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The litter tray

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

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Original poster

Christmas trees and kittens

29 replies

AnneGables · 23/10/2016 21:38

I fear we may have to not have one this year, but with young dc I'm loathe not too.

Kitten is currently 13 weeks, very mischievous as they are, climbs and chews everything. He gets shut in the lounge at night, as the rest of downstairs is open plan. No other room would fit the Christmas tree in.

Any advice, suggestions? I know its early!

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PickledLilly · 23/10/2016 21:42

The cat will almost certainly climb the tree. Don't put any glass/breakable baubles on it and ensure you take cute pictures

SecretNutellaFix · 23/10/2016 21:44

When my two were kittens we anchored the tree to the radiator with those chains of beads that are really cheap. Kept the tree upright, even it did look a bit wrecked, around the bottom especially.

Original poster

AnneGables · 23/10/2016 21:45

Ha I love that picture!

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TondelayaDellaVentamiglia · 23/10/2016 21:46

our cats give the tree about a week....

they ignore it and then suddenly will not leave it alone, so we never put the tree up until the last possible moment ...last year I think it was the 23rd and then its down by 28th/29th absolute latest.

Even so it is a small-ish fake tree, five or maybe six feet, and it fits into a very deep window sill in the dining room ....the base is weighted, and the top is looped into a hook in the top of the window recess, so it is pretty sturdily fixed in the event of Cat Attack.

Belsatan · 23/10/2016 21:46

We were in the same predicament last year with four kittens. It Will Def climb the tree. But will soon learn not too and it will be a good laugh and a good memory. This kitten did not mske to the next christmas and the memory of her climbing fills out hearts.

Do not put precious and fragile baubles on.

sm40 · 23/10/2016 21:47

My kitten climbed up the tree whilst I was upstairs with the kids and almost strangled in the lights. I got a sense of trouble and luckily rescued him in time. He's not the brightest cat in the world and not sure if this is the cause (he also got run over!).
I think we never left him in that room unsupervised from then on
And shut the door at night.

sm40 · 23/10/2016 21:50

Sorry just re read the bit about him being in the same room as tree! Modify the tree this year!

SparklesandBangs · 23/10/2016 21:53

It's not just kittens our late DCat still climbed the tree last year at 8. Was looking forward to splashing out on a new one this year, but we are getting a new kitten.

Papergirl1968 · 23/10/2016 21:54

Our two year old cat isn't especially interested in the tree. He will pat the odd bauble and occasionally goes under it but hasn't climbed it.

SangtheSun · 23/10/2016 21:58

My daughter would come down every morning to find her cats asleep in the Christmas tree. They made themselves comfy 'nests'.

Wolfiefan · 23/10/2016 22:09

After the first night our kittens had the run of the house. (Kids bedroom doors shut though!) Could you shut them out of the lounge at night.
Nothing breakable on the tree. Mine attacked it regularly.

WhereBeThatBlackbirdTo · 23/10/2016 22:09

Our cat used to unpick the Christmas chocolates, leave the empty silver foil wrappers hanging on the tree, then bat the chocolate around the floor.

Original poster

AnneGables · 23/10/2016 22:17

Okay so limit the decorations to non breakable and edible, secure to something and hope for the best.

Might have to go without lights then, sm40 how fortunate you were home at the time.

It's a big fake one, but a few years old now, so wouldn't be the end of the world if it had to be ditched afterwards.

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Toddlerteaplease · 24/10/2016 06:55

Cats attacking Christmas trees are one of the best parts of Christmas and far more entertaining than the TV!

Imissmy0ldusername · 24/10/2016 07:03

Our cat targetted the candy canes in the tree one year. Couldn't figure out why until we realised they were peppermint. It was really funny watching her play with them - she looked like a feline Charlie Chaplin or something :)

I don't think we're going to bother with a tree this year - the cat likes a challenge, and it's bad enough disentangling her from the coat stand - which she has been known to bring down. Love her to bits, but she is a right monkey at times.

Lillagroda · 24/10/2016 07:04

Cat 1 is no trouble. I put a few decs down at the bottom of the tree for her which she picks off for a play, but otherwise she leaves it alone.

Cat 2 is bad enough that the first few years we had to hang the tree out of her reach or she'd climb up it and trash it. She still has to be watched around it, but got better with age.

Definitely only shatterproof and replaceable decs though!

PoldarksBreeches · 24/10/2016 07:07

We have a kitten this year for the first time, I hadn't thought about fairy lights being a hazard! Thanks

Spottyladybird · 24/10/2016 10:56

No tinsel or ribbons as they will cause immeasurable damage if they chew them.
Think we just accepted ours would climb and let him get on with it. When they're tiny it's fine it's when they get to be huge that you have an issue!

TimeIhadaNameChange · 24/10/2016 11:44

Could he climb the walls of a playpen? If no, then stand the tree up in one. May not look quite as pretty as you'd hope, but better to be safe than sorry.

My cat takes very little notice of the tree, which, considering how she is otherwise surprised me. My last cat would pat decorations off the bottom but otherwise would leave them alone (though she loved patting the spare bulbs from the lights around, so we'd have to watch her when putting the lights up). A friend's cat would catapult herself into their tree each year, though!

MycatsaPirate · 24/10/2016 11:48

We had a little rescue for a year (before she sadly got run over) and I remember coming home one day and find our front drive littered with christmas decorations which she had knocked off the tree and then carried out through the cat flap to knock about in the garden. Several rolled under the gate and she then knocked them all over the drive.

Fuck knows what the postman thought!

Oldraver · 24/10/2016 12:07

Ernie was born around August 2nd so probably about your kittens age (?)

We thought we would have problems with him and he did climb the first level and fell out so didnt bother much...he also got caught up in the lights.

We had anchored the tree to the wall...we put a large eye on the wall at the back and attatched a strap

NoIsAnAnswer · 24/10/2016 12:10

Cats love Christmas trees. They either climb them, sleep under them or play with the declarations. Any decorations with feathers just give directly to the cat. No point in putting it on the tree-cat will destroy the tree getting to it .

Put your tree up early with no decorations on so he can get used to it and hopefully get bored of it by the time you decorate it.

ToujeoQueen · 24/10/2016 12:14

All my cats have climbed the tree. We anchored ours to the radiator. Even better if you get a fibre optic tree and just decorate with tinsel.

newbieho · 24/10/2016 12:26

There was a case in the neighbourhood last year when the kitten got tangled in the xmas lighrs and hanged himself so please be vary

Original poster

AnneGables · 24/10/2016 13:06

Oh god newbie how devastating. Definitely won't be putting lights up, which is a shame as they look so pretty, but I'd never forgive myself if anything happened, especially after reading the warning.I'm not sure a play pen would work, I think he would propel himself off nearby furniture, he is fearless and runs up walls.

Okay I will embrace it as a positive and look forward to some funny sights!

I caught him hanging out of a top window the other day, god knows how he reached it, he also regularly gets in the toilet/full bath/shower. Mischievous to the extreme, but when he has worn himself out he is just so loving and cute .

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