I found Sir Digby Chicken Caesar (my cat, Digby for short) half way up my Christmas Tree this morning - what can I do to stop him pulling the darn thing down?
2006-12-14 00:05:57 · 23 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Cats
Break Mr. Digby's legs.
2006-12-14 10:37:08 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
Sir Digby is probably REALLY interested in those shiny things you've got on your tree. Either that, or he just has an adventurous streak. (I own six cats, so I know.) I have never tried to physically remove a cat from my Crimbo tree, but I have gotten Cloud and Angel off of it by taking one of their food bowls and shaking it a bit so that they could hear the kibble. That usually makes them come running for me! I don't know if it wil work for your cat, though. Maybe you could look into a product called "Boundary." It's a spray that's formulated to keep cats, dogs, and strays away from "forbidden" areas. I use it in my bedroom to keep the dogs out from in front of the telly, and it works pretty well. Talk to someone at the store if you decide to go and look for it. They can help you decide whether it would be right for you and your cat.
Best of luck with Sir Digsby!
PS- Cute name for the kitty, too, by the way!
2006-12-14 13:25:30 · answer #2 · answered by Ayame T 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How old is Digby? Normally with my 3 cats, when it's been thier first Christmas, we don't put a large tree up cos it's too easy for them to wreck havoc. By their 2nd Christmas they are more mature and not as excited by the decorations.
2006-12-14 17:04:57 · answer #3 · answered by leanne r 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
get him out of the tree, fuss at him in your usual manner for letting him know he's in the wrong. You can chase him off from around the tree w a spray bottle with water, or whatever method you use to teach him to avoid the 'no cat' areas.
I put up the tree a few days and let it stand undecorated for the cats to satisfy their curiosity... then decorate. Any attempts to climb are corrected with voice, hand claps or water bottle spritzs.
After 2-3 days undecorated, my cats only want to lay under it and don't attempt to climb. Batting at anything on the tree is discouraged also.
The stores have sprays you can use to make the tree unpleasant and unattractive to the cat. It won't hurt the tree or the cat and the scent is not detectable by humans.
2006-12-14 08:12:55 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I love your cat's name! You can fill a squirt bottle with water and a little vinegar. When Digby starts for the tree, squirt him and yell "NO". The vinegar won't hurt him, but the unpleasant smell reinforces the lesson. I call it "kitty time-out". You can also wire the tree to the ceiling. I've used the commercial sprays sold at strores. My cats love the smell and are attracted to it!!!!
2006-12-14 08:16:31 · answer #5 · answered by Scoots 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Digby might never stop this no matter what you try.I have a lot of experience with this because I have a cat I've tried everything with to avoid it from destroying our tree. Mothballs...she likes to play with them, and then climbs the tree, squirting with water...licks herself and then climbs the tree, lemon rinds...eats them and then climbs the tree.
I've finally given up and board her at the vet every year for a couple of weeks.
2006-12-14 15:24:45 · answer #6 · answered by jag 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
get a squirt bottle of water and spray him everytime you see him wanting to climb the tree, or after he crawls down, and then sternly say "NO!!" Watch for him to return, and repeat as necessary (water good for tree too) BUT UNPLUG the LIGHTS FIRST. Leave them off until he gets the hint, or until you can just leave the squirt bottle next to the tree as a warning sign. Also, dont put any dangly ornaments on the bottom of tree or within reach. These only tease and encourage the cat to PLAY with the tree.
2006-12-14 08:26:24 · answer #7 · answered by HBLeggs 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lol. Same as ours. She always play with our christmas tree though we put it on a table but to our failure, she can still reach it and play with the decorations. She almost tumbled down our tree one time. Anyways, what we did was we often close the door to our living room. That way, she will be trained and refrain from going there... thoguh she often does it again... maybe you could try that? But if you don't have any door to th christmas tree area or don't want to keep your cat outside the area, you might try giving him a piece of decoration from your tree so it could remind him of the tree and be busy with it.. lol.. hope I gave even jst a little help! anyways... gud luck!
2006-12-14 08:26:53 · answer #8 · answered by sheer♥black 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When we first got our cat, a week before Christmas 2004, he had been an outdoor cat and was fond of our tree; even decided to leave his own presents under it! We were told that placing tin foil around the bottom will keep cats from going near it since they hate the noise of the tin foil when they step on it.
2006-12-14 10:20:42 · answer #9 · answered by Victoria 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Put in a water sprinkler a few drops of lemon and eucalyptus essential oils, and shake well. spray the tree with that, and every time the cat tries to get to the tree, spray it a little bit too. They HATE the smell of strong oils, but it's harmless.
You get a win-win situation: the tree smells nice and the animal stays away.
2006-12-14 08:33:38 · answer #10 · answered by Ymmo the Heathen 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My siamese kitten (Brooks, after the running shoe brand) and our bangel kitten (tigress, after my female impersonator friend) LIT UP when we put the tree full of cat toys in the living room. We have no ornaments lower than three feet. Brooksie is the bad one and since he HATES to be snuggled (too busy) he gets a kiss on the head every he climbs it. It took awhile, but now he only does it every couple of days, waiting just long enough for us to thing he isn't going to do it anymore. I tried to squirt him, but the other kitties (we have one more) felt sorry for him and would clean him all up and send him in again!
2006-12-14 08:16:31 · answer #11 · answered by Helen T 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋