K&H Pet Products Kitty Sill Fleece, Cat Window Perch Unheated - 14 X 24 Inches

(Just to clarify: I'm not sure why this is saying it's referring to the UNheated seat, as I did purchase the heated one... LOVE that is stays nice and warm for my senior kitty!)I am so thrilled to see how happy my cat is with this window seat!! She is laying in a sunny window, bathing herself and purring. :) She is almost 14 years old, and getting a bit arthritic, so I got her the heated seat, and she is in Kitty-Heaven! (The window is fairly close to the heat vent too, so she really stays extra cozy!)OK - First I have to comment on the packaging it was shipped in... Amazon shipped this in the original manufacturer's box, with only 2 little round sticky seals (placed by the manufacturer) holding the top end of the box closed... no shipping tape, no shipping box... nothing other than a label slapped on the retail packaging! I was truly shocked, as usually they are good about shipping things securely. And when I buy a $40 item (maybe not a lot to some folks, but it was a chunk for me) I really expect them to take some care when preparing for shipment. The box was damaged, and I was AMAZED that the hardware packet had not fallen out and gotten lost, because those 2 little round stickers were ripped and the box was over half-way OPEN when I got it! SO I almost took a star off for that, but that would be unfair to the manufacturer/product. It is not *their* fault that someone at Amazon was being lazy and didn't package this properly for safe shipping. (I hope someone from Amazon will read this and make sure it doesn't happen again... but I'm also going to fill out the "feedback on packaging" thing for this order, just to make sure!)Now that I got THAT out of the way, on to the seat: It comes with excellent, clear instructions, and is SUPER-easy to install. I'm a 50yo woman with arthritis issues of my own, and I was able to install the seat securely in the window with no help. It is hard to get the legs to snap/click into place - I had to push them REALLY hard to get them to click securely into place... but once they click (you'll know it - it's loud!) they are REALLY in there to stay! I feel totally confident that my cat is safe and won't fall (at least not due to any instability of the seat - it is very secure - installed with screws, not velcro).Here's a quick tip to keep in mind when you install the seat: Leave at least 1/8 inch between the edge of the seat and the window, so you'll have room to tuck the covering around it once installed. I had to un-do my first installation because I forgot to leave room to fit the cover around the edge that butts up against the window... now I have 3 extra drilled holes in my window-sill (but I'm not telling hubby about that just now... he may never need to know, since the window seat will probably be staying there forever! LOL!) Of course if we ever move, the seat is going with us, and I guess I'll have to fill in the holes then. ;) And on that subject... Personally, I would *NEVER* trust my cat's safety to those little strips of velcro. Our bedroom windows are almost 5 feet off the ground, and my girl is an old lady... I would be afraid she'd fall and get hurt with just the velcro holding the shelf. The holes you have to drill are quite small, and will be simple to fill in with a bit of wood-putty if you need to un-install the window at some point. I'd much rather have the peace of mind knowing my cat's perch is safe and secure than going the "easy way" just to avoid filling a few small holes. (Of course I understand some people rent and cannot drill holes in their window-sills... in that case, maybe I'd use the velcro, but also add some extra velcro beyond what is in the package, or some other way to add extra holding power... some kind of double-sided extra-strong sticky mounting tape, maybe? Or add another bracket underneath, that you can nail in?)As others have said, the unit itself (and the brackets) are plastic - sturdy/strong - and light-weight. Wood would make the shelf heavier than needed, so I don't have any problem with the plastic. I could see that clearly in the manufacturer's video, so it didn't bother me at all. The padding works well - along with the heating pad inserted inside, so that the surface doesn't feel lumpy or uncomfortable for kitty. (it might be a little more lumpy though, if you get the un-heated version). The faux lambskin cover has elastic all around for easy on-and-off to wash the cover, and slip it back on. My cat loves that stuff.Because my kitty is getting old, I put a tall dresser next to the window perch, so she can step down onto that, then jump onto the bed for getting down (our windows are quite high) and for getting back up again. She seems to be quite pleased with herself for getting up there. :)I totally love the product, and my kitty, Jasmine, thinks is PURR-fect! :)Oh one more thing - because I was having a hard time snapping the legs into place, I called the company to make sure I was doing it right, and they called me back within 20 minutes to answer my question - great service!

First, let me say that whoever relied on just the velcro and then whined about the kitty sill falling down, was incredibly naive and impractical. I mean, velcro?? It's a gimmick that they threw in there just to say that there are "two ways" of attaching it, but realistically, I wouldn't trust velcro to hold my cat's big bottom on that thing.Second, all the people complaining that the legs didn't fit or fell off - you were attaching them the wrong way, or not all the way. They need to snap into place, facing the right direction, and by snap into place I mean actually snap. That isn't easy if you're only using your hands, unfortunately, but don't give up until you hear that snap. I used a mallet to beat down on them, but yeah, eventually they did snap into place, and from that point on it would take more than a cat to get them off.Once you have attached the legs correctly and all the way to the snap, you drill the thing into the window sill and rest easy. Despite the fact that it's not a solid piece of plastic but a mesh frame, it's actually quite sturdy. The cover slips on and off easily, including after you've screwed the board to the window sill. The foam gives off a very strong smell, but that airs out pretty quickly.It took my vertically insecure cat 10 days to grow the cojones to try it, but one fine morning she finally did, and on that day she did not come down from it until dinner time.UPDATE: We've had this kitty sill for 3 years now, and it's still in great shape! I don't see any sagging or signs of wear at all. We haven't had any problems with it falling or anything else, ever. Even the foam layer hasn't compressed or anything! The cat absolutely loves that thing, and spends most of the day sleeping on it or looking out. My only complaint is that the material of the slip cover is such that it gets embedded with hair and is hard to clean, but even that's not a big deal. Overall I've been extremely happy with this kitty sill - it's very durable, it looks nice, and the cat loves it! I disagree with the 1-star reviews and would definitely recommend it!UPDATE #2: It has now been 7 years and 2 kids later (wow!) and the kitty sill is still holding strong! My kids are 4 and 2 years old and despite all my warnings, keep occasionally hanging off or climbing onto the kitty sill, but it hasn't fallen off yet! The main structure is intact, but the padding and the cover have gone to sh**. I replaced the padding easily with a piece of foam I had lying around from something else. The cover, however... How can this company not sell replacement covers?!?!? Do they expect you to buy a whole new kitty sill when the cover inevitably wears down? After 7 years our cover has been worn through, and the elastic is stretched out too wide, so the cover doesn't even stay on anymore. It's a sorry sight. I keep thinking I should make a new cover myself, but why should I have to? Shame on this company for not providing replacement covers! I still love the product itself, and so does our cat (and kids), but the cover situation is frustrating.