Cats and the (artificial) Christmas tree

[JenBKR]

Is an artificial Christmas tree harmful to cats? Katie threw up a little bit of Christmas tree this morning . I sprayed the tree with bitter yuck, so hopefully she'll leave it alone now, but is it harmful at all?

[kb2yjx]

Our Ralph Syracuse has eaten our fake Christmas Tree for YEARS!!! No matter what we do, he continues to do so!!! Like your cat, he will eat it, then throws up!! Someday, I think he will eat the whole tree!!!! Sandra

[Miss Z]

I don't think so.... unless your cat ingests large quantities. Real trees contain toxins in their needles, so if your cat is likely to eat the tree it's better to have a fake one! I'd just keep her away from the tree if you can, cats like to do naughty stuff in secret, so she probably won't do anything whilst you're around!! Zsa-Zsa is a terror for pulling bows off the tree and chewing them, she still has this off as an accomplished art even though she has now become blind! But when she knows we're in the room, she just hovers around the tree and shoots us glances which tell us to go away!!!!