Cats want three things from the same corner: somewhere to hide, something to scratch and something to bat about while they think. This puts all three into one wooden shell — a den with a cat-face cut-out for the entrance, a curved corrugated cardboard ramp over the top for scratching, and a sisal ball fixed above that for the paw which cannot leave anything alone for long.

The curve of the cardboard is the clever part. A flat scratcher only suits a cat who scratches horizontally and an upright post only suits one who stretches up, whereas a curved ramp offers both angles in a single surface and lets the cat choose. Corrugated card is also what most cats prefer to shred, because it gives under the claw in a way carpet does not, and the ramp wears out rather than the house beneath it.

• Wooden house with a cat-face cut-out entrance
• Curved corrugated cardboard scratching ramp on top
• Sisal ball fixed above for batting
• Combines hiding, scratching and play in one footprint
• Single option with no variants to choose between

Two corrections worth making. This is the low wooden house in the photographs, and a cat who needs a full upright stretch will still want a tall post as well.

Who it's for: Cats who like an enclosed hiding place, in homes where floor space rules out a full cat tree.