We had a real tree the Christmas after we got married. We only had one cat, Saphirah, at the time. Our trouble was not with tree climbing and destruction, but with the water in the tree stand. Saphirah thought that we had brought her a new water dish. She would drink from the tree stand and track water all over the gifts. After that, we got an artificial tree. Chloe is a tree climber, but the artificial tree has been very stable.