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View Full Version : So who is brave enough to put a tree up this year?



jazzcat
12-08-2008, 03:43 PM
We haven't had a Christmas tree since 2004 when Rocky and Rumor were kittens. That year was stressful because little Miss Jazzy taught the kittens to climb the tree. I decided I didn't want to go through that anymore and since I put a tree up at my Dad's and spend Christmas Day there I didn't feel I was missing out.

This year I kind of want to put a tree up and decorate but with seven cats I think I may regret it.

So who's brave enough? Any tips from you guys with multi pets?

jennielynn1970
12-08-2008, 04:00 PM
Not I!!

I haven't put a tree up since Boris was a kitten, or behaving like a kitten, and knocked over the tree 3xs in one week.

I'm still not sure she won't do the same thing. Plus she eats everything that is live, so no flowers or anything! :(

lvpets2002
12-08-2008, 04:06 PM
:eek: Ha Ha you think I am Crazy or What?? Not Me.. Heck with all of my babies the tree would not last 5 minutes.. :D

pomtzu
12-08-2008, 04:14 PM
Ours went up yesterday, and tho the twins have never tried to climb it, one of them (Pepper) feels that the tree skirt is her own private blanket. She gets under the tree and digs and scratches at it until she has it all piled up in a heap, then she plunks herself down and enjoys a nice, peaceful sleep. The only way we can stop her from doing it is to put some presents on it so that she can't get it rumpled up - then she'll just find a tiny edge of it and claim that as hers and she seems to be contented with that.

Husky_mom
12-08-2008, 04:14 PM
trying to scare me?.. I already have mine up... so far the kitties have just gone around it and behind it.. not over it... LOL

besides mine is between two couches in a corner..... and I only have plastic ornaments... :p ... I´m a bit of a clumsy I´d break them all while taking them out of the box they came in if they were glass... LOL

lvpets2002
12-08-2008, 04:22 PM
:) Oh just wait till they climb right straight up into the tree branchs.. :p
trying to scare me?.. I already have mine up... so far the kitties have just gone around it and behind it.. not over it... LOL

besides mine is between two couches in a corner..... and I only have plastic ornaments... :p ... I´m a bit of a clumsy I´d break them all while taking them out of the box they came in if they were glass... LOL

sparks19
12-08-2008, 04:39 PM
The dogs are the least of my worries....

I put up a tree and do you think I can keep HANNAH out of it? No WAY lol

Husky_mom
12-08-2008, 04:46 PM
The dogs are the least of my worries....

I put up a tree and do you think I can keep HANNAH out of it? No WAY lol

I bet those twinkly lights and colorful toys are very tempting.. LOL

Pam
12-08-2008, 04:51 PM
No me! My last tree was back in 1996 or 1997. Andy is a terror with trees so it is useless. He pulls on the light strings and knocks the ornaments off. Trevor, bless his little soul, would just go underneath and take a nap like a good boy. http://www.iconwild.com/smilies/angel/angel-smiley-001.gifI did set up my small fiber optic tree the other day, and Andy had knocked it over in no time. :rolleyes: To be honest, the way Ripley lifts his leg on every bush or mailbox when we go for walks, I would be afraid he would do that to a tree! :o

3Catcondo
12-08-2008, 04:51 PM
I usually put up 2 trees, and last year was the only year I haven't put a tree up at all. Owen was less than a year old. This year I only put the white one up (I loaned my boyfriend the green tree to put up at his house so he would have a tree) , and so far so good. Noone has been exploring in the branches (Cricket used to scale up the inside of the tree) and I have never had one knocked over. I have had a few ornaments broken which were glued back with super glue, no worse for the wear.

Taz_Zoee
12-08-2008, 04:55 PM
We were a little wary of putting up a tree this year with a kitten and a puppy (especially a puppy with a tail!). But we put it up anyway. It was up for about a week without decorations. We added some decorations this past weekend. The bottom portion of the tree is a no ornament zone. Since the tree is right by the back door and we let the dogs in and out that door. Taggart and his darn tail. LOL
We've had to get Paizly out of the tree a couple of times. We only put a few ornaments on it because of the kids. And two of them broke the same night we decorated it. Any guesses on who broke them?
Taggart? nope
Paizly? nope
Bruce!!! He broke both of them!!! So the animals score is 0 and Bruce's is 2.
Paizly knocked one off but it didn't break. Lucky girl. LOL
It is a rather boring tree, but it's still pretty with the lights on. :) I plan on getting pix of the kids (or half of them at least) in front of it, eventually.

Oh, Taz loves the Christmas tree. He loves to hang out under it. And occasionally he'll chew on a branch or two (it's a fake tree). But I stop him if I see him doing that. If you look at his COTD page from December 22, 2006 he is in his favorite place around the holidays. :D

sparks19
12-08-2008, 05:12 PM
I bet those twinkly lights and colorful toys are very tempting.. LOL


LOL actually I figured she would be all about the lights... but it's the beaded garland she won't keep her hands off of. she likes it cause she can p ull it and swing it around. little bugger lol

Medusa
12-08-2008, 05:30 PM
Even my older cats can't leave the ornaments alone so I decided to buy a cone shaped tree w/the lights on the inside. This tree can be displayed outdoors, too. Ok, it isn't the fanciest but it's a tree w/lights at least. I'm planning on shopping for another one this week, already decorated and w/lights, if I can find the time but for now, this one works just fine.

Karen
12-08-2008, 05:36 PM
We got in the habit of putting the family Christmas tree in a playpen when my parents had Gracie, the Great Dane. At her height, her tail could clear most of the ornaments off the tree in one happy moment - and we swore there was no connection between her brain and her tail. It was easier to put the tree in a playpen, that kept the ornaments safe from a certain tail, AND from the younger visiting grandchildren as well.

We stopped, however, putting candy canes on the tree during Gracie's 14-year reign - she LOVED :love::love::love::love::love: candy canes. That was the only time she would drool, is if one dared eat a candy cane in her presence. Silly girl!

Medusa
12-08-2008, 05:38 PM
We stopped, however, putting candy canes on the tree during Gracie's 14-year reign - she LOVED :love::love::love::love::love: candy canes. That was the only time she would drool, is if one dared eat a candy cane in her presence. Silly girl!

That's hilarious! I would love to have seen that.

chocolatepuppy
12-08-2008, 05:41 PM
I've always had a tree up, until a few years ago I had live ones. The first year I had Sassy she took every single ornament off while I was at work and I flung them back on when I got home. She also pulled lights right out of the socket!:eek: Since then the cats only lay under it.;) My only other problem was Layla laying under the tree and when she stood up, this happened...:rolleyes:
http://www.headporting.net/DSCF5606__Custom_.JPG

Medusa
12-08-2008, 05:42 PM
I've always had a tree up, until a few years ago I had live ones. The first year I had Sassy she took every single ornament off while I was at work and I flung them back on when I got home. She also pulled lights right out of the socket!:eek: Since then the cats only lay under it.;) My only other problem was Layla laying under the tree and when she stood up, this happened...:rolleyes:
http://www.headporting.net/DSCF5606__Custom_.JPG

Yep, there it is. Only in my house the ornaments would get broken and I was afraid that little paws would get cut, especially while I was at work.

chocolatepuppy
12-08-2008, 05:46 PM
Yep, there it is. Only in my house the ornaments would get broken and I was afraid that little paws would get cut, especially while I was at work.

None of my ornaments are breakable.;) I might also add, my tree is up and I'm going to add the ornaments tonight. Last year Jake was 2- 2 1/2 months old at Christmas. I may have to edit this later.:rolleyes:

Alysser
12-08-2008, 06:05 PM
We have always put a tree up although ours is fake haha. My pets have never bothered much with it, EXCEPT the maltie. Holy crap, she once tugged one ornament and the entire tree came down on top of her. Picture a 7 year old shaking presents under the tree and an annoying white fluffbutt knocking the tree down the opposite way! My mom still says I had something to do with it..:rolleyes: She NEVER touched ornaments again lol. Her new thing? Peeing on the tree skirt, how lovely. :D

mustlovedogs
12-08-2008, 06:22 PM
Ours just recently went up :)

I'm not too worried about Ellie, she's usually pretty good with the tree. It just makes me excited for Christmas!!

Merry (early ;)) Christmas, Everyone! :D:D:D

Nomilynn
12-08-2008, 06:28 PM
I can't imagine not having a tree! Mine has been up since the 29th of November.. Tilly and Nutmeg both like to sniff at the bottom branches, and Nutmeg likes to chew them. I sprayed all the bottom branches with some stuff called "Bitter Yuck" and now Nutmeg only chews the tree when she is trying to get attention. I just use the water bottle and squirt her, and she runs away :p

Tilly just LOVES the ceramic Santa I put under the tree for decoration.. not sure why.. she's just a weirdo!! :)

MoonandBean
12-08-2008, 06:31 PM
So far, so good (but Sunny will be supervised constantly). Moon and Bean don't bother it; real or fake...
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm307/dmend10/SunnyChristmas2008014.jpg

ramanth
12-08-2008, 07:01 PM
Andy and I have been putting up a fake tree since '06. We've never had a problem with the cats getting in it. They would knock off ornaments from the lower branches so now we just don't hang them there.

We seem to run a greater risk with the dogs knocking it over with their rough housing. Though Andy has secured the tree to our costumed mannequin and so far, it's never been toppled. :)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/ramanth/IMG_8531.jpg

Suki Wingy
12-08-2008, 07:09 PM
Here in IA we have a real tree, it's really lush too. My little brother has his own full of NASCAR and Cars ornaments. The cats just leave it alone.

At home in IL we have two trees, a live one and a fake one which was given to us as a gift by a family friend who works for a company that makes fake trees. When I was younger I was always worried Niño would pee on it but he never has even done more than just sniff the tree casually when it went up. Chester hid all last December so we don't know what he'll do with it this year.

zippy-kat
12-08-2008, 08:19 PM
We were bracing ourselves for a year of kitteny antics with this being Grace's first Christmas. Nope! Grace could care less. K'CEE, however, is the tree-scaler-extrodinaire. :rolleyes::D

The dogs don't bother it although Maggie Moo tried to crawl under (to retrieve a toy) and it almost toppled.

catnapper
12-08-2008, 08:31 PM
We were brave enough with a puppy! CAllie ended up eating the berries off the tree, so we removed them and the tree looks naked.

Catlady711
12-08-2008, 09:57 PM
We had a tree up last year and I have 7 cats also. Granted we put up a small Charlie Brown tree (real) and very limited ornaments only hung near the trunk area, but we had one including lights. The hardest thing was keeping them from getting into the water basin. I had to use simple sugar water solution rather than any other additives which might harm the cats if they should drink it.

Here's a pix of Cami lounging under the tree.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l17/Catlady711/IMG_4134.jpg

Flatcoatluver
12-08-2008, 10:35 PM
When Kesha was still around we always had knocked over ornaments and ripped tissue paper, now that she has passed away we haven't had any problems.

Until I started babysitting my brother's new dog, Pike. That dog LOVES chewing on the tree branches and eating the tree skirt. Little brat. :p

krazyaboutkatz
12-09-2008, 01:33 AM
I tried putting up a very small fake one but Storm kept trying to eat it so that was the end of that. If I tried putting up a tree today I know that both of my girls would climb it in a minute and knock everything over.

kt_luvs_kitties
12-09-2008, 02:14 AM
Most years I DO NOT put up a tree. The first year with Hannah and Puff, I was at work and Rickie called me. I was scared something terrible happened, as he NEVER does that. He walked outside to get the mail, and heard a LOUD BANG. He got inside, and I dont know HOW this happened, but the brand new fake tree was in a pile on the floor. Unfixable:eek::confused::rolleyes: He called to tell me. When I got home, I couldnt believe it. It was so bad that I did not even bag it up, I just picked up the massive pile and threw it on the curb:mad:

2 years ago I put one up, this time I anchored it to the wall in 6 places, and the ceiling with thick clear fishing line. Worked like a charm, but all of the ornaments were getting broken.

Last year, NO TREE>

This year, since it will be such a sparse Christmas, I decided to put one up tonight. And, knock on wood, I *THINK* I might have just outsmarted the cats this year.

No icicles, Shatterproof ornaments, anchored EVERYWHERE. I also gave it sprays of "no bite bitter apple" and put no ornaments or anything near the bottom of the tree. No tree skirt as that is a peeing magnet AND Puff will eat it:rolleyes: We will see if it works. Hubby and I placed bets. He said it will be ruined by morning, I said by tomorrow night:p:D:rolleyes:

* FINGERS CROSSED FOR THE WELL BEING OF MY TREE *

Maya & Inka's mommy
12-09-2008, 04:20 AM
We ALWAYS have a tree, a real one.
I sure have very well behaving cats, because none of them ever touches the tree nore the ornaments!! Lucky me, heh :):love::)

Killearn Kitties
12-09-2008, 05:29 AM
I have never had a problem with the cats touching the tree, the most they ever do is snooze under it. Last year though I bought a tree skirt for the first time. Once the presents were gone, well it was just too tempting!

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee64/karen31358/Miscellaneous/Cats/ChristmasTreeSkirtSam3.jpg

Karen's lovely story about the great dane made me remember one year when my father-in-law visited with his dog just after the New Year. The tree that year was particularly dried-up, and when Sherry (a labrador) backed in to it with her whole back end wagging, all the needles cascaded to the carpet! Just as well there was no food on there.

Pam
12-09-2008, 05:31 AM
We will see if it works. Hubby and I placed bets. He said it will be ruined by morning, I said by tomorrow night:p:D:rolleyes:

* FINGERS CROSSED FOR THE WELL BEING OF MY TREE *

Oh I can't wait to hear who was right, but I am thinking it will be your hubby! :p:D

catlover4ever
12-09-2008, 07:53 AM
I did!!! It's artificial and has been up since 11/29. My gang does not bother the tree, although they do like to mess with the tree skirt all the time.

The year that my grandmother died, my mom's gang were extremely naughty. They knocked the tree over, managed to take it apart in pieces and dragged it down to the basement. My mom was heartbroken and swore that she would never put up another tree.....but we have managed to not have that happen again by having the tree tied down to the window handles.

Freedom
12-09-2008, 08:34 AM
Not this year, no no.

Usually, we have a 6 foot cut tree in the living room. Last year, I had 3 under a year old, and decided to use a 4 foot fake tree. That sure kept all of us busy, he hee.

Then in January, Tommy & Tuppence arrived here. Tommy is Mr. Mischief, he is in to EVERYTHING! So I will use the small fake tree again. He is going to think it's a new toy just for him. :D

Logan
12-09-2008, 09:03 AM
I know Butter has a reputation for being bad, but one thing he has never done is pay any attention to the tree. Mimi (Rainbow Bridge Kitty :love: ) used to love to sleep underneath the tree. The only bad memory of a tree in recent history was Zippper (Rainbow Bridge Golden Retriever), who was in the living room while we were watching tv and decided the tree was tempting to pee on! We were horrified! :eek:

We are very careful having any dog in the living room these days, especially the boys!!!! ;)

Donnaj4962
12-09-2008, 09:38 AM
I have a tree up! I always do, and we have just someminor issues. Tabby EVERY year decides that she should pee on the tree skirt! (I get a new one every year at the after Christmas sales!) Sasha likes to knaw on the lights! :rolleyes: She also bats at the ornaments and it is not uncommon to come home and find some ornaments laying in the middle of the living room.

This year, I am in a new place, and have 10 foot ceilings, which makes my little tree look awful! So I improvised and set the tree on a storage container. Maybe, just maybe, the girls will behave themselves this year! ;)

Cataholic
12-09-2008, 10:13 AM
Funny stories!

I, too, have gone back and forth with the tree, depending on the age of the kittens in the house. BUT, with a 4 year old....trees aren't optional anymore. Last year it wasn't too horrible with Arizona, who was just a couple of months old. I had a few broken ornaments to address. This year, though, I think will be worse. She is a fat arse kitty now, and is so trouble-minded! Between her and Jonah, who can't keep his mitts off of the decorations already up (and asks every 12 hours, "are we getting a tree today"?) it should be fun.

What is Christmas without a horizonal tree incident, anyhow?

pitc9
12-09-2008, 12:44 PM
Pam... last year was the first year the Buddy did NOT pee on my FAKE Christmas tree!!! :o

I do have to make sure not to put ornaments at or below tail height. That makes my tree look a little funny but everyone understands! LOL! :D

Husky_mom
12-09-2008, 12:51 PM
LOL... just as anyone with kids has commented...

here´s my share...

my kid kept asking.. "what if an ornament falls off?"...and i told him... they can´t fall off...unless you are messing with them...

well what do you know... later he said "Mom!!... one just fell off!!.."

:p:rolleyes:

kt_luvs_kitties
12-09-2008, 01:15 PM
Bet update:

Rickie 0 Katie 0 Cats 6

I give ornaments 1 point a piece:p I found some in the formal living room, the den, and the kitchen:rolleyes:

BUT that does NOT count as ruining the tree ya know! I might just win this bet, but in a way, I hope I dont. I want to be lucky, and have it until Christmas;)

FORGOT TO ADD: I also dont use wire ornament holders, as Puff chews them:mad: I got the plastic e-z hanger kind to be safe:D


EDIT: Rickie 0 Katie 0 Cats 12 :p

IRescue452
12-09-2008, 01:26 PM
We have two ten-month-old kittens, if even that old. The tree went up, the ornaments came down, repeatedly. We just stick to ornaments that are safe around kittens. They don't have all that much interest anymore, they've got far too many toys to play with besides the tree plus a jungle gym of boxes and baskets. We've gotten pretty elaborate with setting up things for them to play with ever since Smokey got his neck wrapped around a speaker cord and almost hung himself one night. They're learning what's set up for them and what they aren't supposed to play with.

I did see in a magazine a tree that had the branches cut the first couple of feet and a smaller triangle of branches on the top half. It was like a topiary christmas tree. It'd be a good idea for keeping everything off ground level.

AdoreMyDogs
12-09-2008, 01:35 PM
I've never gone without a tree, however, last year for the first time EVER, Boone knocked the tree over. Thankfully it was after Christmas (the day after) and we lost the Christmas lights (a bunch of them were shattered) and several of my special ornaments. The living room was full of tiny shards of glass everywhere. It was a real mess. The tree was not straight enough in the tree stand I don't think. We put it up too quickly. This year we were more careful.

I will post pictures later.

The only thing that is different since having a baby, is my ornaments are all up high. I can't have any ornaments down low until Quinn is older. Surprisingly enough, Quinn hasn't had any interest in the tree when the lights are on because she thinks they're "hot", so we keep the lights on all the time. She's cautious of lights after she touched the super hot lightbulb of a lamp I had up during pumpkin carving. She points to the tree several times and says, "a tree" and then says "hot". I just tell her it's hot to keep her away from it. It's been up and undisturbed for 4 days now!

kt_luvs_kitties
12-09-2008, 01:42 PM
Adore my dogs, have you tired anchoring it? That way, it just cant get knocked over!;) It is super easy, and only takes about 5 minutes!

Pam
12-09-2008, 01:52 PM
Pam... last year was the first year the Buddy did NOT pee on my FAKE Christmas tree!!! :o



:D:o Just hearing that about Buddy also that Zipper peed on a tree has me even more concerned! Ripley would think "hey she brought my bathroom right inside the house!" :D:D Andy has been known to chew on the fiber optic tree. How do I know, you may ask..... well I found a couple of pieces in the "tootsie rolls" in his litter box. :o:o

Casper
12-09-2008, 04:34 PM
Last night was the first time we actually assembled the tree in quite a few years. :)

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r310/CheckAgain/IMG_7378.jpg
Melani loves sitting under the tree and just looking up into the branches. :-)

Marzy the Pest(our foster failure kitty) has tried to annihilate the tree once so far, but when she realized that the tree does not put up a fight she decided to leave it be for now.

Since I have been home the cats don't seem to have given the tree a second glance. I'm so proud!

Twisterdog
12-10-2008, 12:01 AM
I have always put up a Christmas tree. It has never occurred to me not to.

I don't have cats, but my I just tell my dogs "No!" and they leave it alone. Same thing with my son, when he was a toddler.

:confused:

captain
12-11-2008, 01:10 AM
I have a "fake" tree - and the dogs are OK with it.

I do have ornaments "knocked" off the tree by excessive tail wagging ... :):D. The only ornament I have to put UP HIGH in the tree is a small Christmas teddy bear - I have 3 of them - and Captain thinks all teddies belong to him.

jazzcat
12-11-2008, 10:56 AM
I still haven't decided if I'm going to put one up yet but if I'm going to it needs to be this weekend. I bought a small 4 ft tree several years ago to be the "cat tree" in the sunroom but never tried it. Maybe I'll just put it up so it won't be as destructive as a 7 ft. tree falling.

Taz_Zoee
12-11-2008, 11:14 AM
I was sitting in the living room last night just looking at the tree. And I saw a new ornament and thought Bruce had stuck a stuffed animal in the branches of the tree.
Oh no!! It was Paizly!!! :eek: She was 3/4 up the tree just peaking out. I ran to get my camera but she was out already by the time I got back. Later she did it again and I got some pictures, but only one half way decent one. I'll post it later.
I'm trying to discourage her (by stomping on the floor) from doing this because she gets her legs and feet tangled up in the wire of the lights. AND she broke one of the branch sections, I think. She gets stuck and starts meowing. So I go help her get out. Silly kitten!!!

Oh, and last night the dogs were playing and I heard several ornaments go flying. We were eating dinner so I didn't rush in there. Next thing I know Taggart has an ornament and he's tossing it up in the air playing with it. Luckily it was an unbreakable one.

The joys of puppy and kitten ownership. ;)

lvpets2002
12-11-2008, 11:38 AM
:love: MMmmm did I not say in a previous post to watch out for your baby to go thru the middle of the tree & be on the branchs..:p Now come on & get out the video player & set by the tree today so we can see all the fun going on with your kitties in the tree..:D

Nomilynn
12-11-2008, 01:54 PM
Here are some pics of my tree, and Tilly and Nutmeg.. hehe I love Tilly's expression in this picture!!

Nomilynn
12-11-2008, 02:10 PM
Here is the actual tree.. I had to make the photo smaller..

AdoreMyDogs
12-11-2008, 02:45 PM
Adore my dogs, have you tired anchoring it? That way, it just cant get knocked over!;) It is super easy, and only takes about 5 minutes!

How does one anchor a real tree? It seems to be much sturdier then last year and we hope, because we left a small gap between the window and the tree, Boone won't knock it down again.

Here's the tree before we finished putting the decorations on. It's a little big for our tiny living room, but it was a good price and it was so pretty.

lute
12-11-2008, 02:46 PM
We put a tree up every year. Sometimes real, sometimes fake. This year it's fake. I've never had a problem with the dogs and the tree....It was the dogs and the PRESENTS! Years ago when we had Porkie we woke up to find everything unwrapped. This is Chloe's first Christmas with us. I'm not even sure she's aware of the tree. It's 6ft high, but I swear she doesn't see it.:rolleyes: Talon is another story. He can't be in the same room with the tree. He attacks it. He literally FLEW across the coffee table the other day to get it...I love my crazy puppy.:D

Zippy
12-11-2008, 07:11 PM
My family put up a tree last year and Pumpkin didn't climb it once(the first few years she climbed it).Zippy has never really cared but loves to sleep under it.I am spending christmas with my grandparents these year and we desided not to get out the tree.