If you have a cat...

[shamrockerjo]

...how do you keep your tree from being wrecked everyday? And where do you put the presents? This is our first Christmas with cats and as much as I love them they are driving me crazy. My tree is a mess and after spending the evening trying to wrap presents while chasing the cats away from ribbon and paper I've realised I can't just put presents under the tree as there'd be nothing left of them in the morning. Now I realise there's probably very little I can do (my 4 year old suggested getting a guard dog to sit under the tree ) but I figured it's worth checking if anybody might have any tricks or cat magic up their sleeve..

 

[OmiOmen]

You shut them out of the room on a night and the rest of the time just accept they are going to drive you insane and make you hate Christmas trees. They tend to get a bit better once they are over 2 years old. By that I mean they will ruin it more slowly rather than taking a running jump to the top of it and pulling it over in one go.



Seriously though; avoid easily breakable ornaments (no glass!) and don't use a real tree as they are mildly poisonous and the needles could potentially hurt them too.

 

[LavenderLove]

Totally agree with the no glass ornaments! All of ours on the tree currently are plastic, metal, wood, or fabric. At my family's home we had a cat that liked to chew on bows, so we left them off until the last minute.

I'd be really tempted to get little baby gates/corrals you can buy to go around your tree. I'm considering getting one when we have a LO as our tree won't stand up to cats and curious young ones. Something like this:

https://www.baby-safety-concerns.com/image-files/regalo-tree-gate.jpg

I've also been using a bitter apple spray on the bottom of the tree where the cats try and chew it. Not sure how much it's helping though.

 

[Smile181c]

I wish I had some tips for you the first 2 years of having my cat our tree only had decorations on the top half, and even then he used to take a running jump to get to the top!

Now he's 3, and he hasn't actually gone near the tree this year! He's had a couple of swipes at the lower hanging baubles but been told off and not gone near them! Not sure if it's because it's also our first year with a real tree and he's not keen but I'm happy to have a nice looking tree again! And it has presents underneath too!

 

[Scout]

Actually, your child had a great idea. I have a stuffed bear that my cat is scared of and I sit it under the tree and the cat doesn't go near it. LOL

 

[Amarna]

I hear you with the cats. Mine will sit right on top of any presents underneath it. And he likes to pee on the tree skirt so I can't have one down. I love him but....grrrr....

My older cat (7 years old) could care less about the tree, she hasn't even gone near the thing but the younger one (3 years old) is a nightmare.

 

[misspriss]

I guess I am the only one who's cats couldn't care less about the tree? The first year we had one cat, still a kitten, she peed under the tree. But other than that? They cannot be bothered with it, or the presents. Maybe my cats are just lazy.

 

[AngelofTroy]

I guess I am the only one who's cats couldn't care less about the tree? The first year we had one cat, still a kitten, she peed under the tree. But other than that? They cannot be bothered with it, or the presents. Maybe my cats are just lazy.

Same! The year he was a kitten he was obsessed with one particular stuffed gingerbread man decoration, kept taking it off and playing with it, but once we gave in and gave it to him he's never shown any interest since.

 

[2805]

Our girl cat doesn't really have much interest in the tree now she's older (8 years old) but she LOVES trying to eat ribbon and wrecks presents if it's wrapped in it....weird cat!!

 

[deafgal01]

My cat has not bothered the presents. As for the tree, first two years of her life, she did climb it. After the third year, she was too big/heavy so she couldn't do that anymore. Now she just sits under the tree hiding behind the thing holding it up. This year is our first year having a real tree so I'm still waiting to see what she does with it - other than rubbing her face on the branches.

 

[c1403]

My cat knocks a few baubles off the bottom so I put the less fragile ones there. With a toddler she also takes them off. My cat is a lump and doesn't get in the tree but I have had friends who find their kittens halfway up the tree!

 

[Incubus]

Jimmy is pretty well trained for a cat (mostly because of his breed) so I only hado to tell him once not to touch it years ago and he's never bothered since, has a sniff the day it goes up and then he's done with it.

Ribbon is banned due him choking on it when he was kitten and I had to pull it from down this throat, never had it in the house since!

 

[Amarna]

Ribbon is banned due him choking on it when he was kitten and I had to pull it from down this throat, never had it in the house since!

We had a similar experience with tinsel when I was a kid with the cat I had growing up. I refuse to decorate with tinsel anymore. Which is a shame as I do really like it, but I don't want to have to extricate it from my cat again.

 

[LavenderLove]

Ribbon is banned due him choking on it when he was kitten and I had to pull it from down this throat, never had it in the house since!

My younger cat's done the same! Ribbon, string, hair ties, anything that can be swallowed. I do mean anything! Lint and dust bunnies even!