Christmas Tree Cat, Grrr. . .

[Toby's my baby]

C. P. climbs the christmas tree and we dont know how to get her to stop. We are fed - up with it and she is now sleeping in my grandpa's heated shop. I want her back in the house but she can't come in untill this problem is resolved. Any abvice

[sirrahbed]

Is it a real tree? Our RB Ernie was a climber - right up the middle and many a toppled tree - so we would secure the tree to the ceiling and two walls with fishing line and cup hooks. It might also help to spray it with some of the NO! products that repel cats. Hope some of these ideas help!

[Toby's my baby]

ok thanks! o, and no its not a real tree luckily it doesnt fall down its CP is only about 2lbs.

[prechrswife]

Have you tried using a spray bottle? That has been pretty effective for us.

[CatDad]

I think that the other suggestion are good, I don't have any other good ones.

Just wanted to say good luck and I hope that C. P. can come back soon.

[neko1]

My cats torture a christmas tree, so the solution was really simple-no tree anymore. We can all live with no tree and just other decorations around the house.

[bluekat]

Blueberry never climbed our tree last year, and he doesn't even go near it this year. But last year he always used to play with the ornaments, so we hung those things on the tree to stop him. Its those leaf things, and they have a kind of smell, I think its those air fresheners where you hang in your car. But it worked for us

[RedHedd]

The only solution I've found that works is the "no tree" one. I can't remember the last time I had a tree - it's just so much easier. The season is stressful enough without having to redcorate and upright the tree every day. The cats are already freaked out with new packages, wrapping paper, bows and especially boxes appearing - I don't need the extra anxiety of dealing with a tree too. Now I have a whole collection of Xmas decorations that I put up. I also put ALL the Xmas cards I receive all over the house. With all the PT cards I'm getting (you guys are amazing!) my place already looks very Christmasy. I just sent out my PT and family cards yesterday; I'm running out of places in my teeny apartment to put all the cards! This is what I call a luxury problem!

[Toby's my baby]

Thank you guys so much for replying Im sure they will, all work my mom would not go for the NO TREE one but I will try the spray bottle as soon as possible and let you know if it works!

Thanks,
Beth

[BastetsMum]

Its a no-tree household here too. But what i do is I have a really nice Christmas wreath, I put some baubles in the centre of it, I put a candle in those and prop a star on the candle and it looks really lovely.

[bluekat]

We put our tree up last week, and Blueberry only went close to it about 2 times only. That's good. We put a can with coins inside it on the floor, he knows that when we shake it there's a huge noise so he'd rather not go near them.
and also, mayve he's afraid of the flashing ights on our tree, lol

[seleste]

Shaking a can with pennies or rocks in it is sooo much better than using a spray bottle. That is always my first recommendation. It is really not a good idea to teach your cat to fear water. If you ever have to bathe your cat (and there are countless reasons why you might have to) you will have a huge battle on your hands. Not all cats are afraid of the water during a bath, many cats actually enjoy the massage and warm water. But the ones that really panic and freak out usually have negative associations with it, either they fell into a toilet or a swimming pool, or they were sprayed with water from a bottle. The spray bottle method will certainly deter your cat from the bad behavior, but at such a high price. Please consider another alternative. As a professional cat groomer I can tell within seconds of bathing a cat whether they have had a traumatic experience with water. Upon speaking with the cats owner they usually reveal that they use spray bottles. I know I would certainly rather hear a loud noise than be hit with a spray of water - don't our cats deserve the same respect?

[Desert Arabian]

To solve our problem, we put up a (removeable) door blocking the enterance to the room the tree is in.

[CatDad]

I am so happy to hear that you found a solution that every one can live with.

Does this mean that C. P. is back in the house.?

[All Creatures Great And Small]

Originally posted by YellowLabLover
To solve our problem, we put up a (removable) door blocking the entrance to the room the tree is in.

When YLL took this picture, she didn't get the bottom of the door, showing how we used wooden shelf brackets to make "feet" for the door. It just stands in the doorway leading to the living room, and we slide it out of the way when we want to go in there (there are handles on both sides of it and felt on the bottom of the "feet"). You can buy a low-price wooden screen door at most home-supply places for about $20-$30 dollars, and about $10 for the feet and handles, although we opted for a more decorative wood and glass type one. Then we take it apart at the end of the Christmas season and store it in the garage. It's kind of a pain in the butt, but we love trees AND kitties, so it's worth it.


I know one year when my daughter was an inquisitive toddler, we had 4 foot high rabbit fencing all around the tree to keep her away from it - not very festive, but you could tie little bows on it or something (LOL). Knowing kitties though, he would probably just climb the fencing.