Cats and Christmas Trees

16 years ago

To reply to a quetion on another thread:

When my Foxy came to live with us, she was just about a year old, and a rescue.

Since I always have a large real tree, I was warned about her climbing up intoit, playing with tinsel (dangerous for choking), and broken ornaments.

I took the advice of a couple of friends and did this.

Hung tinsel so that it was well over her head, out of reach.

Left glass ornaments for higher branches hung wood/cloth ornaments on the lower branches/

Kept a spray bottle, filled with water, near the tree.

Every time she started under the tree, she got a squirt o more of water (note: this is not waterboarding!), and a stern "NO".

In a year or two, just the prescence of the squirt bottle by the tree was enough to deter her...and soon I didn't need to put it out at all.

She does love to sit in front of the tree, likes me to turn the trains on and watch them go arounds the track...but she doesn't touch.

Of course, she has developed a phobia about any spray or squirt bottles at all. She runs from them, and at age 14, still does :)

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Comments (17)

heather_on
16 years ago
My cats love to lie under the tree. The lower branches used to touch the floor so we leave the lower branches off which gives them room. They love the heat from the lights and I have fuzzy warm blankets as the tree skirt. Our tree is prickly so they don't bother trying to climb it, but they are also older cats and a lot wiser with age. My breakable ornaments are high, no tinsel. When the cats were young, I used to hang bells on the lower branches so that we always knew if a cat was getting into trouble.

Before we got the prickly tree, we did have a climber but he is now reformed.
nodakgal
16 years ago
We must have been lucky! Our cats never bothered the tree over the years. They'd just lay under it and look cute! LOL
Now we just have dogs, I was so worried about Mac the first year, I just knew he was going to lift his leg on it!!! He never did. Many years ago our then doxie ate the gingerbread ornies one night! They were two small round gingerbread cookies glued to a felt gingerbread cut out with googly eyes glued on. She left the felt, never did find the little googly eyes! It was her midnight snack I guess.
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hoo boy. Saw this post and just reailized that I left my 4 month old kitten loose with the tree! OK--trees. I never do real, bec I like to have my tree up a good long time, and don't want a fire hazard. My friends Himalaya can't wait for Christmas, since she considers under the tree to be her personnal spot for lurking and pouncing. My cats frequently chew the ends of the tree branches and hork up small bits of fake tree needles with no apparent side effects. I've tried spraying the tree with some of the bad tasting products, but to no avail. I;ve been told that diluted hot sauce on electical cords will quickly disabuse them of the chewing trend. Never tried it but if you do, remember to wash your hands after handling the cords. Here's what I do. I have a circle of one inch chicken wire, just smaller than the circumfrence of the lowest tier, with the sharp ends folded back. This gets hooked snug to the under side of the branches to prevent climing expeditions. So far it's worked. I do use lights, but I make sure they have the safety catches that keep the bulbs from coming out, since I had one cat that loved to pull the bulbs out. Totally ruind the bottom lights and I don't know how he didn't get electrocuted. He was also the climber--went up the branches like a ladder, pushing them out of the sockets as he went up! Tree looked like you'd grabbed the stem and shook it. I also try to make sure that the lights on the bottom tier don't protrude below the chicken wire to avoid temptation. I try to hang nonperishble ornaments--wooden, shatterproof, cloth etc on the lower limbs. Even if the cats don't deliberately go after them, some of them will bite the dust when a speeding beast lashes them with a tail at 35 mph. Avoid things that look like toys--small stuffed animals, or feathery dangly things. Although most anything looks like a toy to a kitten. Forget those flimsy wire hooks. Get some thing stronger. It's not a bad idea for really heavy or precious items (see next paragraph!) to use wire and WRAP it around the branch. It's going to make undecorating a pill, but you wouldn't neet to do it with all your ornaments. If you buy the traditional glass balls with the little silver caps, you've probably noticed that it doesn't take much pressure to pull the hanger loose. Go ahead and take them out, doub some glue-- a dot of crazy glue or a doub of craft glue will work--in the cap and reassemble. If you have some truly irreplacable ornaments, find a different display area--like a garland above the mantle or something. Also, you can cut a nice large circle of plywood and attach the tree stand to it for more stability, and use heavy nylon fishing line to anchor the tree to the wall. Corners are great--hook the tree to opposing walls, or put a hook in the ceiling. Best option: lock Christmas tree in separate room except under supervision. Sure hope mine is still standing when I get home! I was worried about my one baby that's got a respiratory ailment and completely forgot to lock the baby in the den.
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My cats have been OK with the tree this year. They do some damage to the bottom branches by pouncing and batting at them and tear off the low-hanging ornaments, but we always put our cheap, nearly indestructible stuff towards the bottom. Here's a joke I found this year that I thought was so, so true! How to Cat-Proof Your Christmas Tree 1. Buy a cardboard box big enough to hold the tree. Paint it red and yellow. Paste pictures of cats playing with toys on the box. Write phrases on the box like: "Giant very expensive cat toy." "Your cat will LOVE it!" "No cat can resist!" "Hours and hours of fun!" "Only $99,999, 999.99!" 2. Bring the tree home inside the box, and round up your cats. Say, "look what mommy got you! A giant, really really expensive cat toy! You will go NUTS! I can't wait to see you play with this!" 3. Force the cats to watch you put up the tree and decorate it. If they drift off towards the cardboard box, bring them back to the tree and point at it while saying things like "you had better play with this thing, mommy spent a month's salary on it." 4. When the tree is decorated, wave some branches in their face and shout, "come on and play! Lookee here, the branches move, see? Kitty is supposed to swat at the branches and have lots and lots of fun! Hey, come back here! You come back here right now and play with this tree. See how much fun it is? HEY. I'M TALKING TO YOU. Get out of that box right now, mister. The box is NOT a toy. THIS is the toy." If you do this with enough sincerity, your cats will avoid the tree like it was a foaming mad Rottweiler. Of course, you'll be stuck with a big ugly cardboard box in your living room all through the holidays, but it can always double as a buffet table.
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Great ideas. I just wanted to add a hint for people that don't have access to fresh pine or don't feel like tromping around in the woods. Go to Lowe's or Home Depot garden center on a Saturday afternoon in December. They wrap tons of Christmas trees and always have stray boughs by the machine. They are happy to give them away so they don't have to dispose of them.
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I have a water bottle that I put a spray nozzle onto and keep it next to me with water and when mine would go somewhere prohibited, it could shoot a stream across the room with great accuracy. You might mix a little vinegar in there, just be careful not to get it in their eyes. Another thought is a small bowl of vinegar left by the tree for a day or two. Most cats detest the smell of vinegar and it would likely repel them. It's probably an issue of something new and trying to mark it. My tree is on a microwave stand and mine leaves it alone. She checked out the box for many days before it was unpacked but no problems since.
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Mickey15
16 years ago
Two of my cats like to climb the tree, although neither have done it yet since I put the tree up Friday.

I guess they climb it carefully, LOL, I never find any broken bulbs. They like to lay in the branches toward the top. I just have to re-adjust the branches once in a while.
donna_oh
16 years ago
I have 3 cats & one will lay under the tree forever--the other 2 ignore the tree! LOL

Donna (^_^)
Tally
16 years ago
We anchor our tree to a ceiling hook with fishing line. That keeps it upright :0

We also gave up glass ornaments and tinsel years ago. I use only resin, felt & sequin styrofoam now - all the unbreakable stuff.

Our newest one, Snickers, is about a year old. I know for sure he'll be climbing the tree and napping in the branches. So this year I'll put the tree up and leave it undecorated for a week before I put anything on it. Just to be safe.

Water squirt bottles work great, but nevertheless I've found ornaments rolling around the floor in the morning. Can't watch them 24/7. We leave the lower branches bare so I have no idea how they manage to hook the ornaments off, but they do!

Here's a cute cats and Christmas tree pictoral:

Here is a link that might be useful: Cats and Christmas Tree 101
lydia1959
16 years ago
I'm not sure how Winston will be with the tree (he is not even a year old yet), but I've had to tie a tree to the wall before because of a cat who kept tipping it over.

I don't use tinsel at all and have very few breakable ornaments. I use a squirt bottle on Winston when I need to. If I just shake the bottle of water, he will squint his eyes...he's not afraid of it though. Silly cat.
Tally
16 years ago
Lydia, my first cat Tardy used to do that with the water bottle. It was a baiting game with him. He'd do something he knew he wasn't supposed to, all the while looking over his shoulder for the squirt bottle. He would just wait for it, and try and outrun the water jet. LOL!
linda_in_iowa
16 years ago
My Tikki is much too dignified to climb a Christmas tree. With other cats I have had, I sometimes had to secure the top of the tree to the wall with fishing line. Jake just ignores it and doesn't dare lift a leg to it. Bless his heart, he tries to follow the rules.
ann_in_florida
16 years ago
My cats (all adults) love lying under the tree. Since all are strictly indoor cats (and have been since birth) I think the tree somehow connects them to the great outdoors...lol!
janie_ga
16 years ago
This is our first tree in about 4 years. Already had it up the first year we had Elmo and I vowed to NVER have another- found ornaments 4 years later that he has hidden under stuff! So far so good (knock on wood). Elmo hasn't done anything with is. Ara has tried but ran when I yelled. Stewie is pretty intreged! He has gotten yelled at several times. We have a crocheted tress skit and he gets his claws stuck in it. I think he thinks the tree is picking on him so maybe he will leave it alone. This morning the skirt was askew but I think all the ornaments were there. Will see how it does with them unsupervised all day. No lights this year, Elmo still likes to chew on electrical wiring and since we have knob and tube wiring in the house, I dind't think it would be a good idea to tempt him.

Janie
socks
16 years ago
We're going to be cat sitting our son's kitty Daisy over the holidays. She's one year old and a terror, climbs on everything including the mantel and the stove! I have no idea how we'll survive the Christmas tree. We'll find out!
dirt_yfingernails
16 years ago
One year we had 4 rambunctious kittens about 3 months old. My solution was to hang the artificial tree upside down from the ceiling, like Martha had shown earlier. It was great entertainment watching the kitties jump at the tree hoping to catch the tinsel. My favorite picture is of one of the kitties sitting on top of the highest package staring at the tree with so much longing in his little eyes.
liz
16 years ago
this is an omen...if I make a post here, just as sure as the world a cat will knock over my tree...LOL...we've been lucky in that the cats have never bothered the tree, but one of them is still a baby, only a year and a half...she's still trouble in the making...

one mean ole crotchety doggie still trys to lift his leg...he's just being ornery so the doggie gates stay up...(it doesn't matter that we have a dog door and he can go out ANYTIME he wants...it's a matter of just markin his territory)
janie_ga
16 years ago
Found one ornament on the floor this morning, it was a crocheted stocking. None of the cats would claim it. I asked Ara if she did it and she pinched her eays and looked at Stewie! LOL
linda_in_iowa
16 years ago
When Sabrina was alive, she would steal stuffed ornaments from the lower parts of the tree. I had a couple of soft, stuffed shaved ice cone ornaments that I bought in Hawaii. Eventually she got both of them and hid them. Some she destroyed, some she just hid.
irishdancersgram
16 years ago
The 1st couple of years, our tree was horizontal more than it was vertical..But the last year, no one seemed to notice it sitting in the corner...Hopefully they won't "notice" it this year..But with 4 in the house, you never know what's going to happen.... I do anchor it to the wall now and just don't put out the expensive ornaments...What we do for our furbabies!
nodakgal
16 years ago
I just remembered a story my MIL told me shortly after DH and I were married.
DH was still living at home, his DB and DSIL and the kids came for Christmas. DH was leaving to go somewhere. Opened the door and their cat came in. DB's little dog was standing beside DH. He looked at the cat and then the dog and tells the dog "get the cat Sandy". OMG! He was amazed! He didn't think the dog would do anything since the cat and dog had been around each other many times before. The dog looked at the cat and growled and lunged at the cat, cat swiped the dogs nose and took off and dog following in hot pursuit! Cat went straight up the Christmas tree!!! Dog following the best she could!! Tree tipped over, ornaments and lights and garland and tinsel EVERYWHERE! DH's Mom is screaming at DH "now why did you do that" (add a few curse words to it also)
DH laughed, left and went out the door! I'd have made him come back and clean up the dang mess!!

Cats and Christmas Trees

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heather_on

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