Is there a way to deter my cat from climbing and lying in my Christmas tree?!

JMSA · 2025-12-03T00:46:34+00:00

Recent rescue cat, so this is her first Christmas with us. I don’t mind really, but I’m worried that I might never be able to switch the tree lights on again 😆 And I’m concerned that it could topple while I’m at work. Peek-a-boo!

sandbankssurfing · 03/12/2025 00:57

I saw a video on TikTok where the woman chased the cats with the tree and it stopped the cats going near the tree again. Maybe try that?

Original poster

JMSA · 03/12/2025 01:04

Genuinely giggling at the thought of me doing that! 😆

OP posts:

Mossstitch · 03/12/2025 01:04

I saw a photo where someone had put a circle of oranges or tangerines around it as their cat didn't like the citrus smell so stopped going near it🤷‍♂️no idea if it would work or not with your cutie😹

worrisomeasset · 03/12/2025 01:08

Our cat spends much of the festive season climbing the tree. He enjoys it so much it’s never occurred to us to try to stop him. He’s kept out of the living room when we’re at work so we’re not worried about the tree toppling. So far, he has survived two Christmasses with the lights switched on.

Is there a way to deter my cat from climbing and lying in my Christmas tree?!

WeirdyBeardyMarrowBabyLady · 03/12/2025 02:31

Love that photo @worrisomeasset. So cute.

IchiNiSanShiGo · 03/12/2025 02:49

No advice, just here for the cat pics 😹

3flyingducksarrive · 03/12/2025 04:19

We have a young rescue cat and I expect she's going to be in the tree within minutes. We're only putting unbreakable ornaments up this year and no tinsel at all.

MsGinaLinetti · 03/12/2025 06:00

Gorgeous cat. Here for the content

MsGinaLinetti · 03/12/2025 06:03

@worrisomeassetgorgeous cat. Can I say I will be enormously disappointed if our new rescues (only 4 more days) don't climb our tree.

MsGinaLinetti · 03/12/2025 06:06

https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=cats%20and%20christmas%20trees&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5

SoftLass · 03/12/2025 06:06

We have a rescue cat who likes climbing Christmas trees as well. He's allowed in the artificial tree (nothing breakable) but the first year we had him I had a water spray handy and sprayed him whenever he went to climb the real tree. Only did it twice and he learned to stay away. He perches in the artificial tree every year.

HelpMeGetThrough · 03/12/2025 06:07

Not sure I’d want to stop them. They look lovely in the tree. But I’m soft where cats are concerned.

ktopfwcv · 03/12/2025 06:11

SoftLass · 03/12/2025 06:06

We have a rescue cat who likes climbing Christmas trees as well. He's allowed in the artificial tree (nothing breakable) but the first year we had him I had a water spray handy and sprayed him whenever he went to climb the real tree. Only did it twice and he learned to stay away. He perches in the artificial tree every year.

That is such a beautiful photo! Wow.

Sorry OP another one just here for the cat Christmas tree pics.

JudgeBread · 03/12/2025 06:17

Absolutely not, you've brought a bit of outside into the house, how dare you presume to disallow your overlord from enjoying it 😁

(We had to put the hoover by the tree and turn it on every time Pickle went near it because she's very keen to climb to the top and slap the angel. She and Branston have since accepted that under the tree is ok, up the tree not so much. It took four years for the message to sink in 🥲)

PegDope · 03/12/2025 06:22

I don’t know how to do it, none of mine climb the tree. It certainly wasn’t anything specific I did.

Now I am worried that by posting this I will bring it on myself

Applepe · 03/12/2025 06:24

Current Christmas Bauble Death Toll: 2

Expected to rise 🙄😸

NoMoreHotHols · 03/12/2025 06:25

@SoftLass Your cat is beautiful.

I have orange oil that I put on the tree, it smells nice and easy to reapply. Cats don’t like citrus smells.

Dgll · 03/12/2025 06:25

I would love to have a cat in my tree. The cats in the pictures are much better any of our ornaments!

TacticalFuckery · 03/12/2025 06:27

OP, there’s a v simple answer to your question… No!

MsGinaLinetti · 03/12/2025 06:27

Another gorgeous kitty

SoftLass · 03/12/2025 06:34

NoMoreHotHols · 03/12/2025 06:25

@SoftLass Your cat is beautiful.

I have orange oil that I put on the tree, it smells nice and easy to reapply. Cats don’t like citrus smells.

Thank you, he's a very handsome and photogenic chap. The other two are not, they end up looking like crazed demons on photos!

Nameinspirationneeded · 03/12/2025 06:38

again no advice here for pics. You’ve brought in an amazing cat tree - it’s even calling a tree!

SuckerForBread · 03/12/2025 06:40

My cat only climbs the tree when I’m home, around 8.30pm when she wants treats. My cat is a three year old looking for attention.

When I’m not home, she doesn’t look at it twice. Occasionally she’ll take a fluffy animal decoration off it for her own amusement in the night, but mostly it survives unscathed. Unless I am home.

What I would say is that my cat has also climbed various large items, including a tall chest of drawers with a 43” telly on top, and when they’ve come crashing down she’s always been the first one to get out of dodge. I reckon if she climbed the tree and it fell over, she’d be sat sweetly on the sofa with a look that said ‘it wasn’t me’ with a path of destruction behind her.

They’re pretty nimble 😂

IceIceSlippyIce · 03/12/2025 06:52

How old is he? Ours climbed in for the first few years, but has settled for sleeping underneath it as she's gotten older (now 6).

PickleJelly · 03/12/2025 07:02

JudgeBread · 03/12/2025 06:17

Absolutely not, you've brought a bit of outside into the house, how dare you presume to disallow your overlord from enjoying it 😁

(We had to put the hoover by the tree and turn it on every time Pickle went near it because she's very keen to climb to the top and slap the angel. She and Branston have since accepted that under the tree is ok, up the tree not so much. It took four years for the message to sink in 🥲)

The names of your cats have made my morning 🥰