Cats + Tree = ???

Just put up our (fake) tree for this year. Of course, the cats are attracted to it like a moth to a flame. Last year every night while we were sleeping and every day while we were gone, his fat butt would climb on the lower branches, bending them until they touched the ground, and knocking down every ornament from a cat-height and down.

This year we've decided to move the tree to the office because with our new furniture there is no room in the livingroom (would require moving too much furniture around). Only problem? The door to the office doesn't close (never has). We've tried closing it and pulling heavy objects on the other side of the door but these cats can still push the door open and get inside no matter what we do to get to the tree.

The "boundary" sprays at the petstore work... for a day. But they are pricy!

Any suggestions at what to do to keep them away?!?!?! I'm at my wit's end here!! If we're awake and in the condo, they don't go anywhere near it. But the second we go to bed or leave, they are all over it!!! I have been awake since 4am because of their tree shenanigans this morning :(

Get yourself an inexpensive playpen, and put the tree inside it. That's what we had to do when we had Gracie the Great Dane - as her tail was apparently not connected to her brain, and a wagging tail could knock ornaments of all but the top foot of the tree!

Also, fishing line to attach the tree to a wall is also good -- just wrap a length around the trunk and anchor on two sides of the wall.

Oh, geez - I thought the whole purpose of having a tree was for the cats' enjoyment! :rolleyes: Seriously, that's why I'm not putting one up this year: the cats have ignored it, so I can't see the point. I think the playpen idea is a good one - or could you get a baby gate high enough to keep them from jumping over?

can you put a extra tall baby gate in the doorway They are pressure mounted
://www.toysrus.com/graphics/product_images/pTRU1-http3549519reg.jpg
i attached a link if it does'nt work just type extra tall baby gate in the search

LOL I hit submit and then I seen maerly had already posted the baby gate idea
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here's the only baby that did the tree climbing
she was 3 months in this pic

We no longer have a tree at the Found Cats Hotel.
That reminds me of the story of when Smokey our Cat knocked over the family Christmas Tree and destroyed a lot of ornaments that were irreplacable , family heirloom.
My Dear Mother was upset but dis not punish Smokey , she said that he was one of God's creations and did not know better.
I have never forgotten that.:love:

I am surprised, my cats never climb my tree, never have even back when we had a fresh cut live one. They DO love to play with the ornaments on the lower levels, bat those around and I find them all over the house in the morning, but other than that, no issues here.

Do you have toys out for the cats? Rub some catnip on the toys to make them more attractive.

I got tired of picking cats out of my Christmas tree years ago. I don't put one up any more. :D

I never had a cat/tree problem either when I had cats. They used to play with the ornaments on the bottom branches, so unbreakable ones always went there - just in case. I had to quit using tinsel tho, since my old Meezer would slurp it up like spaghetti. Luckily - he passed it tho. YUK!

My son's cats never bother the tree much except for playing with the decorations toward the bottom like my cats did. However, they like to nest in the tree skirt all scrunched and balled up to suit themselves. I could straighten the skirt out a dozen times each day - and they would rearrange it that many times too. :rolleyes:

I can't imagine NOT having a tree - even if it was a big attraction to the felines.

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Originally Posted by pomtzu

I can't imagine NOT having a tree - even if it was a big attraction to the felines.

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I really don't miss having one. It's just me and the cats now and I find Christmas still comes without one. Besides, it was sooooo depressing taking it down every year. :love:

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Originally Posted by momoffuzzyfaces

I really don't miss having one. It's just me and the cats now and I find Christmas still comes without one. Besides, it was sooooo depressing taking it down every year. :love:

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How about a small table top lighted ceramic tree? That might work. No decorating required and the cats can't climb it. :p

Years ago my departed MIL took some pottery classes, and for Christmas that year, all the kids and their spouses got a beautiful ceramic tree. I still have it (but not the spouse!!:eek:) and put it up in the "village" I set up on the sofa table. It has become tradition, and if I say I'm not going to bother setting it up, I get all kinds of grief from my son and grandkids. Soooooooo - it always goes up!

I don't know what to suggest. I haven't put a tree up since I've had cats. I did try to put a small one up which was fake but my RB Storm decided that the tree tasted good so he'd munch on the branches. I also tried putting up other decorations but unless I put them up very high, one of the cats would get to it and play with it. I do have a small white tree that lights up which I keep up high in my bedroom. So far so good with this one.;)

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Originally Posted by pomtzu

How about a small table top lighted ceramic tree? That might work. No decorating required and the cats can't climb it. :p

Years ago my departed MIL took some pottery classes, and for Christmas that year, all the kids and their spouses got a beautiful ceramic tree. I still have it (but not the spouse!!:eek:) and put it up in the "village" I set up on the sofa table. It has become tradition, and if I say I'm not going to bother setting it up, I get all kinds of grief from my son and grandkids. Soooooooo - it always goes up!

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I do have a ceramic one. Not good around my monsters. They break everything. I also have a small white fiber optic one. You put battries in the base and the branches change color. It is beautiful. For some reason, the last time I put it up, I took one look at it and burst into tears. I'd rather not have one. :love:

I am determined to have a tree up this year. They don't play in it, but Sherpa eats the artificial needles and pukes everywhere. So....this year I have the tree up on an end table, and I sprayed perfume around the base of it. Now I have a headache because I overdid it with the perfume, LoL!

Ah, the things we do for our pets!

Since getting Paizly we've only put the tree up a few times (we've had her for four years) and once we never even decorated it! I believe it was 2010 that we didn't do a tree because Jax was a kitten.
We put our tree up this weekend and all the cats did was eat it. When I catch them I squirt them (which I was always opposed to doing, but it works and I don't do it hardly ever) or stomp on the ground (which usually doesn't phase them). At least Paizly isn't climbing in it like she did when she was a kitten.

I told my boyfriend my goal this year was to have ZERO broken ornaments. I know he is going to be the one to break one! Not the cats! LOL

If the cats are causing a huge problem, the only thing I could suggest is to not put it up. I know that's sad, but it would make things less stressful for everyone. Maybe like others suggested, get a small one and put it up on something where the cats do not have a way of getting to it.

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Originally Posted by Freedom

Do you have toys out for the cats? Rub some catnip on the toys to make them more attractive.

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Oh, do we have toys... if you only saw my condo... I'm pretty sure the cats have more toys than the dog does at this point... and trust me, all are generously rubbed down with catnip. And I do rotate them so they don't get "bored".

They completely ignore the tree while we're awake/at home... the only time they mess with it is when we're gone or asleep. We even left out a super big box for them to play in at night hoping it would be more interesting than trying to break into the room with the tree... no dice.

Granted, I did come home from work today, door was open, and the tree APPEARS to be untouched...

It wouldn't be so bad if I had a real tree. This fake one has wire branches that just can not support them climbing on them.

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Originally Posted by Taz_Zoee

If the cats are causing a huge problem, the only thing I could suggest is to not put it up. I know that's sad, but it would make things less stressful for everyone. Maybe like others suggested, get a small one and put it up on something where the cats do not have a way of getting to it.

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They can get on top of anything in this condo :( Nowhere is safe :(

Maybe next year you could put a hook in your ceiling and then hang a small tree from that. That is if you have high ceilings.;)

Back in 2008, I put my tree up and got the lights on it, letting Chessie and Casey into my home office where the tree is in front of the window to see how they would react. Chessie went up to it and just looked at it in awe. I think he liked the lights. Casey went right up under the tree, rubbed up against it, and got it swaying. After that, I kept the cats out of my office while the tree's up since I have a lot of breakable ornaments as well as porcelain Nativity figures. While they didn't try to come in, Chessie was always stretching his neck to have his look at all of those lights. I think of him every year when I put the tree up and the cute look of awe on his face.

So, in 2010 for Smokey's first Christmas, I had the tree up but didn't try letting him and Casey into the office. One evening, I was going out, and Smokey darted in, getting a running start as he tries to do. He got into the office and went straight for the fully decorated tree. Fortunately, I grabbed his back half as he tried to climb right up into it. Thankfully, nothing was harmed.

http://chatanuga.org/pics/misc/christmas34.jpg

http://chatanuga.org/pics/misc/christmas36.jpg

I call it my Clark W. Griswold Christmas Tree. :)

Your tree is BEAUTIFUL!! And oddly enough, we have the same tree skirt!

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Originally Posted by Jessika

Your tree is BEAUTIFUL!! And oddly enough, we have the same tree skirt!

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Thanks! I've had the tree skirt since 1997 when I got the tree. I can still see Chessie's face every year when I'd go in and out of the room, and he'd stretch his head out to look in while the door was open and just look on in awe at all of those little lights. They probably reminded him of the laser pointer, which was one of his favorite toys.

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Originally Posted by Chatanuga

Thanks! I've had the tree skirt since 1997 when I got the tree. I can still see Chessie's face every year when I'd go in and out of the room, and he'd stretch his head out to look in while the door was open and just look on in awe at all of those little lights. They probably reminded him of the laser pointer, which was one of his favorite toys.

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Mine was a hand-me-down :)

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Originally Posted by RICHARD

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OK so someone PLEASE explain the upside-down-trees to me?!

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Originally Posted by Jessika

Mine was a hand-me-down :)



OK so someone PLEASE explain the upside-down-trees to me?!

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Australians have something to do with it?;)

Actually, upside down trees are popular with people with small places. Smaller "footprint" yet same square foot to decorate. I don't put up a tree because of kitties and because I decorate eight trees in three stores where I work full time. That's enough ho ho ho for me!

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Originally Posted by momoffuzzyfaces

I really don't miss having one. It's just me and the cats now and I find Christmas still comes without one. Besides, it was sooooo depressing taking it down every year. :love:

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I'm with you. The cats don't seem to enjoy it - although when they were kittens, that was different. Just means a lot of trips up/down cellar steps for my arthritic knees - too much work for no reward. Besides, winter is my favorite season, and the holidays just cut into too much; by the time the holidays are over, so is much of winter. :(

Christmas Treet + Cats = BIG TROUBLE!!!!!

last year I had 2 small artificial trees on some end tables. They got knocked over every few days. I had no idea which cat was doing it. This year we have a very small, real tree sitting on the table (just some lights on it so far) and Toby doesn't pay any attention to it at all. I guess Havoc was the culprit, so I warned my parents that he may get into mischief if they put up a tree this year. My mom already laughs when she tells me he wants to play with the ribbons on all of the presents she's wrapped. :D