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.

Ours climbed the tree first year we had him...I nearly expired as most of our ornaments are glass (no kids)

DH put a screw in the wall and we tie the tree to it with string

And yes leave the bottom branches empty.

His favourite game last year was to run at the bottom of the tree, onto the skirt and skid along the floor on the skirt. Bastard.

Good luck!! This was my tree last year! These two were about 6 months old - my other cat got really fed up not being able to get as high up the tree so decided to constantly pee on it (which he has never done before!)

Ernie tried to climb the first year he was a 4.5 month old kitten and fell between the bottom branches..he never tried again.

We did have it tethered to the wall. Like poster above, we have an eyein te wall and use an adjustable strap (off a camera bag)

He did try eating some chine ornaments and the lights last year.

I have in the past had to pull out tinsel from a previous cats bum

My cats are delinquents! When they were kittens they would climb up the centre of the tree and the first you knew about it would be when a bauble bounced across the floor or the bell she finally reached would ring! 🙄

Now they're bigger, the like to just chew on the bottom branches or sit on the windowsill to reach the baubles

We only let them in the living room (where the tree is) when we are home and I'm the room to keep an eye on them as I have lots of baubles that have been passed down through the family

I've had yeas of trees and cats and never had any problems with them. Except for one who would wriggle under the tree and drink the water.

The photos of the cats in the trees would make great Christmas cards