Cats notoriously love to jump at Christmas trees and attempt to climb them, often resulting in them toppling the whole thing over – but making one change could stop the habit
If you’re a cat owner and plan to put up your Christmas decorations this weekend, consider this one change to make your life easier. Any cat owner will know the Christmas season can be a particularly stressful time of year. As soon as your Christmas tree goes up, it’s likely your pet will do whatever it can to climb up it, either find a nice place among the branches to relax or play with the ornaments they perceive as toys.
Cats climbing Christmas trees isn’t inherently bad by itself, but the flimsy nature of some artificial trees, coupled with the heavy ornaments placed on them, can often mean the animal accidentally topples the tree over. Not only can this scare your cat, but you may also end up with broken ornaments and a significant mess to clean up.
But if you’re putting your tree up soon, there are some things you can do to avoid a decoration nightmare. Cat owners on Reddit shared their tips for a safe Christmas after someone asked for advice on how to cat-proof their tree this year.
The poster asked: “We’re excited to put up our Christmas tree, but we have a super energetic kitten who loves climbing and playing with anything that dangles (including wires).
“For those with playful cats, how do you set up your tree safely? Any tips for keeping both the tree and kitty out of trouble?
“We already have three cat trees and plenty of toys to keep her busy, but the moment something new appears, she just has to investigate!”
The biggest piece of advice from fellow cat owners was just to make one simple change to the way you hang your decorations. Instead of putting dangling ornaments all over the tree, try to place the ones your cat finds most appealing near the bottom. This way, your cat won’t scramble up the tree to try and get to them.
They also suggested investing in bell ornaments that might dissuade cats from playing with them because of the noise they make, or putting other exciting toys under the tree that distract them from the tree itself.
One person said: “Surrounding it with cat tunnels and cubes as a distraction helps a ton with mine. Also, keeping the dangling ornaments lower down and sticking to plastic [ornaments] as a whole until you’re confident they’re not going to bring the tree down.”
Another added: “I hang like a dozen bells on mine, all close to the bottom. So when they get curious and set one ringing, they all ring. The noise scares them away, and they leave the tree alone after one or two investigations.”
How to cat-proof your Christmas tree
If you don’t want to hang all your ornaments at the bottom of the tree, Vets 4 Pets has some other options you can try. One popular solution is to wrap kitchen foil around the base of the tree, as cats hate the sensation on their claws, so it can stop them from climbing.
Vets 4 Pets also suggests setting the Christmas tree up without any decorations for a few days at first so your cat has time to get used to the strange new addition to the living room, as well as ensuring you use a heavy stand or secure the top of the tree to the ceiling to help prevent it from falling over.
Other things to consider include:
- Consider a fake tree over a real one. If you do go for a real tree, then cover the water so they don’t drink from it.
- Use ornaments that can be tied securely to the tree, ideally without small metal hooks that could harm your pet’s mouth if they chew on them.
- Place lights towards the centre so that they’re less accessible and make sure they’re switched off when you’re not around.
- Avoid fake snow as it may contain harmful chemicals.
- Don’t leave anything edible under the tree; your pet will sniff it out, even if it’s wrapped!
- Place a fire guard or an extendable baby gate around the Christmas tree. Alternatively, consider a tree container with a built-in cover.
