Cats and Christmas trees

[Snowflake]

Last tree I had, Tango left the bottom ornaments alone, but was interested. I kept her locked up in my bedroom at night, we did not leave her alone with the tree. Then, I came out, went to make the morning tea and in 2 minutes, She climbed the tree, tipped it over, it then fell against a 6 foot tall CD case (filled with CDS) that proceeded to tip forward and dump 1000 CDS all over the living room. Lost many ornaments and jewel cases. The bookcase fell on the side arm of the couch and dinged up the side table pretty badly. Tango shot out of the living room like a cannon had shot her out of it.

Tango was found cowering under the quilt on my bed.

Remembering all the clean up, have not had the nerve to have a tree since.

[Betty]

This is what I fear!

And yet - I really enjoy my purple tree and with each ornament unwrapped, a little memory. The tree tipping over is what I'm worried about most. Maybe I can lay something over the base and give it more weight.

[Morrigoon]

Dphile has some sort of motion sensor things that spray air at her cats if they come near the tree... maybe you can find something like that?

[Moonliner]

Knock on wood, we've never really had an issue. We use an over-sized tree stand that is hard to knock over, make sure all the ornaments at the bottom of the tree are cat friendly (cloth, plastic, etc...) and use plain water (The same stuff trees drink in the wild) to feed it with.

And of course, no tinsel ever.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Moonliner

(The same stuff trees drink in the wild)

Not that I'm an arborist, nor a Christmas expert...but most trees in the wild have not been severed from their roots and have soil from which to draw nutrients - so "it's what they drink in the wild" seems a poor argument against using fortified water.

[Moonliner]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

Not that I'm an arborist, nor a Christmas expert...but most trees in the wild have not been severed from their roots and have soil from which to draw nutrients - so "it's what they drink in the wild" seems a poor argument against using fortified water.

I'm not trying to grow the damn thing. Just keep it green for a couple of weeks. Think of it like a IV. The important thing is that when you get the tree home you lop off an extra inch from the bottom and immediately stick it in water and never let it run dry.

[BarTopDancer]

Drill a hole in the top and tie it to the ceiling.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by BarTopDancer

Drill a hole in the top and tie it to the ceiling.

Or hang it upside down from the ceiling



(Yeah; that's fugly!)

[alphabassettgrrl]

NA- I laughed until I cried at the picture of the cat chased by the tinsel coming out its hind end.

I would definitely prepare for the kitties to climb the tree. I know if we ever get a tree, ours will climb it. My mom had a cat knock one over, so they are sometimes interested in artificial trees.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by BarTopDancer

Drill a hole in the top and tie it to the ceiling.

Funny, I was just thinking that there must be a way to anchor the top. It might not be pretty but might prevent total cat-astrophe.

However, I've never dealt with a Xmas tree.

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

Or hang it upside down from the ceiling



(Yeah; that's fugly!)

Dude, you could stage your own version of Poseidon Adventure!