Kitten climbing Christmas Tree

[kgeorge]

I have an artificle Christmas Tree and a 6 month old Norweigian Forest Cat, (who is being neutered on Monday), I had the tree up for about a week before I decorated and he left it alone, now he actually climbs the tree and lounges on the branches and bats ornaments, spraying with water doesn't work, the cat likes water! Also, can someone tell me how much to feed the cat, I am feeding about 1/2 0 3/4 cup of food a day and he weighs around 6 - 7 lbs. now. I don't want an overweight cat. Thanks

[Pam]

If this is your first cat you may be thinking you have a little imp living with you, but I can assure you Christmas trees are a kitty's delight! My first kitty never bothered the tree. My second little guy is another story completely! After a few years of having a tree with the lower half containing no ornaments (they could be found anywhere) and lights yanked down over and over, I have gone "treeless" last year and this year. I have a garland over the archway between the living room and dining room and I have lights and balls and a few ornaments on it but it is way out of reach from little paws. You may be reluctant to throw in the towel just yet, but it is just an idea if you do. My sister-in-law also has to anchor her tree to the wall with thin strings because her cats have knocked it down!! Kitties can be so bad but they are such sweeties at the same time. It's hard to stay mad!!

[lhg0962]

I have had a number of ornaments broken and trees toppled over by curious dogs and cats over the years. If you can drive small nails into your walls and use fishing line or nylon thread, tie it up! Otherwise, I have friends who have chosen to just put lights and ornaments on a houseplant, like a indoor tree (shefilaris? I spelled it like it sounds). I'm tempted to decorate Boston Ferns this year as they are everywhere in my house!
The other thing I thought of was that you might use one of those cat repellent sprays mentioned in some other posts. The one my sister has used with a lot of success on her plants is Feliway. You can get it from your vet. You can look them up at www.feliway.com. I just tested the site to make sure it works and it does.
Good luck.

[This message has been edited by lhg0962 (edited December 02, 2000).]

[carrie]

Don't stress about it, give yourself a break and learn to laugh about it! Buy wooden ornaments - they look really good and can't hurt anyone and try to stabilise the tree as well as you can. Take some photos of the cat lounging - we would love to see it.

[gini]

I guess all of us have had the Christmas tree experience. The suggestion to put only wooden ornaments on the bottom is a good one. That is what I had to do. I think the shiny little balls are just too much for a cat to resist. I also found that as the cats got older they realized the tree was something very special. All of my males would curl up right under the tree on the sheet covering the base and look just adorable. For me, they were always the best gift under the tree.

[kgeorge]

Thanks for answering everyone, I have the camera ready if I can catch him for the photo. He is such a cute little guy, I think I will have to buy him a tree tower.

[4 feline house]

Originally posted by kgeorge:
Also, can someone tell me how much to feed the cat, I am feeding about 1/2 0 3/4 cup of food a day and he weighs around 6 - 7 lbs. now. I don't want an overweight cat. Thanks

You're feeding the right amount, and 6-7 lbs for a 6 month old cat is about right, especially since yours is one of the larger breeds. Kittens are born weighing several ounces, and gain roughly a pound a month for about the first six months. I have one that weighed 8 lbs at 4 months, and currently tips the scale at 18 lbs. He's not a Norwegian Forest, but he's a very large cat, with a head the size of a grapefruit!

[rhonni]

My cat thinks that I put up the Christmas tree for his own personal use!! Last year he would climb in and sit for hours. This year is 13 lbs and the branches slowly sink to the ground when he gets in it. Last year I used a whole can of Cat/Kitten Repellent...NOT...it didnt even phase his little tailess butt. I read somewhere that Eucalyptus is a natural deterrent for cats...NOT...when I brought it home he smelled it and started rubbbing up against it. This year my sweet little fatty (Puddin') hasn't pulled the tree over yet, but I decided to just go with white lights and red bows. I also have 3 little cat ornaments that look like him at the top of the tree. The best thing to do is have a sense of humor about it...I have the best picture of my little boy kitty sitting right in the tree last year. I made a special frame for it and I have it displayed this year!

[4 feline house]

Originally posted by rhonni:
I have the best picture of my little boy kitty sitting right in the tree last year.

If you happen to have that picture on your disk I would love it if you'd e-mail a copy of it to me!

[rhonni]

Originally posted by 4 feline house:
If you happen to have that picture on your disk I would love it if you'd e-mail a copy of it to me!

[rhonni]

Originally posted by 4 feline house:
If you happen to have that picture on your disk I would love it if you'd e-mail a copy of it to me!

Actually I do!! I cant believe it but I went right to the disk!!

[Tracy]

I may be a little late coming into this topic but I thought I'd join in anyway! My kitty is 9 months old and I thought I was going to end up with a destroyed tree! I have an artificial tree but my secret was to put little containers of vinegar spaced out around the tree. Cats hate the smell of vinegar. My vet also suggested mixing water and vinegar together to spray them with... as long as you avoid accidently squirting them in the eyes! Yikes!

So far my kitty has pretty much left the tree alone. He does get squirted once in a while when he ventures too close! I think he is getting the hint that the pretty lit up thingy is not his toy!

Hope this helps a bit!
Tracy