Cats and Christmas trees. Help!

[Inthetropics]

This will be my first Christmas with my two mischievous lovely cats. Cookie will be 1 year and 1 month old and Miguilim will be 1 year and 2 months, so pretty much in the peak of their messy and destructive phase. I know for sure that they'll make it their purpose in life to attack the Christmas tree and any decoration i dare display.

Cat christmassy people, what do you do in order to make your Christmas tree survives your cats? Am i unreasonable to even want to have my tree and decorate it? Shall i just bow to my feline overlords and let them destroy it as a Chistmas treat?

The picture is of lasts Christmass tree when i only had a dog. A very very behaved dog.

our cats have never been that bothered by the tree, I think we simply didn't put any decorations on the lowest branches.

More importantly, you don't have coloured lights. That is Wrong. Your cats will know it. So they probably won't go near it.

Put the decorations up high and not at the bottom or the best ones and the cheap ones at the bottom.We had a fake tree and they used to climb up it until they got too heavy. x

Previous cats have mostly ignored Christmas Trees. I had one (Brian) who was a pain in the ass and had to be shut out of the room when no-one was in.

First year of having Leroy (whose purrsomality is a bit like Brian was) we just had a mini tree on top of the fireplace. Last year we risked it and he paid no attention to it whatsoever 🙄.

Personally I would avoid twinkly lights, avoid breakables and keep stuff off the lowest branches.

@RiverTam

Your cats are saints! Lol

They might not care. Mine were only interested when they were kittens, and even then they just batted the (non-breakable!) baubles off the lower branches to play with. They didn't attempt to climb it.

Now they're older they barely glance at it.

I am slightly concerned about Christmas tree and our cat too. He's about a year and a half now-we adopted him in January and even though he is a bit calmer now he still cats like a hooligan at times.
Old cat was never bothered by the tree but she would try and eat tinsel or lametta so never used it.
As a child we had a kitten and my dad was cursing that be couldn't get the tree straight, turned up said black kitten was lying near the top. She had a ball with the tree and is was bald before Christmas day.

You need to trial it this year. As other posters have said, no precious heirloom baubles this year, cheap unbreakable at the bottom. Our cats are now 12 and last year we came downstairs to two smash bauea and a piece of regurgitated ribbon and one innocent seeming cat fast sleep on the sofa - vandal.

Never been a problem with any of our cats over the years.

When ours were kittens, we couldn't have a tree, they were that bad! They were better after a year though, and now only chase baubles etc if they fall on the floor.

Neither of our cats have been bothered. The little one may bat the odd bauble but that’s it. The older one likes to sleep under it but doesn’t touch it.

Our cats are semi-feral, and I mean that technically, not as a comment on their behaviour, so that has got to be the first time anyone has called our cats saints!

Mine lives in Christmas tree. I just lob everything back on. I don't have the heart to put it down as he loves it. It's the highlight of his life, watching the tree go up.

I'm thinking about this too! I plan on putting things up in dribs & drabs so she gets used to it. So I plan on putting the tree up first, then gradually adding things. Been thinking through the decs, we have no glass ones, but do have some sentimental hand knitted ones so plan on putting them at the top. It's going to be a fun first Christmas with the bean though & i cannot wait 😊

Oh god yes, don't use lametta. Cats love eating it

Your tortie looks just like mine !! My boys didn't touch the tree last year . They are about the same age and I wonder if they will attack it this year 🤔

We tend to use one of them to decorate the tree

@KC225 That's more of what i'm expecting. I had cats when i was a teen and they'd climb the tree, chomp on plastic baubles, hunt the angels, etc. My parents have 3 cats and they loooove sleeping on the tree.

@Vinorosso74 Hooligan behaviour and bald trees!! I'll be reporting back when i put the tree up. My dad used to take picture of the cats on the tree. One time when wr got home the tree was on the floor and the three cats were sleeping under it. O was 16 and found it very funny. My mum, not so much since they had broken a few special baubles.

@BollocksToBrexit That might be a better approach, just assume they"ll live up there ans make peace with chaos!

@hendricksy I love torties!! I'll be very surprise if they act all cool and non-destructive.

Google pine Christmas trees and cats. I've had an artificial tree since having a cat as I read they are very toxic to them.

I gave up putting a Christmas tree in the house after I got my first cat! I haven't had one for more than 20 years.

my cat also lives in the tree and has bitten throuhg the lights cable (and survived) . The branches are all bent now..

Oh well!

Better than weeing on all the beds whihc is the hobby of the otehr cat at the moment

@VictoriaBun Oh, i didn't know that! But my tree is as fake as it gets as i live in Brazil and there are no places selling pines to be used as xmas trees even though where i live we have loads of pine trees.

I'm in love with the pictures of the cats on the trees! So cute!