Mesh is the distinction worth understanding before choosing between window perches. A mesh bed lets air move underneath the cat, which is exactly what you want on a sunny sill in July and exactly what you do not want in a cold flat in January. This is the warm-weather answer: a breathable panel stretched in a frame, suspended on the glass, with nothing padded anywhere on it to trap heat against a sleeping cat.

The suction cups do the mounting, which frees the floor completely, and that is worth a great deal in a flat where there is no room for a cat tree and the cat still wants height. Mesh flexes under weight rather than holding a rigid shape, so it cradles a lounging cat instead of asking them to balance on a flat shelf, and it dries quickly if it needs a wipe. It comes in blue or black.

• Suction cups mount it directly to glass
• Breathable mesh bed with airflow underneath
• Wide view of the outside world
• Frees up floor space entirely
• Blue or black

On suction cups. They hold on clean, dry, smooth glass and nowhere else. Textured, frosted or dusty windows will not take them, and no suction mount should be trusted without a check and a firm press back down every few weeks.

Who it's for: indoor cats in warm rooms and small flats, where floor space is scarce and airflow matters more than padding.