Cat versus Christmas tree

[Greenandcabbagelooking]

This is my first Christmas with a cat. He’s 2ish and loves to climb the shelves, kitchen cupboards, bookcase, etc. I’d love a Christmas tree, but I fear I’d spend every waking moment, and many where I should be asleep removing him from the tree, picking up decorations, and stopping him from pulling it all over.

Any ideas how to have a cat-proof tree, or creative alternatives?

You cant.
just succumb to your masters whims and redo his tree daily.

Hahaha, no. Good luck OP. A 2 year old cat is a prime idiot cat.

Mine sits on the table near the tree hooking off any ornaments he can reach. I spend the first few days putting them back. After that i give up and watch them accumulate on the floor underneath. He doesn't play with them, he just enjoys taking them off. #idiotcat

My cats don't really bother with the tree. They sleep under it

I posted this on another thread recently...... you can't stop them. I didn't put ornaments on the bottom branches but she still got in it. And batted a load of the higher ones 🤣🤣 just go with the flow.

Your Christmas tree will belong to your cat. To think anything else is foolish.

Just keep most of the decorations near the top and leave him to it. He may tire of it once it's been investigated 100 times or so.

Just enjoy taking cute photos of your cat in different festive tree positions. 🤣

Yes you can car proof a tree. I've kept a lot of cats for 40 years. I had many Christmas trees wrecked at the beginning. Now it's not an issue.

You can cat proof your tree, it's not quick but it's worth it for a stress free Christmas.

Tree in a corner and wrap a long wire from one wall screw, around the trunk half way up and into another walk screw. This stops the tree from toppling.

Then I put unbreakable coordinates for the first two feet. This stops the ground level breakages.

The glass ornaments are all wired to the branches, which in reality means buying wire hanging hooks and squeezing them tight.

Now you don't have anything that can be removed from the tree and broken, the tree can't be toppled as it's wired to the wall, and they get to play with the unbreakable bits at the very bottom of the tree.

It a happy house.

This all came about from 1989 when I arrived home to three young adolescent cats who had taken down my very large tree, along with all my blown glass ornaments. I'd shut the door but it hadn't shut properly. I could have cried.

Mine tire of the tree after a few breakages and the removal of this year's offending baubles.
nativity is a different matter. They chew Jesus face and have permanently crippled poor Joseph. One of the lambs is now headless and the shepherd is disfigured disfigured.
not evil though, oh no.

You decorate your tree with non breakable decorations and let your cat enjoy it. It's their Christmas too!

And lower your standards of what the tree will look like. Day 1, beautifully decorated. Day 2, reassembled in a slightly more dishevelled style. Day 12, decorated as if the decorations have been quickly thrown at it.

@Threadkillacilla I know it's wrong but your post made me snort with laughter

I saw a felt tree today that we could put on the wall. I would miss having a real tree though

Felt would make a nice climber.
Very thoughtful of you to choose paw pad friendly destruction derbys 😁

Mine came in sections so I put the top half on a table!

🤣🤣🤣

Our cats never really bothered with our tree. When we used to have the tree behind our sofa they would sit on the back and occasionally pat some decorations. I used to put cat safe ones in those areas, usually felt ones or little bells.

Is it madness to attempt to put lights on the tree?

Ours don't bother with the tree once it's decorated. We always have a real tree and when we first bring it in they climb up it but once it's decorated they leave it alone. We wrap cardboard boxes in Christmas paper and leave them under the tree as extra sleeping spots and they love curling up in them.

Maybe get the tree out, get the decorations out, then let the cat do his exploration of them. Once he seems bored of them, decorate the tree.

No idea if it would work as my cat did the same as another poster and liked to sleep under it.

My mother said one way to cat proof a tree is to hang it. I know not an easy thing to do.

But just think of all the joy and wonderment you will bring to your cat, when he has his first very own tree! You can’t deny him that surely?

All of mine have just preferred to lay underneath it with the occasional pawing.

We still have a real tree. Just make sure they can't access the water reservoir as Christmas tree water will make them ill. It's also important to put all the special glass decorations at the top to make enough room for the cat...

My cat was 1 her first Christmas and so good around the tree. She's 8 now and has never pulled it over. She loves to sleep under it and she occasionally flicks at a hanging decoraton. However, we did find her attempting to chew through the tree lights last year!

I actually don’t put up a Christmas tree not a floor standing one, simply cos I’ve got three indoor cats that would be eating it chewing light wires so I’ve got one on my fireplace far safer, I don’t want vets bills, and my cats are far more important than any Xmas tree , I just wouldn’t take the risk, each to their own of course.

My last cat insisted on chewing the ends of the branches of our (very realistic) fake tree. I was worried about him damaging his teeth. And, of course, he tried to undress the tree.
We have ranch sliders off the living room to the conservatory so put the tree just inside where it was visible in the living room.
What old spoil sports we were!

Have replaced my lovely glass baubles with plastic ones this year and will be lashing the tree to the bannisters to stop the topple. We have 6 month old kittens....

Mine's a live one, growing outside in a pot, with baubles which are basically ping pong balls, and the lights are LEDs. Works well.

All the neighbourhood cats ignore it.

Squirrels, on the other hand... 😡