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Christmas Trees again.....
- Thread starter renovia
- Start Date
Even back when I had a multiple cat household, I never tried to fence the cats away from the tree. After I switched from a real tree to a fake tree, I found that they really didn't pay attention to it anymore. Here and there was the ooccasional ornament knocked off or the bottom row of lights pulled off a little. Nothing major and nothing that couldn't be fixed.
I was just thinking about this too. Im worried about GiGi getting into the big tree this year..Plus Franklin. We have a hand me down fake tree but thankfully Fatman and Hercules dont mess with it and last year Franklin was only 3 weeks old when it was Christmas time. I currently have our spare kitchen table in our addition which is right off the living room and I put our mini tree on top of it for decoration..(Im an early Christmas decorater..already got my lights up too) GiGi has been chewing on the branches and playing with it..She stops when I yell her name but repeatedly goes up to it.
I know the baby gate idea wouldnt work for her because shes a jumper and can take flying leaps from the floor to the top of my computer desk and if she wanted in the tree no gate would stop her! Hmmm what to do what to do!
I know the baby gate idea wouldnt work for her because shes a jumper and can take flying leaps from the floor to the top of my computer desk and if she wanted in the tree no gate would stop her! Hmmm what to do what to do!
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Well, we may have the same problem.
All Sneaky does is sleep under the tree.
However- we have a friend who found a "mom in trouble" and now has 5 kittens. And nobody's asked for any of them. The girls have been asking for a couple of weeks now for another cat- even my youngest (we lost our 17 year old cat in August to kidney failure)
I really didn't want to start over again with a "baby". But I don't want my friend to have a cat that doesn't have a home either. So we may have a "baby" at Christmas, and I don't want to have to clean up a toppled over tree either.............
Cheryl
All Sneaky does is sleep under the tree.
However- we have a friend who found a "mom in trouble" and now has 5 kittens. And nobody's asked for any of them. The girls have been asking for a couple of weeks now for another cat- even my youngest (we lost our 17 year old cat in August to kidney failure)
I really didn't want to start over again with a "baby". But I don't want my friend to have a cat that doesn't have a home either. So we may have a "baby" at Christmas, and I don't want to have to clean up a toppled over tree either.............
Cheryl
the only time our cats have ever messed with the tree was when Joey was little. Other than that we've just never had a problem. We just make sure to not use glass ornaments just in case!
I am not even getting one because trout will destroy it and eat the actual tree branches. It sucks
I take it Trout will eat a fake tree too??? What about a mini little table topper ornamental one. We have one thats about 2.5 feet tall that was BFs before I moved in and brought a giant tree along.Originally Posted by Trouts mom
I am not even getting one because trout will destroy it and eat the actual tree branches. It sucks
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #8
oh man this is so depressing! I really love Christmas but get so bummed when Christmas rolls around and the lights and ornaments and branches are all out of whack. Even after repeated fixings. I just thought the gate might help them not climb it. WAH!
Honestly, depending on the age you may not have to clean up anything. We got our first big tree when Harley and Monster were about 8 months old, and Little One was between 3-4 months old. Harly and Monster thought it was a new cat tree of course, but Little One was terrified of it (and she was originally an outdoor kitten). She was more interested in exploring and getting into everything else than to mess with the "big, bad blinky thing". You may be getting a kitten at just the right age to not think of it as a big toy.
I used Boundary spray the first week or so it was up to try to keep them away. After a while though Harley and Monster just weren't interested in it any more because it was just part of the furniture. Same thing with table top trees. I have one of those fiber optic trees I put up, and they are all fascinated with it for a while....then it just because scenery. Boundary will work on them too.
Just to be safe, don't put any valuable ornaments on the bottom branches and stay away from icecicles. And definitely don't have "yard" set up underneath. I tried that....once. Cute little skaters and houses set up just become toys to bat around.
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We'll see if we get a baby or not.Originally Posted by calico2222
Honestly, depending on the age you may not have to clean up anything. We got our first big tree when Harley and Monster were about 8 months old, and Little One was between 3-4 months old. Harly and Monster thought it was a new cat tree of course, but Little One was terrified of it (and she was originally an outdoor kitten). She was more interested in exploring and getting into everything else than to mess with the "big, bad blinky thing". You may be getting a kitten at just the right age to not think of it as a big toy.
I used Boundary spray the first week or so it was up to try to keep them away. After a while though Harley and Monster just weren't interested in it any more because it was just part of the furniture. Same thing with table top trees. I have one of those fiber optic trees I put up, and they are all fascinated with it for a while....then it just because scenery. Boundary will work on them too.
Just to be safe, don't put any valuable ornaments on the bottom branches and stay away from icecicles. And definitely don't have "yard" set up underneath. I tried that....once. Cute little skaters and houses set up just become toys to bat around.
We had "tree malfunction" last year twice. And it wasn't even a cat that knocked it over. I guess the tree was crooked from the start, it wasn't put into the base straight, and fell over- twice. The second time it happened there was this huge crash and kids screaming "MOOOOMMM THE TREE FELL DOWN!"
Cheryl
There have been few mishaps since we began using an artificial tree. The ones we've had have branches that are spaced tightly together, so there's really no room for climbing up the middle. I've used just the top part of a large tree, put it in a stand, and screwed the whole thing to a cheap coffee table I got for just that purpose. When we use a larger tree, it goes into a corner and is tied to screw hooks that I've sunk into the window frame on one side and the back of a piece of furniture on the other side.
I've also discovered that my kitties love the 'tree skirt' I use (an old red and white cutter quilt) and would rather cuddle up on that than mess with the tree.
My advice is don't obsess over it; cats will be cats.
I've also discovered that my kitties love the 'tree skirt' I use (an old red and white cutter quilt) and would rather cuddle up on that than mess with the tree.
My advice is don't obsess over it; cats will be cats.
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That's how I feel, who cares if the tree isn't perfect. As someone I know says "it's the season of giving, I'm giving them fun".
Would a baby gate really be a challenge to a Mau?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #13
Just a word of advice...anchor it to the wall. We use hooks and wire to keep it from falling over. Especially if we are talking about real trees but my parents always wired up their artificial tree because it was so huge and heavy with ornaments.Originally Posted by Sneakymom
We'll see if we get a baby or not.I talked to dh and he said "whatever".
We had "tree malfunction" last year twice. And it wasn't even a cat that knocked it over. I guess the tree was crooked from the start, it wasn't put into the base straight, and fell over- twice. The second time it happened there was this huge crash and kids screaming "MOOOOMMM THE TREE FELL DOWN!"
Cheryl
