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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

will having kittens guarantee a ruined tree ?

40 replies

TequilaMockingMagpie · 01/12/2012 07:14

We have four month old kittens , who are very cute and lovely by the way but we normally have a six foot Christmas tree covered in loveliness .

Will they try and be the fairy ?

We would normally put the tree up on the 2nd weekend but this year I am thinking maybe the later the better .

Any tips ?

OP posts:
MistletoeAndTomHardyPlease · 01/12/2012 07:21

oh god. I didn't even think of this.

I have a mad 5 month old who attacks anything that moves!!

Original poster
TequilaMockingMagpie · 01/12/2012 07:31

Everyone who I have told about the kittens kind of rolls their eyes and laughs when I mention the tree .

Scared

OP posts:
bonzo77 · 01/12/2012 07:47

Get a tree anyway. It'll be so much fun. Just do decorations that won't hurt the kittens, like paper chains and ginger bread instead of tinsel and baubles.

Lonecatwithkitten · 01/12/2012 08:02

No glass decorations, nothing edible, small amount of water in the bottom and I never put lights on with small kittens. Get prepared to pick it up a lot.
You are of course not putting up a Christmas tree, but in fact a kitten Theme Park.

Original poster
TequilaMockingMagpie · 01/12/2012 08:14

A kitten theme park you say ?

That does sound about right , they are pretty good when we are around but I can imagine I will be coming home and finding it on the floor a few times .

And I have to buy new decs ? Result !

Will make good photos I suppose , silver lining and all that .

OP posts:
sashh · 01/12/2012 08:24

Kitten will

Attack baubles

attemp to climb tree, if a kitten get to the top, then by kitty law the tree must be forced to crash down with kitty jumping off half way down

Attack baubles

Attack and possibly eat tinsel - especially that thin stuff.

Attack and attempt to eat the cable to any lights

Eat any pine bits the tree shreds

Attempt to climb again

Try to use the tree as a scratching post and at the same time make it topple over

Repeat ad nausium

Original poster
TequilaMockingMagpie · 01/12/2012 08:28

Do you think it is slightly better to buy a false one ? We always get a real one but I don't want poisoned kittens .

Getting rid of the tinsel is fine by me , I am not keen anyway .

OP posts:
Nagoo · 01/12/2012 08:28

YES. Grin

Your tree will be safe at my house.

I will let you come and look at it through the window

Original poster
TequilaMockingMagpie · 01/12/2012 08:34

I do believe I meant fake not false ! Ooops .

They are going to go nuts aren't they ?

Couldn't I just decorate their scratching post instead ?

OP posts:
Original poster
TequilaMockingMagpie · 01/12/2012 08:35

Nagoo , you are a very generous soul .

OP posts:
CMOTDibbler · 01/12/2012 08:44

IME (16 years of cat and tree ownership), fake is more damaged by cat activity than real.
Of my current three cats, 2 are now unbothered by trees, the third reverts to total kittenness and lives in the tree, wide eyed and full of mischief. My old cat, even in his later life, loved stealing everything he could off the tree and hiding it away. One year he stole all the chocolate decorations, carefully unwrapped them, and left them under the table.

We have all unbreakable decorations now, and I'm not precious about the tree - when the tinsel needs rewrapping three times a day a decoration scheme isn't important

bodiddly · 01/12/2012 08:47

Our cats chew the ends of the branches on the fake tree ... And they are fully grown!

oscarthegrouch · 01/12/2012 08:49

My tree had been up since last Saturday and my 2 boys (7months) never even bothered with it. I came home from work on Thursday and my poor tree was over and there were baubles EVERYWHERE Grin. Didn't take long to rearrange and nothing was damaged. It's now secured to the curtain poleWink

oscarthegrouch · 01/12/2012 08:51

Oh and my old cat at my parents used to eat lametta off it. One year she had a piece hanging out of her bum haha Grin

ClaimedByMe · 01/12/2012 08:52

A spray water bottle is all you need!

LadyMaryCrawley · 01/12/2012 18:18

You need Operation Bauble!

  1. Manoeuvre undecorated Tree in to pre-agreed co-ordinates whilst Cats out on other missions.
  1. Ensure Tree remains undecorated.
  1. Establish base camp on sofa. Troops to feed & entertain selves as they see fit.
  1. Humans to be armed with Class A Anti-Cat Weapons (i.e. water pistols).
  1. Ensure weapons fully operational and in range of Tree.
  1. Allow Cats to infiltrate Tree room.
  1. Humans to remain calm and observe Cat behaviour.
  1. Class A Anti-Cat weapons to be deployed at Cats when any attempt is made to investigate/climb up tree. Humans to remain silent during weapons deployment to give Cats false intelligence that Tree is a horrid Cat-hating water-squirting Tree and leave it alone.
  1. When Tree-room is cleared of all Humans and Cats, ensure Cats remain on non-Tree side of door and close door to ensure maximum Tree security during non-occupation of Tree-room (such as hours of darkness, employment etc).
  1. Repeat steps 3-6 for four days or until Cats lose interest in Tree.
  1. Decorate Tree. Allow Cats in to Tree-room. Maintain surveillance on Cats. Be prepared to deploy weapons. (NB - use of fairy lights on tree inadvisable as incompatible with weapons and pose danger to both Humans and Cats.)
Xmas Grin
MaggieMaggieMaggieMcGill · 01/12/2012 18:28

Had two five month old kittens last Christmas and they were so unimpressed with the tree, it was heart rending. I wanted kittens frolicking in it and causing mayhem, which is no doubt why they didn't bother.

Fluffycloudland77 · 01/12/2012 19:04

Our cat only bothers with the tree if it's near a chair he can sit on to bat the baubles off.

Lazy bugger.

issey6cats · 01/12/2012 19:07

last year my youngest cat was 1 year old so thought the tree would be safe haha after picking up the tree and rearranging the deccies on it for the tenth time in as many days and said tree looking decidely manky i took it down and gave up wont be bothering to put it up this year

MrsMushroom · 01/12/2012 19:11
Fluffycloudland77 · 01/12/2012 19:14

Ooh that's an oven glove situation that is.

SantasLittleControlGeek · 01/12/2012 19:51

Kittens + trees (fake or real) definitely = mayhem, chaos and almost guaranteed broken things. My two were three months last Christmas and just couldn't bear to leave our trees alone (we have three in a cluster). I was hoping they might have grown out of it by now but I have a feeling at least one of them is going to have reverted to being a kitten again within seconds of the tree going up.

mrsmushroom at least that cat fitted in with the colour scheme - no harm leaving him there for a bit like a moving ornament Grin

MrsMushroom · 01/12/2012 20:28

My Siamese has ignored our tree completely. I am a bit dissapointed about that really. He's too dignified. But he DOES snack on the angel hair so that redeems him a bit.

Original poster
TequilaMockingMagpie · 02/12/2012 08:58

Ok , so a real tree is marginally better and I need to get a water pistol to carry out Lady Marys brilliant plan Grin

I am actually quite excited ti see their reaction now .

Next weekeend I think will be the day .

OP posts:
Purplelooby · 02/12/2012 12:24

Yes they will :)

When my youngest cat was a kitten, she knocked over the tree every day whilst I was at work. The key was to prop it up with bags of cat litter covered in cloth. I thought she's grown out of it until I put the tree up last night, which caused her (aged 3) and the oldest (aged 14) to chase each other around the house for an hour. Ah well, here goes again...