# How to keep kitties safe with a Christmas tree



## Lisa 216 (Oct 25, 2004)

Hi there...I am looking for any bright ideas to keep my kittens out of our Christmas tree. I don't put ornaments on the low, reachable branches nor do I use tinsel or garland. I am worried about my new kittens climbing the tree once it is up. Any suggestions? Also, I am open to any ideas to help keep my kitties safe during the holidays. Thanks.


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## irishemt17 (Sep 8, 2004)

last year i sprayed cat repellant on the tree. i'm up for ideas too!!!


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## DesnBaby (Apr 18, 2004)

I heard of this place mat that if you put in around below the tree it gives an electric shock, I don't think you would want to use this. I don't know if its safe either. If they go into the tree just spray them w/ a water bottle or shake some pennies, but make sure they don't see you doing this. How about tin foil below the tree? They don't like the feel of it. Or spray lemon juice on the tree so they will not eat it.


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## emma_pen (Nov 2, 2004)

I use a simpler solution in my house full of mental animals - I don't have a tree! :lol: 

Ems


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## Misty (Nov 14, 2003)

Well I tried foil last year, water bottle, pennies and citrus spray. In the end I have up. I got an artificial tree, didn't put tinsel anything they could eat on and no breakable ornaments. Cleveland had a ball! He even slept in the the tree. Maybe not quite the solution you were looking for


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## Lori (Jun 8, 2003)

Is the tree real or artificial? We had a real tree for years and never had a problem with Velvet climbing in it. She loved to sit under it and occasionally ended up with tree sap in her fur. I think real trees are sharp and pokey enough so cats are less likely to climb them.
Artificial trees are a whole different thing, I know many cat who climb, sit in and tip over their owner's trees. I bought my first fake tree last year and basically hoped for the best with Velvet. No problems, but she is ten years old. A few years ago, she may have made things challenging. :wink:


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## spacemonkey (Aug 12, 2004)

I think the cat's are going to have to spend their unsupervised time in my room (aka pet central). It's just too much to worry about with three young cats. Christmas comes but once a year :roll:


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## Lisa 216 (Oct 25, 2004)

*cats+Christmas tree=?*

We will be having a real tree. We must have a tree for our kids and we dislike fake ones. We have used tin foil successfully in the past with my older cat -- we trained him to stay off the piano using it. Perhaps I will put some on the floor around the tree and wrap the base of the tree trunk in it to discourage climbing. I mostly worry about my very curious kittens (now 13 weeks old) being a problem! Thanks for all the suggestions so far.


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## DesnBaby (Apr 18, 2004)

Baby did not climb the tree. But my sister introduced her to it by letting her smell it at first w/o the ornaments. It is an artificial tree. We also put a little village underneath it. She sometimes knocks them over, but never breaks them. She loves to sleep under it :lol: . Yes and we make sure that there aren't any breakables at the bottom of the tree & we watch her carefully too. She doesn't mind it really. We'll sometimes say shoo Baby & she'll leave. This happens at first, but then she gets used to it & ignores the tree.


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## Nishi (Jun 28, 2004)

It's going to be the first Christmas for my kitty too, and for my German Shepherd puppy. Let's see what happens with an artificial tree and plastic ornaments   8O 

I'll take pictures of their vandalism :lol:

Nishi


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## kitty_kisses (Jun 27, 2004)

I was really worried Otis would try something last year, but he never so much as paid any attention to it... Now it's Jazz's first Christmas here, and I'm even more worried - let's hope she's just like her brother and doesn't decide to teach him some new tricks ;-) 

I actually fasten my tree to the wall - just to be safe. It's artificial and the ornaments are not glass, but it still would make a lot of mess on the ground ;-)


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## Jenn (Feb 16, 2004)

We used a big white (I love the white ones) fake tree last year, it was a mess. The cats never left it alone. I'm not even gonna bother with that thing this year. I'm gonna get a couple small, already decorated fake trees to set around this year. They mess with those too, but it's not so much work to fix those again. With 6 cats, the less we decorate, the better.

We all certainly need to get pics of the cats doing "tree destruction" to post. LoL :lol:


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## fbodgrl (May 10, 2004)

Wish I could help....but I don't put a tree up either. Zack and Lamar have never even experienced having a tree in the house. I tried having trees when Zoee was younger and it was a mess. They always ended up knocked over or she was laying in them, under them, etc....ending up covered in sap. 

I can't even put presents out. They have to stay in the closet until Christmas. Zoee loves tape! and ribbon, you can forget about that too :lol:


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## Dusty&Lou (Jun 16, 2004)

If you get a real tree, don't put the perserver or fertilizer in the water! During the weeks we have a Christmas tree, 100% of Dusty's drinking water comes out of the bottom of the tree. (And it doesn't seem to matter what I do to discourage him!) I guess the sap makes it taste sweet! :lol:


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## Ashdyre (Oct 4, 2004)

I'm worried about the same thing, with my new kitten. 

This is pretty discouraging... no one puts up trees anymore because of their cats! It's very sad if you ask me, Christmas trees are so important! To me anyway 

I never knew about the tinfoil though... i'll try it. Don't know how nice it'll look, but i'll try it


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## Tonkmom64 (Oct 2, 2004)

> This is pretty discouraging... no one puts up trees anymore because of their cats! It's very sad if you ask me, Christmas trees are so important! To me anyway


Don't be discouraged! Here's how I do it:

Put up an artificial tree- no water for kitty to get into.

Use ribbon instead of ornaments- no hooks to poke kitty

If (or at our house it's WHEN) kitty knocks it down, nothing breaks.

Problem solved.


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## Padunk (Oct 20, 2003)

Last year, I gave up. :? 










Hopefully Elly is a bit more mature this year. :lol:


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## fbodgrl (May 10, 2004)

^
^
LOL :lol:


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## Ashdyre (Oct 4, 2004)

LOL x2!!!

And your x-mas tree with ribbons is nice, it's definatly something to consider, but I do have a lot of sentimental ornaments from my childhood... i guess i'll just put them higher on the tree, and anchor the tree down somehow... hopefully it won't get broken :S

OH! Maybe i'll just string my precious ornaments on a garland to hang from the ceiling! OH YAY! Problem solved!

Thanks so much! lol  I'm back to being excited now


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## Lisa 216 (Oct 25, 2004)

*trees and kitties*

That's an excellent idea about hanging special ornaments from a garland. I have so many old breakable glass ornaments that I thought wouldn't be used this year. Thanks for the tip!!

I'm thinking that I may let my kids make things we can hang on the tree, like strings of popcorn and ornaments made of paper. It would be fun for them and there will be nothing breakable on the tree.


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## Padunk (Oct 20, 2003)

I would suggest a tree without ornaments if you have kittens in the house. Elly was about six months old and broke about 20 ornaments last year.


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## Tonkmom64 (Oct 2, 2004)

hehehehe! There's your Christmas card picture for this year!


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## Misty (Nov 14, 2003)

As you can see we just gave up last year. I know the photo looks as though he is either chewing a light or has it up his nose but it's just a bad photo  Not sure what it';; be like now that he's double the size and has a mischevious little friend to help!


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## Kittys Mom (May 7, 2004)

Lori said:


> Is the tree real or artificial? We had a real tree for years and never had a problem with Velvet climbing in it...I think real trees are sharp and pokey enough so cats are less likely to climb them.


Last Christmas was Thomas' first Christmas. He loved the tree and spent most of his time sleeping in the nativity scene. But I had a real tree and he never climbed it, he tried a bit and pulled off the low hanging ornaments, but he couldn't climb it. And, believe me, he would have if it was possible. It was a short needle dense real tree. I think it was just too "pokey" for Thomas to get into.


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## Lori (Jun 8, 2003)

Awww, look at the kitties in the trees, too cute!!! 
Anybody even had a cat climb up a tree and tip it over? My husband's family had their tree tipped over on more than one occasion by their cat climbing up the tree. It is why they switched from an artifical tree to real. :wink:


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## 22Raiynee22 (Aug 13, 2004)

*kitty christmas*

I don't worry about my kitty getting into the tree, at most he'll sleep under it. I worry about the puppy with the tree though. I was thinking maybe if we tied it, one string on each side, then at least he couldn't fully knock it down :? we may just put it upstairs though, because he's not allowed upstairs haha


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## irishemt17 (Sep 8, 2004)

kitty_kisses said:


> I actually fasten my tree to the wall - just to be safe. It's artificial and the ornaments are not glass, but it still would make a lot of mess on the ground ;-)


how do you fasten it to the wall???


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## kitty_kisses (Jun 27, 2004)

Its a creative arrangement of command hooks (the kind that come off the wall after Christmas without leaving a trace) and string. The string goes around the tree trunk, and gets fastened to the command hook, with a little give but not enough that the tree will go anywhere Its all at the back so no one sees it... It wouldn't be strong enough to hold it up if someone actually wanted to pull it down, but it keeps the tree upright when someone (aka Jasmine) get into it and throw it slightly off balance. Actually, I learned the trick from my Christmases growing up... Dad always had a real tree, but never could get it striaght in the stand so it always tipped over on its own before Christmas...


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## irishemt17 (Sep 8, 2004)

thanks!!!!!! i'll be anchoring mine! I also hung pine roping over my large window (where a valance should be) and i'm going to hang all of my breakable ornaments from it. my tabby used to sleep on the branches of my tree last year.....I got a new tree this year (and another cat) so who knows what will happen!


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## Luftballoons (Jul 27, 2004)

My mom just gave up last year. We have a beautiful tall (i think 12 foot?) artificial tree that we put up and the cats just destroy it. My mom tried putting up just lights, but the cats (three full grown that live at home, and my at-the-time kitten that lives with me at school) managed to get a bunch of those off too. One cat likes to sit up near the TOP of the 12 foot tree while the others situate themselves somewhere in the bottom 4 feet.

*sigh*

My little tiny tree (it's about 3-4 feet) that I put up at the apartment was also destroyed. Garland off, ornaments strewn across the room, tree knocked over. Mammers took off with a good 20 feet of garland hanging from his mouth when I was putting things up. It wasn't too hard to find him, though; he ran under the bed and had 15 feet of pink sparkly garland sticking out into the bedroom and hallway :roll:


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## Superkitties (Jan 30, 2004)

No trees in this house since the kitties joined the family. I love xmas trees, so it's a little sad. I have boxes of lovely ornaments. Instead, I border the doorways with long garlands, and tuck decorations and ornaments in them. It's an excellent compromise for me. I'm happier with my kitties than I care about having a tree.


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## reprot (Nov 11, 2004)

Hi all, a newbie here. What's this about tin foil around the tree. Do you just place it flat on the foor around the tree? Please splain. I have an 18mo. old ragdoll, a 18month silver tabby and a 15 week classic tabby. This is the first year they will see a Christmas tree. Whatever they do to the tree it will never compare to seeing my husband's inebriated grandmother jitterbug her way into our last christmas tree. She didn't get hurt, but I was kinda bummed when I realized her fanny crushed a couple of the skulls of my Nighmare Before Christmas lights


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## DesnBaby (Apr 18, 2004)

reprot said:


> Hi all, a newbie here. What's this about tin foil around the tree. Do you just place it flat on the foor around the tree?


Yes :wink:


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## irishemt17 (Sep 8, 2004)

my mom did the foil thing, and her cats started playing with it!!!!!!!! so much for that idea for her!!!!


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## reprot (Nov 11, 2004)

I love these cat/Christmas tree stories, they're a hoot. I've tested the waters with an artificial fiber optic poinsettia that my aunt gave me. So far the most subdued cat, Tommy cat, is the ornery one. I caught him nibbling last night. By the time my aunt sees this poinsettia it will be shreded. I can't get mad, they're such cute little buggers.


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## kitty_kisses (Jun 27, 2004)

irishemt17 said:


> my mom did the foil thing, and her cats started playing with it!!!!!!!! so much for that idea for her!!!!


Otis and Jazz just play with the foil also... I think they like the sound it makes...


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## beanandjerra (Nov 23, 2004)

oh no! christmas soon....forgot that we can't have a xmas tree  my cats knocked the tree over so many times, hauled the tinsel off and hid the decorations under the sofa. i stick to my ceramic tree now, kept on the bookshelf, so far so good but they'll always find a way.......pesky critters :lol:


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## shlanon (Oct 16, 2003)

What should I do if we want a real tree? I don't want to get anything that might be poisonous. 
Also could it hurt them if they do try to chew on or eat the pine needles (or whatever kind of tree...usually pine here I think)? It seems like the pine needles could hurt them if they were ingested since they are so pointy.


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## Richo (Jul 4, 2003)

Love those pictures.  First thing that came to mind is it's perfect for a Christmas card picture.

Barnaby never knocked the tree down but I caught him up inside it a number of times. I actually screwed the tree stand right to the floor. If you have carpeting you can screw right through the carpet into the floor below and it will never show. Just make sure the bolts securing the tree to the stand are very tight so it can't tip inside the stand.

I plan to forego the tree this year because of having 2 cats now. I used to use a motion sensor alarm and it worked sometimes but sometimes not and Baxter is less of a scaredy cat than Barnaby.

Some friends of mine have to put their tree in the den and keep the door closed because their cats won't leave it alone.


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## nautile (May 18, 2004)

My kitties have done no climbing, thank goodness; but one of them just wants to eat the tree. The problem is it is an artificial tree and the plasticy needles to not agree with him at all! I tried spraying the base with a homemade concoction of pepper spray but the sprayer got clogged up. Bitter apple stuff doesn't work with my kitties, nor does citrus (Renton LOVES oranges). Any other ideas for making the tree taste terrible?


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## irishemt17 (Sep 8, 2004)

I hope I don't jinx myself by posting this! This year Connor hasn't really tried to climb....he did once, and i keep a spraybottle of lemon water handy (for Devon, our new one) and I was able to spray Con thru the tree! He learned his lesson!


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## Kittys Mom (May 7, 2004)

I just finished putting up my tree...took forever. Thomas had a blast. He seems to think the tree skirt is some sort of race track/tunnel. He keep running round and round the tree...under the tree skirt! He then tried to pull off the bead garland. And now he's napping in the nativity scene again. Watch out Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, here comes Thomas' butt (he backs into them).


It's so cute!


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## spacemonkey (Aug 12, 2004)

We put up our tree on Saturday and the cats have been *great*! Our tree stand is very wide and sturdy, and it'd take a lot for them to tip over (they weigh a combined total of about 12 pounds :roll We were also careful not to put any ornaments on the very bottom branches, so as not to entice their kitty playfullness.

The girls initially played with the branches, chewing on them a little and batting them around. But they've all just settled into sleeping under the tree on the tree skirt (I have some photos I'll post later). Scully was the one who started staying under the tree, and I wonder if it was a throwback to where I found her (in a parking lot next to a small patch of fir trees). She's seems very secure under there...hmmmmmm.... :? 

At any rate, they haven't bothered the tree at all, even though we still don't leave them unattended with it.


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## spacemonkey (Aug 12, 2004)

*Steph's "What? I didn't do anything!" face :lol: 



















Sleeping under the tree...


























a*


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## mismodliz (Dec 5, 2003)

> Artificial trees are a whole different thing, I know many cat who climb, sit in and tip over their owner's trees.


That was my situation a few years ago. Stephen constantly tried to climb the little 4-ft artificial tree. When she wasn't climbing, she was batting at the glass ornaments - many were destroyed. I haven't had one since... until this year.

My bf just bought me a "real" Chrismas tree. We picked out a Noble Fir which is very full but has very short (and less prickly) needles. Once we got it into the house and in the stand, we let Stephen and our puppy explore and sniff. I figured that if we started out chasing them off, then they wouldn't get over the curiosity. 

Stephen hid underneath it while I put on the lights, but once I moved it back into place she ran. She seemed content last night just to sit on her chair and look at it. **fingers crossed**

Here's a pic of our tree...

http://www.catforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=12561


Emily - your kitty Steph is just beautiful!!


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## Lynda J (Sep 8, 2004)

I was worried about Sassy. She is still kitten. My others don't even pay any attention to the tree. But I figured she would. So we put the tree up without anything on it. She didn't bother it at all. Then we put the lights on it. Still nothing. She did walk over to it and smell. Then we put the other decorations. One of which is a group of Santa and Elves that play music and have little hammers in their hands that swing around and bank on brass bells. Well Kevin plugged them in and turned them on and it scared her so bad she ran from the room. Now she will come in the room but won't get within 10' of the tree.


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## DesnBaby (Apr 18, 2004)

This is funny! :lol: 
http://www.fluffytails.ca/christmas.asp


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## DesnBaby (Apr 18, 2004)

http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/pets/347


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