair at all. The hammock is the only fabric surface, and it goes in the washing machine.
My former stray is a curvy girl, and she sheds like crazy. She spends most of her time on the Globlazer's top perch, so that's where the most hair accumulates. The removable top bed makes this manageable, because I can just take it off and wash it instead of trying to vacuum a fixed perch.
Odor control
Cat trees absorb odors over time, and the cheaper ones get bad fast. The Globlazer's fabric is soft and doesn't feel cheap, and that translates to odor control. I've had it for a month with five cats, and it doesn't smell like anything. The Heybly is starting to develop a faint smell, but it's not bad yet.
The Moon & Star shelves don't have an odor problem, because there's so little fabric. The hammock is the only concern, and it's washable.
I've had trees that smelled terrible after a few weeks, and the smell never came out no matter what I did. The Globlazer isn't going to be one of those trees. The fabric breathes, and the removable cover means I can actually wash the surface that touches the cats.
Washing the covers
The Globlazer's top bed cover is removable and washable, which is huge for me. I've washed it twice now, and it comes out looking almost new. The only issue is getting it back on, because the cover is snug. It took me a few tries the first time, and I was worried I'd rip it. It's definitely not going to pop off easily, which is good, but it's not a quick process.
The Heybly doesn't have removable covers, so I'm limited to vacuuming and spot cleaning. For a $40 tree, that's acceptable. For the Globlazer's price, I expect washable covers, and it delivers.
The Moon & Star hammock is machine-washable, and I've washed it once so far. It came out fine, but I air-dried it because I didn't want to risk shrinking it in the dryer.
The anchor problem
The Moon & Star shelves are adorable, and I'm a sucker for anything celestial. The wood is thick and sturdy, and assembly was a breeze for the most part. But the drywall anchors were a problem. They snapped. I had to buy metal toggle bolts from the hardware store to make it work.
That's a real frustration I've seen echoed in reviews over and over. The yellow anchors did not work how they were supposed to. They either fell out of the wall or only half worked. If you buy these shelves, plan on buying toggle bolts before you start.
The shelves themselves are great once they're mounted. The hammock is a hit with my cats, but the wood base is hard. I laid a small blanket in it to give it more cushion, and now they fight over it. The steps are a bit small for my bigger fosters, and a fifteen-pound ragdoll wanted to climb them but couldn't get a grip on the bare wood. I'm going to add kitty carpet to the steps so he feels less afraid to climb on his own.
Should you buy it?
If you want a tree that's actually easy to clean, the Globlazer is the one. The removable top bed, the soft fabric, and the durable sisal make it the easiest tree I've owned to keep fresh. It costs more than a budget tree, but you'll save money in the long run because you won't have to replace it when it gets gross.
If you're on a tight budget and you have kittens or small cats, the Heybly is a fine choice. Just know that cleaning it is more of a vacuum-and-hope situation, and you might need to replace it sooner.
The Moon & Star shelves are worth buying if you love the look and you're willing to fix the anchor problem. They're easy to clean, and they free up floor space, which is a plus in a multi-cat household.
I'm still monitoring how the sisal posts hold up to daily scratching and whether the wall anchors hold after a few weeks of use. I'll update this if anything changes. I'm also keeping an eye on the Heybly tree with the kittens to see how it survives kitten chaos and repeated cleaning attempts. Let's see how this goes.