Cat question (inspired by catsrule's pics)

[Krisu]

We have a new kitty and I'm concerned about Christmas and the decorations. Although right now her favorite thing to do is sit in boxes! She does climb on top of things. Do cats respond if you keep saying "No" and remove them from where they shouldn't be?

 

[Pam]

Yes - and when they get caught doing or being somewhere they shouldn't be - they get such a guilty look!

 

[jx3smom]

They will respond but cats will usually do what they want anyway! Sometimes a little squirt from a water gun or mister will help remind them to stay off. Also, it is a good idea to skip tinsle on your tree. It's no fun when a cat eats it and you have to help remove it!

 

[Krisu]

We had a dog once that ate some tinsel I first noticed it out in the yard after he had done his business and noticed what he did was "sparkling" in the sunlight, upon further inspection I saw that it was tinsel

 

[dizneenut]

My kitty responds to no occasionally. We had/have to squirt her with a squirt bottle to keep her away from the tree. She liked to climb up it and I was afraid she would knock it over.

 

[trayletha]

Also be careful about ribbons - esp the long curly kind, some cats will eat those too, with the same results as the tinsel.

 

[Krisu]

Well, if I'm not on the boards too much in December, it's probably because I'll be sitting with my spray/mister protecting my tree and decorations!!

 

[katerkat]

"No" is absolutely ineffective in my household. So is the water "misters". We use a small super soaker water gun. We have two stragetically placed in the living room and the boys stop the bad thing immediately when we pick up the guns. It only took a couple squirts (across the back, never at their faces!) to get this reaction from them.

Oh, and we don't use tinsel or ribbons or such on our tree. And it's a cute tree - we don't hang ornaments on the bottom three feet or so so the boys don't bat them off. Luckily they don't try to climb it!

 

[chichihoney]

My old cat Buttons loves to sleep under. A christmas tree.

 

[smileybrat]

No sometimes works but most of the time you just get "the look." Something like water squirted at them teaches them much faster to not do the behavior (at least in front of you).

 

[catsrule]

Usually a little misty squirt of water will correct it, although I have never used it. I am here to serve Simba and Cali, I am their human slave.

 

[MerryPoppins]

Some respond to an empty pop can full of rice or beans (and sealed). When you catch them in the act, you toss the noisy can their way, not to hit them, but just scare them.

Also be aware of the electrical cords. Our cat one year decided to nibble the light cords after we decorated the tree. We eneded up with a dark tree that year. The vet said we needed to paint all our cords with hot sauce and that seemed to break her of that habit.

Some cats do climb the tree. I've heard of attatching the tree to the wall or ceiling to keep it from falling over. Just a thought if the kitty looks too interested.

 

[Dax]

Tinsel is definatly a no no....I had to pick it our of my cats butt about 2yrs ago...Never again...

 

[SusieJane]

I was spoiled by my cat of 17 years (sadly, we lost her last year). She never bothered the tree and I use lots of tinsel and have a revolving tree stand. Unfortunately, the boys, are bad kitties. They knock the ornaments off and carry them away. Not only do they pull the tinsel off, they also try to pull the garland off. When you yell at them, they suddenly turn deaf, "Were you talking to me, I'm sorry, I've lost my hearing." So I go and move them away from the tree and pretty soon I see them sneaking back, slinking along the walls and behind the furniture. It's a constant battle, but I get my exercise during the month of December. Needless to say, they are not allowed in the same room with the tree when no one is home. Bad, bad kitties.

 

[Diane]

When I was a kid, we had a cat that climbed up the tree and knocked it over, which wound up breaking nearly every ornament we had. (It was a shame; they were really nice old-fashioned glass ornaments.) After that, we always anchored the Christmas tree to the wall (and sometimes the ceiling, too) with wire and used only unbreakable ornaments The cats I have now are older and don’t bother the tree too much, but I still anchor it with wire, and put unbreakable ornaments near the bottom – they like to bat at them.

 

[FreshTressa]

Originally posted by Krisu
We had a dog once that ate some tinsel I first noticed it out in the yard after he had done his business and noticed what he did was "sparkling" in the sunlight, upon further inspection I saw that it was tinsel

Oh, that is too funny. Poop that sparkles in the sun....what a special dog.

My cat ate a bunch of black raffia from halloween once, then barfed it up when we weren't home. Left a lovely stain on our wood floors.

My cat loves christmas. He likes to play in the paper and sit on all the new boxes. He hasn't done anything destructive yet. He does like to eat straw baskets though, so I keep them up high cuz he knows he isn't allowed in those places.

My cat is pretty sensetive and responds to a no and a harsh look. I guess it just depends on the cat.

 

[LadyAurora]

The first Christmas with my cat, when she was still a kitten, we had a real tree. She kept chewing on the tree, even to the point where her little mouth was bleeding. I don't get real trees anymore. Also, no tinsel; not only is it yucky, it could really hurt your cat or even kill it if it gets tangled up in the intestines. We do not put breakable ornaments on the bottom three feet of the tree. Be aware that kitty may be fascinated by the tree skirt (at least until it is covered with gifts!). My cat likes to hide under there.

 

[Krisu]

We have always had dogs so this is a new experience for us. Cat lovers can relate when I say we are laughing everyday with her. I bought a "cat condo" that she has been in once! Today she was in an empty grocery bag and when the dog walked by all you could see was her paw come out and swat at the dog! Poor 91lb dog scared by a 5lb kitten!! Well, lets see how funny it is in December when the tree goes up

 

[Otto's Doll]

Try a Blue Spruce if you get a live tree. The needles are sharp and cats don't like them very much! I have 5 cats and so far none of them have climbed the tree.
I did wrap some very strong catnip for them 2 years ago, which they found and tore open and proceeded to get extremely high with. It was unbelievable how far one little package could go... they were happy cats that day!
Now Santa puts it in their stocking early on Christmas morning.

Nothing like being owned by a (or 5) cat!

Otto's Doll

 

[jx3smom]

We also always use unbreakable ornaments, just in case.

One year I decided to make my own garland using popcorn and cranberries. I had a lot done and put it away for a few days. When I went to do more work on it all of the popcorn was gone and I only had cranberries on string. Never tried that again.