I'll start with the construction, which is very simple. Just follow the directions and you'll be OK. They are all in little pictures, so if you have someone in the house who likes putting things together you're golden, but if not It does come with a little card you can scan if you would like to see a construction video. Either way, do give yourself at least 40 minutes, but it goes together quite well. And it's a very tall, sturdy, heavy, complete tree. The carpet is soft, that micro plush sort of softness, and the two little hanging baskets are sturdy and swivel about. Note that they do not have a bottom of any sort, so the cat will hang by his or her own weight, which they do tend to like. However, if your cat claws a lot they may claw through it, or if over time if the fabric wears through you're going to have to probably just remove the basket. The scratching posts consist of a uncovered pole that you wrap the scratching material around and Velcro on. It can be a little loose. Hypothetically, it should be replaceable, but you are probably going to have to be creative. Still, one of those "office carpet" squares that you can buy at the dollar store, cut to shape and with a little bit of Velcro glued on, should do it. This doesn't take as much room as trees that provide more of a stairstep structure, but the cats will have to climb from level to level, and it's quite a distance between the last two. If your cat doesn't like to climb you should probably get one where they can kind of hop from level to level instead. And the carpet is white cream, as they always are, so be prepared to vacuum it if your cat does not match the color. (Mine definitely do not). Lastly, my cats took one look at "the new thing in the house" and shunned it on principle, as usual. I sprayed it with some catnip spray, and that solved that problem. They are now comfortable.