Christmas Trees and Cats

If this is in the wrong topic, please move

I was in Lowes earlier and they had their artificial trees out for sale already. I can actually have a tree! New home, got the room for it, I want a tree!

For a while I was thinking of a real tree. Has anyone had success of having a real tree with cats? I worry about them drinking the water and eating the needles.

Then I saw this old style tree with white tinted plastic needles and plastic pine cones and lights. Fell in love with it! But it is expensive. I wouldn't need to decorate it with ornaments because its so pretty as it is!

Tell me your stories of cats and trees, so I can decide which tree to get.. and if I should!

@Draco -- i used to put up an artificial christmas tree years ago, when my snick and mickey were younger. they would chew on and swallow the fake pine needles, then vomit them back up. so, i decided to simply not put up a christmas tree each year.

My cat simply lies under the tree, on top off the presents.
So i suppose try it, but is your cat misbehaves with it, get rid of it or put it out of the way.
What you have to remember is like us cats are different.

maybe I'll try a smaller tree first.. like a 4-footer.

Yeh that would be good[/B]

You probably know most of this already, but here is an article about it.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cats-and-christmas-trees

When these 2 were small they wouldn't stop climbing my big tree; so I found a table top size one.  I used to pick it up and shut it in the study when we were at work or in bed for the night.  It sat on my kitchen table (we hardly ever ate at it).  I had my regular tree skirt on the table like a tablecloth.  Then a mini skirt on the little tree that sort of matched.  Well enough anyway.  It was a nice compromise between having no tree and them destroying the big one.  

I use a can of compressed air to deter the cats from the big tree now.  I am home full time so that helps.    They do still try to chew on it.  One day I may get around to making orange peel ornaments and see if that helps.

I see 4' trees with an urn/potted base. maybe that'll make it less attractive? I dunno, lol.

I had a small table top one at my old place, both cats ignored it. Monet did chew it, but stopped pretty quickly. since it was a table top, they might find an larger one more overwhelming and fun

My cats bothered the real tree so much more than the fake. Real tree was scratching post and climbed and knocked over. At 3 am that's the last thing you want to hear. The fake only had a bottom branch or two come off when all 5 cats wanted to sleep under it or it might have been my kids.

I have a 5' fake tree, & put it on the table that is usually by my chair in the living room. Angel has never bothered it, other than standing up on hid hind legs to check it out, or look at an ornament, he only pawed at a couple of times, but didn't knock anything over. I'd love to have a real tree, it's been years, but as long as I have Angel, I don't dare!  

"Is that one for me?"

Ahhh that's so cute!

I guess it really depends on the kitty.

My kitty was a homebody and not very active, but she liked the tree. That made her a really good Christmas tree kitty. She'd sit beneath the tree, by the presents. I think she did try to drink the water once or twice, but we just covered up the stand with the skirt more.


My friend's kitty is The Nightmare Before Christmas. He only sets up his tree on Christmas eve because otherwise his kitty will pretty much climb on it and knock it down every day.

This is my cat's "first" Christmas with us. It's really her second but we adopted her 2 days before Christmas so she really didn't pay any attention to any of the Christmas stuff as she was too busy getting familiar with her new home. 

Anyways, I was worried about setting up the tree this year as she is very curious and I could just imagine her trying to climb the tree! It's been up for 24 hours, and she's been a very good cat, just sitting under the tree. She's tried to nibble at some of the pine needles (fake tree), but we put a stop to that!

Here is she, making friends with the tree


Happy Holidays everyone!

Sneaking a peak to see what's for her! Cute!

I love real trees, but I'm not sure id do that anymore. My cats seemed to like the real ones, but oh wow did they get sticky!! Haha!!

I've never had a tree even before Ritz. But now I have a chandelier / lamp that has lots of places that I can hang ornaments. Ritz looks at it longingly, trying to figure out how to get to it, but it is too high up and too far away from the desk.
That said, she isn't the most curious of cats: she hasn't bothered any of my indoor plants (rosemary, sage, lemon verbana) thought they are on a plant stand.

I put my tree up this weekend, & did my decorating!  Sense I got new furniture earlier this year, & ripped up the old carpet & painted the floor, I have a whole new color scheme, so wanted a white tree & some new ornaments to match. (I'd had the same ones for almost 15 yrs!)  I wanted a white tree for a change. I found this 6' one at the Dollar General for $20.00!  I had my eye on a 24 box of teal & green ornaments at Hobby Lobby, but they were $30.00, so I got them when they were 50% off last week!  everything else I already had.

Here are some pictures!   (Also, if you notice behind the tree, is some more of my photography. I finally got around to framing some pictures I took in the butterfly room @ the Raleigh Science Museum a few yrs. ago! You can't see them, but there are also 2 from my garden!)    
                                                                                                                                                                           Here's Angel checking it out from his tree! So far, he hasn't bothered it!

  
This is on a middle shelf, on the book case (that holds no books, LOL!)                                                                       My porch

 
Each side of the entertainment center

  
The rod that I still have to find fabric for. I swag it to the right side of the frame, & it softens the big doorway, & makes it look a little neater w/ the fridge being a little out of sight, sense, right there!

Except for the 3 long crystals (from mom), I got the rest at the dollar store!!

Angels mommy said:

  

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• angels mommy
• Dec 8, 2014

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I love this!  I have a rod across my window in my kitchen; but no curtains yet.  I just haven't found "the ones."  But I do use it to help hang a long lighted garland around the room.  Maybe I can hang some things off it too.  

The tree is really pretty!  I've got my eye on a white berry one Walmart has this year.  I need a bigger house! 

Thanks!!  Yea, I need a bigger house too! I need at least 2 more closets!  I have been looking at fabric to make a curtain for there, but haven't found the right teal yet. The paisley in the chair is more of a green/gray teal.

I tried a regular pair of curtains, but it wasn't long enough to swag, or have a little bit of a pool at the bottom.  If you look back at my old living room in my pictures, you'll see what I had/did before. I had a nice piece of fabric someone brought me back from India. I love it, but it doesn't match the new room. 

Draco The reason we now have a (smallish) artificial tree is that Jamie wouldn't leave a real tree alone. We used to get a potted one, use it for a few years, then plant it when it got too big to carry into the house for Christmas. He refused to stay out of a real one. He didn't ignore an artificial one - the "cat toys" on it were too tempting - but at least he didn't climb it.

Mogli is pretty good with an artificial tree, but not with the ornaments. At least he doesn't take down every single one every night like Jamie did.