# Cat's and Christmas



## kitbassgirl (Nov 20, 2011)

This is my first christmas with cats and I was wondering what sort of typical kitty behavior to expect. Neko sniffed at the tree when we put it up but I haven't decorated it yet (because the lights on the top of the tree need to be replaced) and I'm wondering what to expect once I do decorate it. Will they try to climb the tree? Swat at the ornaments? Tear up the christmas presents? How do kitty's normally react to christmas?


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

http://www.catforum.com/forum/37-behavior/149419-cats-christmas-trees.html


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## Huge2 (Jan 28, 2008)

Cats don't celebrate Christmas..... :S


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## Mutzi (Jun 2, 2008)

Huge said:


> Cats don't celebrate Christmas..... :S


I disagree! :mrgreen: They celebrate Chrismas on their own way... :cool I call it Hollywood-like. ;-)
Horst mutates to Darth Vader and kills the stars and othe "flying object" and some times he makes his paws glow like ET his finger.


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## tghsmith (Dec 9, 2010)

Simon's Cat - Santa Claws should just about answer everything..


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## ~Siameseifuplz~ (May 6, 2007)

My cats have never shown an interest in the tree or ornaments, thank goodness! I do know some people who have cats that climb the trees and we still make sure to put all breakable ornaments up high in case someone decides they do look like toys, but after 8 years I think we're in the clear.


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## kitbassgirl (Nov 20, 2011)

tghsmith said:


> Simon's Cat - Santa Claws should just about answer everything..


Your trying to scare me aren't you.... It worked! lol the way the cat sniffed the tree in the beginning thats what neko did. I haven't let them out with the tree since I decorated it but luckily neither kitty showed any interest in climbing it!


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## tghsmith (Dec 9, 2010)

our tree gets set up on the front porch,, untill we finish remodeling projects then the dining room will get used again, it has doors and is a non-cat room..


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## Jannerl (Jun 24, 2011)

*Cats and Christmas Trees*

They're all different. My first Persian was mesmerized by the tree but never touched it. Last year, my current Persian climbed it, leaped into it from a nearby table, batted the ornaments and almost brought it down. This year I also adopted two new kittens and the three of them are fascinated. I currently have no ornaments on it, just lights. If that goes okay, I may add some stuffed, non-breakable ornaments this week.


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

I have 4 cats. The first day or so they were very curious about the tree so I hung the ornaments as far away from the bottom as possible and also with that in mind, bought all plastic ornaments. They did chew the tree branches for a few days. It is an artificial tree and I was concerned what was in this stuff, they were eating so we began spraying them with the squirt bottle every time we saw them do it. Now, they just don't bother with it.


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## Beckie210789 (May 9, 2011)

dweamgoil said:


> I have 4 cats. The first day or so they were very curious about the tree so I hung the ornaments as far away from the bottom as possible and also with that in mind, bought all plastic ornaments. They did chew the tree branches for a few days. It is an artificial tree and I was concerned what was in this stuff, they were eating so we began spraying them with the squirt bottle every time we saw them do it. Now, they just don't bother with it.


I wish I had that kind of luck with mine. Waffles will not stay out of the tree. We started out by telling him NO in a firm voice, nothing. We removed him from the tree, said NO again, he was back in it in 3 minutes flat. We got the squirt bottle, it doesn't work on this hellion. He's back after 5 minutes. He ate some of the needles off of the branches (artificial as well) threw up said needles. We put bitterant spray on the tree, looks like it's keeping him from eating it any more. We bought this herbal spray from Natures Miracle brand, supposed to have a smell they don't like. All 5 of them sniffed at the tree for an hour. SO MUCH FOR THAT. I have no idea what I'm going to do at this point, outside of pack the tree away until he's bigger and has some manners.


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## Syrena (Nov 29, 2011)

I cannot keep my cat away from the Christmas tree. She wants to knock off the ornaments all the time..successfully! After she plays with them around all apartment. Say firmly NO! does not work. Also little spank does not help! I think I just have to get over it...she won!:devil


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

It depends on the cat... some ignore the tree, others will climb it (I have a picture of my friends cat in her tree), take off all the ornaments (especially the balls - my aunt's cat does this as well as the cat I know that climbs the tree), and/or eat tinsel (another cat I knew liked to try doing this) - dangerous - if you have cats, don't put the hanging tinsel on your tree.

If you have toys for them, don't put them under the tree if they involve catnip... you might come back to an unwrapped present and catnipped out cat.  Never actually happened to me, but I'm sure it could, since last year a wrapped a squeaky toy for my dog and she sniffed it out and went to town getting the paper off it when I put it under the tree on Christmas eve.


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## wondercat (Oct 11, 2011)

I have no Xmas tree this year... it would be ugly with 2 hyper kitties


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## tghsmith (Dec 9, 2010)

reports from my parents a few years back that kiwi had destroyed the christmas tree, seeing that yeti is kiwi's offspring(with all the same habits good and bad) the tree goes up on the porch again,, we do bring him out there on the harness so he'll get to see what he can't get to,,


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## SpitFyRRe (Nov 18, 2011)

I got a tree branch to the eye when we were setting up our tree. It's a fake tree and I was fluffing the branches when I see Benelli sit back on her haunches, get into the "I'ma get it" pose, and before I could say "NO!" she launched herself halfway up the tree and knocked it straight into my face. 

The first night with the tree decorated she broke one ornament and there were three balls on the floor. At 2AM I had to take one away because she was chasing it all over the hardwood floors and causing way too much noise.

She now likes to sleep on the tree skirt which is conveniently located right next to the heat vent. Every now and again, we get serenaded with her playing the harp on our vents. I swore she was playing Jingle Balls last week.


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## kitbassgirl (Nov 20, 2011)

Lucky me the kitty's aren't interested in christmas tree terrorism. Neko likes sleeping under the trees (we have four trees set up around the house) and Gato is too freaked out by new things to go near them. Neko shows no interest in batting at the ornaments (some of which are indeed on the bottom branches) I'm very proud of my kitty's!


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## Vivid Dawn (May 31, 2010)

As I have health issues, and just too weakling to mess with lugging out and unpacking a huge box and putting up a tree (and taking it down) and all that, I just leave the tree in a corner of my living room. During the non-holiday time, it's just my big houseplant that i don't need to water  

So my cats are used to it being there, and it's completely ignored. I did decorate last year, and if I remember right, even the new "bling" all over it wasn't really noticed by them. (although the foster kittens sure liked the tinsel I had draped over the doorway)
This year I'm not going to bother. My little tin storage shed in the yard got destroyed by a windstorm in Spring, and I STILL haven't really sorted through the junk now all cluttered in my living room. No point in decorating what is now the new storage shed! LOL


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## pookieboy (Jan 7, 2011)

I had kittens at one time and they just_ loved_ to bat at the lower ornaments. Sometimes they'd knock one down & it would shatter and I was very worried that they would get a shard in their little mitts. I then replaced all the lower glass bulbs with plastic ones [they looked exactly like the glass ones]. Problem solved!


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## Luckykitty (Oct 5, 2011)

My kitten is constantly trying to climb the tree and play with the ornaments. We put our tree up on a table this year, which helps.


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## Angela. (Dec 15, 2011)

It took 6 years for one of my cats to leave the tree alone, every night she would climb into it and mess it all up, and we would have to re decorate it every morning! This year it seems she has grown out of it. The only thing that kept her away was rattling a paper bag.


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