# To have a Christmas tree, or not to have a Christmas tree?



## lancashirelass (Oct 29, 2009)

Hello, hello,

I'm sure this is a daft question to all you seasoned cat owners, but this is my first Christmas with Arty and Mac, my 5 month old kittens, and I was just wondering whether we could have a real Christmas tree? Will they just climb it and pull it down? Can they be prevented from doing so? Are there any particular types of tree that we should be thinking about?  

I know they will absolutely adore a Christmas tree and see it as a new play thing. They're very curious. But at the same time, I don't want to be picking up a tree and re-decorating every day! 

Any help, much appreciated. 

Thanks,

Lancashirelass


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## allison6564 (Aug 20, 2009)

Hi
I have the same delemma but also have a six year old son so will HAVE to put the tree up!! Been leaving it till last min though and it will go up next sat and be tied to the wall but still think my two kittens 7 months are gonna have a field day!!!lol Ollie is now 8lb in weight so there is no way it will stay up long I'm sure.

WE did decorate the hall yesterday and already they are fater all the tinsel etc, what a fun xmas!!!
Allison


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## saxa21 (Aug 4, 2009)

HELP HELP

I need to know too. I've go 2 little biys. One a real posessed terrorist, who adores everythign that dangles and the other one a real Lord (who is very quiet and reserved). Not sure how my Xmas tree will survive.


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## Spearmint (Sep 15, 2009)

well...............we bravely put our tree up yesterday!

have left it plain for now, no decorations on it but it has built in lights

so far they have not tried to climb it just try and eat the branches


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## simplysardonic (Sep 1, 2009)

We have got the same issues as you eg 2 5 month old kitties & a Christmas tree going up this weekend, all I can say is it should be interesting..........


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## meeka's-mom (Aug 17, 2009)

it's Meeka's first christmas too and we put the tree up last night, we have an artificial one though,not a real one.
She has jumped up and had a sniff and played with one of the baubels but so far so good and the tree is still standing. I was thinking of securing it to the wall so it wont fall over.
Good luck with your tree and your kittys x


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## Spaniel mad (Jul 17, 2009)

last year 3 of my cats were kittens. I went to pets at home and brought some spray called Get off. Sprayed the tree and all the cats shot out.

I then sprayed once in the morning and once at night and they left it alone. It has a really bad smell but it works wonders and saves the tree from the cats laying in it lol


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## CrazyCatGirl (Oct 9, 2009)

That's an interesting idea Spaniel_Mad! What does it smell like?
We put our tree up last night, complete with tinsel and baubles, then went out for an hour. When we got home the tree was on it's side, with two excited wide-eyed cats nearby!


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## Cazza1974 (Sep 23, 2009)

We have an artificial tree that we put up a week ago. I got some spray from pets at home to keep Dorrie off the tree. I also do the same as Spaniel mad and spray in the morning and evening and it does seem to work. It has an orange smell so Dorrie doesn't go anywhere near it.


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## lady_r0gue (Jul 22, 2009)

I was a bit nervous about the Xmas tree as this is the first Xmas of my adult life that I've had adolescent cats, but so far so good - used an artificial one and it has tinsel, lights, baubles etc - but my clever OH tied it to one of those shop steps and covered the base with paper and the mittens haven't shown more than a passing interest! So thanks to whoever it was who suggested putting it up from their level, seems to be working a treat xx


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## lady_r0gue (Jul 22, 2009)

Oh and whoever said that cats won't walk on pine-cones - well it doesn't really work for us - we tried putting pine cones in the base of the Yucca and found that they will just try and move them out of the way so they can dig a hole in it hehe


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## lady_r0gue (Jul 22, 2009)

PS. I did a bit of research on this subject and found that apparently artificial xmas trees are safer than real ones as the needles can harm them if ingested - which confused me a little as I know tinsel's supposed to be very dangerous if ingested - but I guess that's more metallic than the stuff that the fake trees are made of. I would say you're probably fine to put up an artificial one, with tinsel as well, but it's definitely best to raise it off the ground in some way and not have the tinsel trailing (you may notice that on the lower branch we have paper chains and the whole thing is raised up by about 2 feet) I'm guessing that most cats who've ingested tinsel have been allowed or encouraged to play with it. My mum has always had lots of cats and has always had a small artificial xmas tree and tinsel, and never had any probs. I do lock the cats out of the living room at night or if we go out though just in case


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## CrazyCatGirl (Oct 9, 2009)

Nice tree Lady_R0gue!


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## lady_r0gue (Jul 22, 2009)

Why fank you  pls don't comment on the sofa or the carpet  xx


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## kelseye (Aug 16, 2009)

lol its a good job we got a fake tree as our tree has snow on it and you can tell when all 4 kittens have been by it as they are covered in white fake snow lol and they had a ballball of yesterday


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## JOANNEJ1655 (Sep 5, 2009)

Ive got a fibre optic tree with bows on it. Its the first Xmas with both my cats this year and they have only tried to pull the bows off! It is all still in one piece..


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## CrazyCatGirl (Oct 9, 2009)

Lol, Lady_R0gue - your sofa and carpet look very homely! 

We got home last night to find the tree on it's side, and the decorations scattered all over the floor. We were being too hopeful I think! Tonight we are going to tether the tree, and see how it goes. I don't blame them for being excited by it though - it's like the biggest cat toy ever! :eek6:


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## siamesepeaches (Dec 1, 2009)

We've just decided against it, Peaches just jumped onto a chair and stuck like a burr, then proceeded to crawl all the way up the back....I don't think I can stand the constant stress worrying about her and the tree!


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## lady_r0gue (Jul 22, 2009)

Haha thought it was about time to crosspost this 
Props to the cats :thumbsup:
A Cats Christmas


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## madi (Dec 13, 2009)

Hi everybody  
Having a Christmas tree it's an adventure for me as my cat (3 years old) Bissy likes to eat from it (it's an artificial tree) and after that off course she will vomit :thumbdown:.....so I am trying as much as possible not to leave her around it. She usually likes to chew anything plastic that makes noise in her mouth .....any advise on how to discourage that?


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## Debbiehut (Sep 14, 2009)

Have not got my decorations up yet, still trying to find a good spot for the tree, as i know Rocco will use it for a cockeeee leggieeeeeeee post!
It may have to be squashed into the bay window
Im used to coming down each morning when the tree is up with the cat sitting in the branches and bare off decorstions on it, Annie loves a midnight play with it:laugh: but i dont think this year it really needs a watering every few hours!:angry:


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## Cat_Crazy (Jul 15, 2009)

I put my tree up every year despite having 5 cats and it's never too bad.

They do play with it and steal baubles to chase etc. but never done major damage.

PLUS I got some really cute pictures


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## Tempestea (Dec 5, 2009)

I have had my kitties destroy my tree lotsa times. Eventually i got smart on them and took precautions to thwart : } 
first thing to do is secure the tree. Weigh it down if its a real one with bricks etc. At the base. After you have done that, the bst place to set up us near a window if possible. Wrap strong string and jam it into the window base and close window tight on it to secure it well..If you dont have aa window, you will have to try to secure it to the wall or nearby furnature in some way.
Now yoy have your ornaments. The best thing i have found to do is remove the ornament cappers,(the top bit the hook goes on) and superglue them back on tight. This bit is great for those ornaments that you cant replace easily or are family relics etc. Now you have a topper that kitty cant pop outa the bulb. Now there are two ways you can put the ornaments up; one way is to use the wire hooks. First twist the hook onto the ornament base you glued. Twist it tight so it cant be pulld off. Then hang the ornament ion the tree but twist the wire from the hook around each branch instead of hanging loose. Make sure you cant pull it off with a tugg.
Second method is to use ribbon hooks. Hang on the branch then twist around, or tie tightly onto the branch.
Both of these have saved my ornaments from disaster and i no longer need to worry about a cherished expensive ornament biting the dust in a billion pieces onto my kitchen floor. Or anyplace else! Heh.
Now to try to hide the wires from the lil chewies..try to tape them up as best as possible to the tree itself and back on a wall hidden away.
NEVER use string TINSIL!!! EVER!!!
..i remeber it once being cute having a dragging dinkleberryy on the end of a piece of tinsil from my moms cats butt..lol. But the real bad things that canhappen from it. None of us wants..dont take the chance. Its cruel.
I hope u all can use these tips. The glue takes a little time but need only be done once.
The branch warping and drooping remains unsolved..lol but i can gaurantee you will be pleasantly secure. 

oh.. And kittie will be just an extra cute er.. Even if unwelcome ornament at this point!!! But the tree is safe!!! 

LOL.. You should have seen the look on mines faces the first year i did all this..they tried their old method of grab and try and pull off the bulb to take to the kitchen and bat around till it busted and go get another..they kept trying and trying to no avail.. It almost seemd cruel... Muahahaaaa.. I WIN!!!!..Cruel mummie i am!!! 

I broke down and eventually got a few plastic ones that wont break for the bottom they could get off and play with eventually.. just so they would think they still had something going ::gerins::


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