Christmas with kittens!

[rosiemac]

It didn't really hurt much last night apart from it bleeding a bit but this morning it feels more like a bruise to touch but it isn't inflamed

 

[sar]

awwww! I'm glad it's not too sore!

It makes me laugh where cats catch their claws!

 

[rosiemac]

It could have been worse i suppose Sarah!

 

[fwan]

My kitty went psycho the other night and would not stop jumping around with his claws out. He jumped on my face and gave me a scratch on my chin which really hurts and it looks like i have 4 pimples around my cheecks

 

[turtlecat]

Ashleigh,

Lemon scented or pine scented airfresheners around the base of the tree will usually kee them away.

 

[kathryn41]

Originally Posted by Ashleigh

Tinsel is really bad?? anyone? Ok that's staying out the way until it's confirmed!

As for Indie, he has a fine pair of um...you know lol....Kelly (my daughter) keeps calling him gay

Tinsel is bad, bad,bad, bad news for cats. It is attractive because it dangles and looks like a fun toy. It gets pulled off of the tree by paws or mouth, or even just its static electric charge as it sticks to the cats coat when he walks under it, and what ends up happening is cat starts to chew . If he changes his mind, though, he can't spit it out so ends up swallowing the whole thing. Then he has a long, non-biodegradable, sharp, plastic or metal strip that can get caught anywhere within the digestive systems. If you are lucky, it will pass through without a problem but - in many cases, it gets caught or stretched out. The intestines loop around and the sharp metallic edges or the non-biodegradable plastic edges cut and slice through bits of the intestines. Your cat becomes sick, and if you are able to identify the culprit, he will require expensive emergency surgery to try and find - and then remove - the tinsel. If you don't identify the culprit - or can't find where it is in the intestional tract - it may develop into dangerous peritonitis as the bacteria in the damaged intestines now spreads throughout the abdomen. In both cases you will have a very sick sick sick cat, and possibly a poor prognosis depending on how much damage has occured.

Tinsel is beautiful to look at but deadly - it just isn't worth the risk.

The same thing can be said for any type of the plastic and polyester thread, wool, string and elastic - it is far too easy for a cat to swallow them accidentally and often with tragic results.l

Please, don't use tinsel. If you want something shimmering and dangly, buy the solid metal twisters that can't be swallowed.

Kathryn

 

[stitchfl]

Have you tried putting some aluminum foil around the bottom of the tree? From what I understand they can't stand the stuff, so when they find out some is there they tend to stay away from the tree afterwards.

 

[graykittenlove]

Originally Posted by dawnofsierra

Your tree is so funny, Ashleigh!

Yes, tinsel can be extremely harmful for kitties, and it should be kept out of their reach.

Poor nose, Susan! Sierra likes peppermint, too. I have a little bottle of oil of peppermint and she will get it and rub all over it and roll all over the place around it!

I assume that peppermint is okay for cats to get into? Samwise loves playing with the candy canes on the tree and will chew them. I've moved them all up to the top of the tree along with the rest of the ornaments but I still come home everyday to a candy cane on the floor.

 

[ashleigh]

Thanks everyone, tinsel is now out of reach. I shall also be trying the lemon tip.
They haven't been in the tree much today, I have this weekend bag, Alan is popping down to London to see his nan before christmas and Minx has decided she likes to sit in it, so that's her new fasination for the time being!

 

[kittylover4ever]

One year I hung orange peels from the bottom of my tree and it worked. They left it alone! This year I've been lucky. They haven't bothered my tree at all!