A compromise must be made

I had a reality check yesterday. A big move (3+ hours away) would require my husband to get a different job over there, and I'm just not sure I want him to do that. He works at a great company and has a lot of job stability. It would have to be something spectacular to get me to give the ok.

On the plus side, I found an AWESOME house about 20 minutes away on a lake with an island. It's amazing what's around you that you don't know about. Check out the view...

But, as long as I'm living where I am now, a compromise needs to be made between me, my husband, and our cats. Since our latest rescue cat came last November, our cats have been seriously territorial, marking everything in sight, with constant fighting. I need to give them more space so they're not fighting over spots, especially since I decided not to let them sleep in the bedroom anymore (since I realized I sleep better without paws on my face). It doesn't help that we have no idea what to do about the litter box situation and can't get any of them declawed. (The sofa we just got a couple of months ago is already trashed.) So, without further ado, I present my temporary solution: a giant realistic cat tree.

Yes, these are insanely expensive. The ones I like are around $800, but the taller ones go past $1200. The taller ones are in the pictures above. I wanted something shorter, but just as pretty. Now, keep in mind the "basic" cat trees you can find just about anywhere run you about $100 and they are only about 3 feet high with bare minimum craftsmanship, made in China, and wear out fast. These, from www.ahiddenhollow.com, are made in the USA, excellent craftsmanship, super tall, super pretty (like, I wouldn't feel weird putting it in my living room or bedroom, or even a children's room that has a nature or fantasy theme) and if it means I can buy a new black leather chesterfield sofa with a matching loveseat -- totally justified. If I could make it myself, I would. But I know I can't, and I have a feeling this is going to save my sanity. UPDATE: my husband just convinced me to try to make our own first, so that's the plan. Home Depot here we come.