Cats and Christmas Trees

When I was younger, my parents for our 4 cats use to have a rope with a hook from the back of a wall and used that to hold the tree. When I had two maine coons ( 20 and 18 pounds of cat!) I used a plant hanger hook and tied the tree so it would not fall- and during the year used it to hand a plant from it..
I was wondering- what do you all cat people do to secure your trees so they dont fall? I have yet to see a method to keep the cats out- or maybe someone has a suggestion for that one too to keep the tree and the cats safe...

Yep, we used the "rope method" too. :D

Luckily, the cats I have now, don't jump up on the tree....knock on wood. They do hang around it underneath and bat the ornaments around though. :)

I remember before the "rope method" having the tree fall on a few relatives (this was when I was a little girl). It was funny but I got in trouble for laughing...and the cats didn't get in trouble!

Over all the years of havig cats we have never had an issue with any of our cats climbing the trees. Not a single cat we ever had bothered with the trees at all. My RB Mytsi was the first to be interested and she wasn't interested in the tree it was the tree skirt. It was one of those that is plush like the santa suit and she loved laying and napping on it. After she passed we got Lilith and Vixen and their first christmas they were 10 months and 8 months and Vixen at 8 months was wild. But they never bothered it either. We had problems keeping Vixen out of the stockings but never out of the tree. I guess I have odd kitties. They must take after their meowmie. :p

Man- my maine coons had to get in the tree all the time.. And they were big cats! Kitsel took the tree down twice- and once with the rope method.. lol. Murphy was quieter- but not by much.

Nobody's climbed the tree yet this year. Last year, Harry still climbed the tree but the tree was sturdy as was the stand so we didn't have any issues.

I think thge reason nobdy's climbed the tree yet is because we already have it surrounded by gifts and they can't get through the gifts to get to the tree itself! :D

Thankfully we haven't had any problems with kitties climbing the tree. However we do have lots of problems with Tuna and Corkscrew thinking the ornaments are toys!

I use the no tree solution - they haven't climbed one in years because I haven't had one! In my teeny-tiny apartment, I don't miss it; I just decorate more and even decorate the cats which they really appreciated (NOT!) :D

Before I came up with that "solution" Goldie toppled the trees every year. The year she broke 21 ornaments (old, family collection ornaments) in one day was the last year I had a tree. It's so much less stressful on me and the kitties.

Does anyone else have problems with the presents? We learned last year that leaving presents under the tree was a big no! They eat at the wrapping paper, scratch at the boxes, destroy any attempt I've made to make them look pretty. And once someone even peed on them! Presents have to stay hidden in the closet and on the night of our Christmas party we bring them out so our friends aren't wondering why we don't have any presents. Then they go back in the closet until it's time to open them.

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Originally Posted by Uabassoon

Does anyone else have problems with the presents?

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Yes- but mainly because I unwisely taught the dogs to "unwrap" their gifts (they would have done it anyway). So, they will tear paper off for fun. I had a really hard time wrapping a big stuffed animal I bought for my nephew- Marta and Vallis thought it was for them. :D So I put up my gifts until it's time to open them, too.

Pippin decided to climb the tree yesterday. It's a pretty small artificial, but it didn't tip. There are lots of ornaments strewn around the house though from little cats being naughty. Luckily, I bought the kind that won't shatter. ;)

Sometimes the dogs get lucky and one of the cats will knock off candy canes. I've caught Mr. Vallis with a couple of them in his mouth before. It's kind of cute- he even figured how to unwrap the plastic.

Chloe is our only kitty who has ever really been a tree climber. She has outgrown that phase, though, and thankfully, hasn't climbed in a few years now. The cats mostly like to sleep on the tree skirt, although they do like to steal bows and play in tissue paper in gift bags. We don't secure the tree to the wall--our tree is artificial and fairly sturdy, but we do hang all of the bell ornaments on the lowest branches so we know when a kitty is getting too nosy.

The first Christmas I had Sassy she climbed the tree. Only once, I guess because she didn't know how to get back down and I had to save her. ;) She did however pull the lights out of their sockets, sometimes even when the tree was turned on! :eek: Missy never bothered the trees, just loved to lay under them. :D

My cats don't get in the tree, but I still tie it back, just in case. One of my cats, Jimmy (the big orange guy in my signature), got in it when I first put it up but after getting squirted with a water bottle he no longer goes near the tree. Two of my others, Raisin and Kitten, LOVE to sleep under the tree. Then there is Oliver and Sundae who are rarely found near it.

I haven't had any problems with the cats and the Christmas presents, but we have had the dogs unwrap a few before. I now keep them somewhere the dogs can't reach them.