how to protect a christmas tree from cats?

Question

We have 7 cats, three are still playfull kittens. How do we protect the christmas tree from the cats?

Answer 1

You can try spraying them with water when they climb up it. They will learn not to do that anymore. You can also get the pet training spray. There are different brands out there, one that I saw is called stay- off. You spray it on furniture and stuff to keep animals away from it. There should be something like it where you are.

Answer 2

7 cats??? Good luck.
I made the mistake last year of putting our christmas tree next to the staircase. We have a small balconey. Turns out our 4 month old kitten had loads of fun jumping off the balconey into the tree and raking all the ornaments off on the way down..

My other cat would sit in it. He was very tiny and the branches supported his weight. We didn't know he was doing it until we were sitting around and I caught his green eyes staring back at me behind the tinsel.
My advice... don't use silver/gold tinsel (they sometimes eat it and it's not good for them) Don't put up glass or breakable ornaments (or any ornaments you care about keeping). If you get a real tree make sure it is watered all the time (our cats liked to drink the water.. like it was their personal water bowl with a large tree growing out of it) No dangling ornaments at the bottom.
If you catch kitty playing in the tree, scold him (water bottle works)

But, frankly, the twinkling lights and shiny balls and are just much for a curious kitty to resist..
I mean, you put this giant toy in the living room and you expect him NOT to play with it!!

Answer 3

You can't protect a tree from cats, you have to protect the cats from the tree. Even if you manage to intimidate them to stay away when you are present, the challenge to get into it will still exist when you aren't there.

Try anchoring the tree to a wall or door frame, so that it can't be knocked over. Use unbreakable ornaments...the most beautiful tree I ever saw was one done in a Victorian theme with wide ribbon bows, garlands of wide lace, and clumps of silk flowers stuck in. Do not use tinsel, and instead of twinkling lights on the tree, try an up light that will illuminate the tree without running cords through it. The alternative is, if you want lights in the tree, be sure to unplug them when you aren't right there to guard it.

For the record, we decorate for the holidays, but have found alternative ways to do it - large holiday wreath on the wall, lots of different stand around centerpieces, holiday character figures. It's a lot easier to set up and a lot easier to pack away.

Answer 4

One thing you can try is a water pistol or some pennies in a tin can. When any of your cats are near the tree, shoot them with the water pistol, but you have to not let the cat see the gun or it will know when to run away and the lesson is not learned. OR shake the tin can (less wet that way). The noise will scare them off. Eventually they will put 2 and 2 together.

Keep cheap ornaments on the bottom of the tree. It will save you some gray hairs when they sneak around to play with them.

Answer 5

Cat Up a Tree Christmas wood and decorations could nicely be an alluring probability for many pets. Tinsel is very risky, and cats like to play with it. Ingestion of it motives severe intestinal problems that continually require surgical operation. eating different indigestible Christmas decorations could reason intestinal blockage, additionally requiring surgical operation. Poinsettias , holly and mistletoe are poisonous. Cats like to climb Christmas wood, so verify they're sturdy, or the cats can’t get to them.

Answer 6

i have two cats and they love our tree. its fake and sometimes its difficult from keepin them away. What we do is hang all the glass ornaments on the top of the tree where they cant get it and hand some cheap plastic ones on the bottom. Cats will eventually still go for the ornaments. why not set the cheap ones on the bottom.

You virtually cant get them away. however, my cats like the tree. We put like sheets under it and that is where they sleep all day. Instead of keepin them away, make it a good thing to have for the cats.

Answer 7

Seriously, you better have a pet-proof tree! Use only soft ornaments, no ribbons hanging down or tinsel. Maybe use just candycanes to decorate it. One year I put baby gates around the tree. It didn't look great, but it kept the cats out from underneath!

Answer 8

I had a cat once that slept under the tree as part of our nativity scene we had. Me and my mom used to joke that we didn't know there were cats at the birth of baby Jesus.

But seriously, we'd get after ours with a rolled up newspaper. But only if he climbed in it. After a few swats with it, he got the idea.

Answer 9

Yea, we have a huge 9 or 10 foot fake tree and our cats asolutly love to climp all the way to the top from the inside. the first few times we just sprayed them with a water bottle squirter thing. they stopped after a while.

Answer 10

Doesn't seem like you're getting much in the area of real help. You could try spraying the tree with citrus - normally a deterrent to house pets. Garlic is another deterrent but I don't think you would like your Xmas tree to smell like an italian restaurant!