PetPal Gear Score

How much vertical lift the cat must produce in a single movement, taken from the listing's published step height where one exists. A continuous ramp scores at the top of this factor because it asks for no lift at all. Products that publish no per-step rise cannot earn full credit — an unstated rise is not a low rise. This factor carries the most weight because the reason an arthritic cat stops using furniture is that a single jump has become too expensive, and shrinking that jump is the entire purpose of the category.

What the manufacturer states about the climbing surface specifically, not the floor contact underneath. Carpet, moulded treads and friction-resistant fabric all earn credit; a non-slip claim that applies only to the base of the unit does not, because a cat slipping on the tread is the failure this factor exists to prevent. VCA's advice to provide non-skid floor surfaces for arthritic cats is the guidance behind the weight.

Whether the climb is one uninterrupted surface or a series of discrete lifts, and whether the listing publishes enough geometry — run and reach — to work out the gradient before buying. Continuous ramps score highest. Stepped products are capped here by design, and capped harder when no height is published at all.

Stated rubber feet, side rails, grippers, rigid framing and anything else that stops the unit sliding, rocking or tipping when a cat lands on it off-centre. Foam cores lose ground because they compress underfoot and because compression behaviour over time is almost never published. Credit is given only for mechanisms the manufacturer actually documents.

A stated, numeric load rating. Every cat is comfortably inside every rating on this page, so this factor is not really about weight — it is a proxy for whether the manufacturer has engineered and tested the product or merely sewn a cover over some foam. Listings that publish no capacity score low here on transparency grounds, not on strength.

Deployed floor area and whether the unit folds, stacks or carries. Weighted last on purpose, because a ramp that fits the room but not the cat is worthless, while an awkward ramp the cat will actually climb still works. It breaks ties between products that are otherwise close.