Cats IN the Christmas Tree....HELP!!

[LiLIrishChick63]

so DH and i have 3 cats. 2 of them we had last year around Christmas and one we got this past May so she wasn't around for the holidays.

the 2 that we had last year were only kittens at the time, and i had assumed that them playing around in the tree was just something they'd grow out of. we even had to anchor the tree to the wall with fishing wire because they'd play underneath and keep knocking it over.

i don't mind if they play with the bulbs, because i honestly can't stop it. we put the cheaper plastic ones towards the bottom so the tree doesn't look funky and if they break it's no big deal.

however the newer cat has decided today that she wanted to try to climb UP the tree, and one of my other cats thinks the tree apparently tastes good because he keeps eating the branches(this is a fake tree, by the way. so all it could possibly taste like is plastic!).

i don't know WHAT to do to make them stop. when DH and i are awake, and home we can shoo them away from the tree, but i don't know what to do while we're sleeping or not at home.

anyone have any experience with this?? when i was younger and my parents had cats the only thing they ever did with the tree was sleep under it so i'm at a loss as to what to do in this situation lol!

 

[JohnsPrincess]

Ooohhh kitties!! Um...maybe spray them with water whenever they even go near the tree?? My kitty mostly drinks the water out of the bottom but I still don't like her doing that...haven't been able to stop it... Good luck!

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

Ooohhh kitties!! Um...maybe spray them with water whenever they even go near the tree?? My kitty mostly drinks the water out of the bottom but I still don't like her doing that...haven't been able to stop it... Good luck!

i haven't tried that on the newer cat, maybe i'll try that tomorrow.

however the one who just eats the tree, when he was a baby we'd spray him with a squirt gun with water and he didn't even care. he'd be standing there soaked just looking at us like "what's wrong??" lol. he also loves to be in the kitchen sink and tries to jump in the tub, so i think he's one of few cats who aren't afraid of water lol!

 

[Pjimmeyer]

We have 6 cats and one thing has always worked quite well with them. We have a metal box that used to hold candy bars (a gift tin) that is about 6x6x2. We put 4 quarters in it and shut the lid. Whenever a cat gets near the tree...as in means serious-up-to-no-good near the tree...you go quietly up behind them and violently rattle the metal box. It makes a sound that comes close to making them leave a little yellow streak across the floor (warning...will also do this to any unsuspecting humans in the vicinity). They seem to never ever want to hear that sound again. I always feel bad doing it, but it works well for us.

-Jimbo

 

[bballmom56]

We used to get a refrigerator box from an appliance store, cut it down one side and put it around the tree (there was a glass door against the back side, so we only had to cover 3 sides.) That worked well when we were not home or were sleeping.

 

[Imzadi]

Does yout tree look anything like THIS:

http://www.fluffytails.ca/christmas.asp

 

[disneymarie]

TY for sharing, oh those were the days, glad they all just sleep under it now,
DIl has a new Kitty, lol the tree went up last night,.

 

[dakcp2001]

After having our tree tipped over twice 2 years back, we have switched to fake trees. They are more sturdy. Spraying my cat with water doesnt work, I just get an annoyed look from him as he continues behaving badly. Then he gets in the bed, wet for a nap.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

When we first got our 'Meese (I never know how to say that. She showed up a couple of days away from starving to death and we took her in.) she would sleep in the tree - it's an artifical, just like the one in Imzadi's links! She didn't harm the ornaments or anything, she'd just sleep in the branches. She enjoyed it so much that I turned our Christmas tree into a Mardi Gras tree that year - which in our part of the world is pretty normal.

But then I turned our Mardi Gras tree into an Easter tree for her and DH put his foot down. He was not going to have a Memorial Day tree and a 4th of July tree ect. for the cat!

The next year she had gained so much weight she could no longer sleep in the tree. I do wonder if she could manage sleeping in the branches again this year as she's been on a diet for about 9 months and is now a slender little Snowshoe Siamese again and has taken to sleeping on top of things that would crumble under the weight of our other cats.

 

[Imzadi]

But then I turned our Mardi Gras tree into an Easter tree for her and DH put his foot down. He was not going to have a Memorial Day tree and a 4th of July tree ect. for the cat!

 

[Planogirl]

Does yout tree look anything like THIS:

http://www.fluffytails.ca/christmas.asp

Those are great. I love those innocent faces peeking out between the branches.

 

[bballmom56]

After having our tree tipped over twice 2 years back, we have switched to fake trees. They are more sturdy. Spraying my cat with water doesnt work, I just get an annoyed look from him as he continues behaving badly. Then he gets in the bed, wet for a nap.

Ours were always fake trees. Didn't deter the cats and the trees weren't sturdy at all! I think we used the fishing line secured to the ceiling, too.

 

[Disfan1]

I've heard that cats don't like the smell of citrus so maybe you could spray the tree with citrus-scented air freshener? The spray bottle of water usually works for my cats & they seem to stay away even when I'm not home.

 

[surfergirl602]

we got a new cat last october. We had a real tree and he was climbing. We just squirted him with water and after a few times he just left it alone. We just got our tree yesterday and so far he's left it alone. That's really good, because he's a big cat! lol

 

[Katieinwonderland]

Cheeto gets in the tree every year and chews and lights and breaks the ornaments and it drives me crazy! I spend all of Christmas shouting "Cheeto, NO!"

The one thing I have found that works is a glass or two of eggnog. Not for the cats obviously, but for you. It really takes the edge off when the tree inevitably falls over.

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

Does yout tree look anything like THIS:

http://www.fluffytails.ca/christmas.asp

Cheeto gets in the tree every year and chews and lights and breaks the ornaments and it drives me crazy! I spend all of Christmas shouting "Cheeto, NO!"

The one thing I have found that works is a glass or two of eggnog. Not for the cats obviously, but for you. It really takes the edge off when the tree inevitably falls over.

ugh that's ALL i've been doing for the past 2 days now is going "Sammy/Dean/Meg NO!!" and it does nothing lol. they just look at me like "yeah right..." and keep on going back for more.

 

[skw444]

If you find a solution, I'd love to hear it! We are having the same problem with one of our cats. She climbs to the top and then dives out of the tree. I've had to take all our glass ornaments off...she keep knocking the bulbs off as she climbs and they would come crashing to the ground breaking into pieces.

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

If you find a solution, I'd love to hear it! We are having the same problem with one of our cats. She climbs to the top and then dives out of the tree. I've had to take all our glass ornaments off...she keep knocking the bulbs off as she climbs and they would come crashing to the ground breaking into pieces.

i only caught the newer cat trying to climb up from the bottom once and that was it. she hasn't done it since yesterday.

we did find a few bulbs on the floor this morning but it wasn't a huge deal as we purposely put the cheaper, plastic ones towards the bottom for that reason alone.

 

[Robinrs]

I call this pic ORNAMENT CAT...

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

I call this pic ORNAMENT CAT...

lol! my cats are all too big to actually sit in the tree like that. even with it anchored it would still probably fall down from the weight!