Even the most well-behaved kitty is still prone to curiosity, and nothing can be more fascinating than a beautiful Christmas tree filled with delicate ornaments. As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat, so during this festive season, we have created a guide with 10 helpful tips on how to protect your cat and your Christmas tree.
- Consider buying a fake Christmas tree, as pine needles can be dangerous if your cat loves to chew on foreign objects. If you do have a real tree, then cover the water so your cats don’t drink from it.
- If, in previous years, your Christmas tree has mysteriously fallen, it may be time to consider a smaller one. This will hopefully reduce any injury to your pets and also reduce the time/effort required to tidy up the mess.
- If you do have a big or heavy tree, make sure it has a solid base and consider securing the top of the tree to the ceiling with wire to prevent it from falling over.
- Try to keep your tree away from any furniture that your acrobatic cat may use to climb and subsequently use to pounce on the tree.
- Set up your Christmas tree a few days before decorating so that your cat has a chance to get used to the tree. Hopefully, this may minimise their curiosity and reduce unprovoked attacks on the tree, once it’s fully decorated.
- Choose your ornaments carefully. Glass baubles may look pretty, but wave goodbye to them if they fall on the floor, and be on the lookout for any curious kitty who thinks walking or chewing on broken glass is a good idea. Tinsel and fake snow can also be a serious hazard to cats, who often can’t resist eating it. The tinsel can pose a choking hazard to pets as well as the possibility of getting it stuck in their intestines if ingested, while the fake snow may contain harmful chemicals.
- When decorating your tree, it’s best to avoid delicate ornaments on the lower branches, as these are the most likely to be knocked off by your cat’s tiny paws. Place your ornaments towards the top and the centre of the tree, where it will be harder for your cat to reach.
- Make sure ornaments are tied securely to the tree, ideally without any metal hooks, which may cause injury if your cats chew on them.
- Place any lights toward the centre of the tree so that your cat is less tempted to chew on the wires, and cover the end of the wire that plugs into the wall with a cord protector. If your cat tries to chew the wires, it’s better to take the lights off the tree than risk your little fur babies getting a nasty shock. Always unplug the lights or any electric decorations when you’re not able to supervise your pets.
- You may consider putting a fire guard or an extendable baby gate around the Christmas tree, as this may help if you have young children or dogs. Unfortunately, we know cats are secret ninjas in training, so we can’t guarantee this will keep them out for long.
Finally, don’t stress, you may have to accept that your cat disagrees with your decorating style or that they are looking for a new climbing challenge and see the tree as their personal Mount Everest. All you can do is try to minimise the damage and hope that your cats behave enough so they don’t get on Santa Paw’s Naughty list.
We hope you and your pets have a pawsitively purrfect Christmas.
