Kitties and Christmas Trees

[violetsmom]

Hi, My name is Robyn and I am the new owner of a sphynx kitty. She is about 15 weeks old. This is my first time owning a kitten. With the holidays nearing, I'm wondering how you guys keep your kitties away from your trees. Mine is very curious and I know it's going to be an issue. My daughter is 6, so not having a tree is not an option.
I'm not inclined to use a water bottle, as I don't want her to associate being scared of water- especially since I have to bathe her so often. (once a week)

 

[sphynxie]

What a great question- can't wait to hear what other members do. I've always had dogs and they didn't care.

 

[sphynxie]

Sorry I forgot to say welcome to the lair- your baby girl is so pretty!!!!

 

[Melonie]

My tree is up and so far I have only had one that tries to chew on the tinsel. So far none of them have tried to climb up it but they do like to lay underneath it. I just told him NO loudly and so far he has not done it again.

 

[Gizzymom]

Welcome!! Violet is beautiful!! The first year I had Gizmo, I just didn't put any ornaments too low, so he wouldn't be tempted. He has never tried to climb up in it. After the first year, I was able to put ornaments low without Gizzy ripping them off and taking them for his toys. He does LOVE to lay on the tree skirt, though, like he is a present...

 

[Bella07]

Welcome to Sphynx Lair! Your Sphynx is beautiful!

Well, in the past, I have owned anywhere from 2-3 kitty's at a time. Of course, my cats just love to try and jump to the tippy top of a Christmas tree, which then results in a tree that comes crashing down. I have lost dozens of precious ornaments because of this...So now, we put our Christmas tree in a corner of the living room. We take long pieces of green string, and wrap it around the tree multiple times (the trunk, the base, and the middle) and then tie the string against the wall with a hammer and some nails. We try to make the tree as sturdy as possible.

Put the string on before you even decorate the tree. That way, when you decorate, you never see the green string afterwards. This helps keep the tree sturdy against the wall. They haven't knocked down the tree in years since we started doing the string idea. We have also started using fake trees, because the smell of the real trees does make jumping up on it all the more tempting. I find that helps too!

 

[dreaming_in_colour]

Hello and welcome to the Lair! Your baby is just precious!

What a great question and I am glad you asked! My Gable never bothered the tree last year, but this will be first Christmas here for Amaryllis (just turned 1) and 16 week old kitten Butter Jones. I am worried about Amaryllis and new kitten going crazy in the tree.

 

[tessblack]

Welcome to the lair.

Last year we put up a fake tree because these guys eat everything so I did not want them to eat the needles. I put some christmas stuffed toys around the tree so it was hard for them to get near it. We did plastic covered LED lights higher on the tree and a few plastic decorations with no hooks. We had no problem at all. My vet told me stay away from the medal hooks and tinsel. He said he sees many cats need surgery over tinsel.

Here is a blurb about it from the internet

There is something about those shiny strands of Christmas tree dcor, which drives kitties wild. Although the sight of your cat pawing at the tree may be cute, the ingestion of tinsel can be deadly. Eating tinsel or other string-like items such as ribbon (often called linear foreign bodies) can cause serious damage to the intestine. One end can get stuck while the rest is pulled into the intestine as it contracts; the contractions may cause the ribbon or tinsel to saw through the intestine. If not caught in time, infection of the belly cavity develops and the prognosis for recovery becomes poor. Pets with linear foreign bodies quickly become ill with signs including vomiting, diarrhea, depression, belly pain and sometimes fever.

Eating other holiday decorations can cause signs ranging from mild depression to severe vomiting or diarrhea, depending upon whether or not the foreign matter can be passed in the stool or gets stuck along the way. Foreign matter stuck in the intestine often does NOT show up on "x-ray" but sometimes the foreign matter will trap air in the intestine, which helps your veterinarian make a diagnosis. Surgery is required to remove foreign matter that does not pass out on its own.

 

[tessblack]

My tree is up and so far I have only had one that tries to chew on the tinsel. So far none of them have tried to climb up it but they do like to lay underneath it. I just told him NO loudly and so far he has not done it again.

Hey Melonie,

becareful with the tinsel, it can be really bad for the kitties if they eat it. You can do an internet search on it. My vet was really hard on that point about what never to put on the tree.

I am thinking of attaching mine to the ceiling with a rope some how. Tux has become much more adventurous these days.

 

[ckutkuhn7]

We had to move into a smaller house this year to downsize spending so I'm stuck trying to make this tiny livingroom work.
We decided last night to put our tree up on the entertainment center...mainly so it doesn't take up what little space we have and #2 this is SoBe's first Christmas and she will defintley love the tree! lol
Last year Snuffie was even found sleeping in it a few times.
Defintley do the extra measure of securing your tree as Bella does,,that helps alot. As a general rule I've always stayed away from that tinsel stuff and most of my decorations have little string loops to hang by.
With having the tree on the entertainment center hopefully that will deter Snuffie and Sobe from any interence this year. lol

 

[Melonie]

The cats are never allowed in the room with the tree without me and the tinsel isn't the stringy kind. It is like one long thin strand that wrapped around the tree.

 

[tessblack]

The cats are never allowed in the room with the tree without me and the tinsel isn't the stringy kind. It is like one long thin strand that wrapped around the tree.

Oh that is good. I am so paranoiud when it comes to these guys. My husband thinks I am crazy. I baby proofed all the cabinets in the kitchen and bathroom.

 

[violetsmom]

Thanks for the welcome- and comments on my girl. She is a real sweetie and loves to be perched on my shoulder!

We have a prelit- fake tree and do not use tensil. We put it in a corner in our living room.
Will def have to use the string idea to secure it.

 

[ilovemysphynx]

We have gotten a fake tree after we got the kittys had a real one the first time but to scared that they would try to eat it and choke or get sick.
Thanksgiving reminder because our first thanksgiving we left the wish bone out as usual so we can make a wish after it dries. Well in the middle of the night Athena came into our room choking and woke us up we had no idea what was wrong and after coming down stairs we noticed that Athena had eaten most of the wish bone and it scratched the inside of her throat thank god that was the only damage and we had to give her some laxitone so it would not hurt or get stuck on the way out. We where so happy she was ok but it was very costly.

 

[TotenEngel]

Welcome to the Lair!

I can't wait to get our tree up and see Smeagols reaction to it!
I just have a fake tree and kitty proof ornaments and hours of fun watching them play with it and pull it down lol
Xmas 2008 we had baby Laz who was about 7 months and he loved climbing the tree... last year when he did it he was considerable bigger so now the base of our tree is held in with superglue!!! lol
Its great fun coming home and seeing what ornaments trip you up in the hallway each day!

 

[ilovemysphynx]

Wow Melonie your tree is up I can't wait until Saturday and Sunday. Tree goes up and decorating inside then the next day the lights go up outside. I love it!!!!

 

[sphynxie]

I've got all the xmas decor up, just need the tree. If you get a real tree-how do you keep it alive that long? I can't seem to get mine to last more than 3 weeks (yes I keep it watered).

 

[dreaming_in_colour]

I am thinking of attaching mine to the ceiling with a rope some how. Tux has become much more adventurous these days.

I can just imagine Tux hoisting his ample figure into the Christmas tree!!!!!

 

[MissMySphynxBoys]

Welcome to Sphynx Lair. We use a fake pre-lit Chrisstmas tree without tinsel too. We decorate in stages and don't put delicate or keepsake ornaments on until we see how all the animals react to the tree.