Being able have a Christmas tree

Babypaws

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I’m not sure if this is the right location for this thread but I need some Help/ideas on how I can have a fake Christmas tree this year. I have a number of indoor cats, three additional ones this year who are very active and sill kittens (7 months). I’m afrraiidthey will be climbing the tree and pulling off the lights. Because of the way my rooms are located and because I have the house divided into 2 sections, 6 cats on each side, I’m not able to block off the room where the tree would go.
Has anyone had this problem and how were you able to have a tree?

thanks
 

EmersonandEvie

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You could just put it up and see how they will react. We just kind of winged it and put one up when Dexter was a baby, He climbed it a few times, but nothing major, and he never messed with the lights. There's no way of knowing how your cats will react unless you just bite the bullet and do it.

My advice: if you have any glass/sentimental/otherwise nice ornaments, put those up high. We put the non-shattering ones alone the bottom of the tree, so if they do get knocked off, it's not a big deal.

If they mess with it too much or if you get uncomfortable, you can always take it down. :) I've seen some ideas online where people make a "tree" out of lights and command hooks on the wall!
 

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Babypaws

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Thanks for the tree alternative ideas but I really enjoy the traditional Christmas trees. I think I’ll have to give it a try with my tree,
I was wondering if there was some kind of scent I could spray on the tree that the cats don’t like...
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. Here is a thread from last year about Christmas trees and cats - maybe some ideas in it that you could consider?
Christmas tree that cats won't try to eat or climb. | TheCatSite

As far as scent sprays, many cats don't like citrus smells, but I am guessing the amount you would have to spray the tree with would be enough that you wouldn't like the smell either.
 

danteshuman

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Buy plastic ornaments for at least the bottom 4 feet of the tree. I hung my precious ornaments from a garland where my cat couldn’t jump up and get them!

You can always skip the lights, make cute paper ornaments or even buy clip on poinsettias. I suggest you pull out your tree now & decorate it 2 weeks from now.

My active 1 year old did fine with my little fake tree minus my feathered cardinal ornaments. So I hung those up high.

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ArtNJ

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I never had any serious problems with the tree through multiple sets of two kittens until last year, when a cat ait and threw up one of those hooks that hang the ornaments. I got very lucky there, could have been fatal. So I agree that you never know, any particular cats might be fine with a traditional tree, but with 12 cats, extra precautions are definitely warranted! Including maybe the cardboard hooks that someone recommended to me after I posted about the near disaster.
 

klunick

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Hi. Here is a thread from last year about Christmas trees and cats - maybe some ideas in it that you could consider?
Christmas tree that cats won't try to eat or climb. | TheCatSite

As far as scent sprays, many cats don't like citrus smells, but I am guessing the amount you would have to spray the tree with would be enough that you wouldn't like the smell either.
Saw a Jackson Galaxy video yesterday where he said to poke holes in a zip lock bag and put orange slices in it. Hang it on the bottom branches. I think the only way to keep Boone and Gracie away is to line up every vacuum I have around the tree when nobody is around. Like Babypaws Babypaws I also like real trees so I really don't want to resort to a fake one but we will see what happens.
 

CatLover49

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Thanks for the tree alternative ideas but I really enjoy the traditional Christmas trees. I think I’ll have to give it a try with my tree,
I was wondering if there was some kind of scent I could spray on the tree that the cats don’t like...
I was also looking a way to have Christmas tree with out it in floor or messed up all Christmas
Ive looked on line and saw small ceramic trees you put on a table
Also fiber optic trees
Not sure how the fiber optic tree would help
 
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Babypaws

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I was also looking a way to have Christmas tree with out it in floor or messed up all Christmas
Ive looked on line and saw small ceramic trees you put on a table
Also fiber optic trees
Not sure how the fiber optic tree would help
Ceramic trees and a fiber tree in my opinion would not be much different than a traditional Christmas trees. My cats would knock them over and there goes your ceramic tree. I put up a few non-breakable Christmas decorations yesterday to see how the cats would react. I also wanted them to get use to seeing the items around, so far so good. Only a couple of things were knocked over. Within the next couple of weeks I’m going to put up our big artificial tree with no ornaments and see how that goes.
 
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