In Dire Need Of Help!

[Toe_Beanies]

TL;DR: My parents have a real christmas tree, how do I keep my cat baby from being poisoned or having to be rehomed??


Hello everyone!

I've joined thecatsite today in hopes that I might find a solution to my problems happening with my cat. I truly hate to call them problems at all since its more a predicament than anything else.

Here goes:

I have a 1 year old, male orange tabby who is fixed and always has his nails trimmed (He loves to play so its a must!). He is not aggressive in any way shape or form. From time to time he'll fluff up in "defense" mode but really he's a big baby and always runs for cover if anything seems too suspicious. He's extremely affectionate and will be entirely unhappy unless he is sleeping directly in between my boyfriend and I at night.

My issue begins here I suppose. Due to some circumstances I wont get too detailed with, my bf and I are currently being housed by my father and step mother. They are extremely helpful and we are beyond grateful that they are helping us. However, they have never had a cat in their household ever. Only dogs. They don't currently have any dogs and their last, callie, passed away earlier this year. That being said they keep seeing andy's behavior as extremely problematic. Here's what I mean by behavior: Climbing, knocking stuff over, trying to get on the counters, and the most recent one, destroying the Christmas tree.

It's honestly just all typical cat stuff. Nut I can understadn from their point of view that this is all bad behavior. They keep trying to "correct" him as though he was a dog and its starting to frustrate him since he won't listen. I have talked to them about that and they now know about spraying him with the bottle.

My main concern right now is that the christmas tree they bought is real and obviously very toxic to cats. How do I keep him away? I've thought about shock pad or shock collar treatment but is that even humane? He's my boy and I can tell that my parents are on their lasts straws with him, even though behavior wise he could literally be much worse than what he is. How do I save my baby from potentially having to be rehomed for something so normal to cat behavior?

 

[ArtNJ]

Some cats learn countertops are off limits easily and some are *extremely resistant* to training, with (relatively rarely) even experienced and long time owners of multiple cats occasionally giving up. If a loud "no" and putting down quickly without petting on the way are not working try a spray bottle with water. There are people on here that get upset about use of a spray bottle and claim it doesn't work or will damage your bond with your cat. The truth is that a spray bottle is a very effective training aid for some but not all cats, and that it won't damage your bond if used in a limited and targeted way, like for kitchen countertops & xmas tree. Get a big tree, a quality base, don't put ornaments too low, make sure that if it is slightly off center (happens to me a lot) the off center side faces a wall & hope for the best -- for whatever reason, not all active cats go after xmas trees, and again, some are dissuaded more easily than others.

 

[maggiedemi]

You could try a bicycle type horn. I use that for dangerous things, like keeping my cats away from electrical cords.

 

[Toe_Beanies]

Some cats learn countertops are off limits easily and some are *extremely resistant* to training, with (relatively rarely) even experienced and long time owners of multiple cats occasionally giving up. If a loud "no" and putting down quickly without petting on the way are not working try a spray bottle with water. There are people on here that get upset about use of a spray bottle and claim it doesn't work or will damage your bond with your cat. The truth is that a spray bottle is a very effective training aid for some but not all cats, and that it won't damage your bond if used in a limited and targeted way, like for kitchen countertops & xmas tree. Get a big tree, a quality base, don't put ornaments too low, make sure that if it is slightly off center (happens to me a lot) the off center side faces a wall & hope for the best -- for whatever reason, not all active cats go after xmas trees, and again, some are dissuaded more easily than others.

Andy is definetly a very.. determined and spirted cat. Spray bottles don’t work on him at all. In fact he quite enjoys water which is very unusual for most cats ^^’ He often gets into the shower with me simply to sit under the running water. So sorry bottles often invite him in.

My parents were careful to use plastic ornaments and did place them high in the tree but as I know andy quite he well he is unfortunately a “repeat offender” if you will. He often becomes obssesed with trying to climb onto counters (or the tree in this instance) and even has displayed frustration (obsessive pawing and sort of a stationary front paw only run on the floor) if he doesn’t get to climb as he pleases. I’m not sure how to remedy it because he’s just not allowed.

 

[Toe_Beanies]

You could try a bicycle type horn. I use that for dangerous things, like keeping my cats away from electrical cords.

I’ve actually never tried the horn before! Perhaps that can help. He really hates loud noises so that might be something I can train him with.

 

[ArtNJ]

If you have the $, a big ole cat tree might help, or at least couldn't hurt. Something else to climb on.

Definitely try a horn, loud noise is a definite alternative to water. I'll really shout or stomp my feet if a cat is doing something actually dangerous, and it almost always works...but whatever you use to make noise, it has to be a good bit louder than the "No" you have been using.