The time to put up the Christmas tree and decorate it is one of the most anticipated of Christmas. But this family moment that we love to prepare is synonymous with difficulties for many cat guardians, since these mischievous and playful creatures like to climb our Christmas tree or destroy it a little as a game.
To prevent this long-awaited moment from becoming a little nightmare for our acrobatic cats, on our site we are going to give you a series of tips to prevent your cat climb the Christmas tree, damage it or eat itKeep reading and discover our proposals.
Tips for choosing the most suitable Christmas tree for cats
If you don't have a tree yet, the first step will be to choose the most appropriate type of tree for us and our cat. Between a natural Christmas tree and a syntheticmaybe the latter is the safer option: its needles are less sharp than those of a natural tree and you can choose a small one, which can be a good option if your cat is a puppy or if things go very wrong and the tree falls.
Choose a tree that has a very firm and solid base to keep it as stable as possible in case your cat jumps on it. If you still choose a natural tree, keep in mind that your cat could be poisoned if he gets to drink the water from the tree and you should absolutely avoid using fertilizers or products that could be harmful to your cat.
We advise you to avoid very tall trees, because if the cat climbs the tree and falls, the damage would be greater.
Why do cats like the Christmas tree?
Cats and the Christmas tree have always developed a somewhat complicated relationship in which our precious tree almost always ends up losing. If you have already chosen the tree and decorated it, and your cat has decided to climb on it, play with the decorations and even knock the tree over, you are probably wondering why he does all this. The answer is simple, the Christmas tree is too attractive and offers lots of stimuli to grab your attention
On the one hand, it is an object that is not always present in the home, so it immediately captures their attention as it is something "new". The same thing happens when he has a new toy that he finds very stimulating. On the other hand, all the elements of the tree are stimuli of great interest to these animals:
- The tree itself is an ideal element for climbing, hiding and staying at a certain height, and we know that this to cats! they love!
- The hanging ornaments arouse its hunting instinct, so will try to catch themand play with them. If, in addition, he manages to make them fall from the tree, the stimulus will be even greater and the activity even more pleasant. In these cases, it will play with the fallen decorations, but it will also try to knock over others.
- The lights quickly capture the cat's attention and it will try to "chase" them, just like the shadow they cast. Something similar happens with the laser pointer, which draws the cat's attention and tries to catch the light it emits. However, in neither case will he achieve a result, so this will only cause him stress and frustration. If you notice that your cat tries to grab the lights, the best thing to do in this case is to remove them to avoid getting frustrated and hurting yourself.
How to prevent my cat from damaging or eating the Christmas tree?
Despite being a really stimulating object for our cats, it is also very harmful if, for example, it falls on them, they swallow an ornament, they injure themselves, etc. Likewise, pine needles are toxic to these animals, so it is not convenient for them to try to eat them, nor is it convenient for them to ingest artificial ones. Therefore, it is important to try to prevent cats from climbing the Christmas tree, eating it or damaging it. To do this, keep the following tips in mind:
Put it in a suitable place
Try to place the tree in the most appropriate place to prevent your cat from climbing it. To do this, you must place the tree in a clear place, with space around it, avoiding objects or furniture nearby because they would be a strong temptation for the cat, which could climb through them and jump on the tree.
It would be ideal to fix the tree to the ceiling or wall to give it more stability and prevent it from falling over easily. If possible, you should close off the room with the tree at night or when no one is around to prevent the cat from gaining access to it.
When you're done, let the cat sniff and explore everything. Reinforce him if he doesn't try to climb with a "very good" or a caress, but if he tries to climb, it is best to place some kind of object that prevents him from getting too close, such as a small fence.
Use aluminum foil
Now that you have placed the tree, cover the base of the tree with aluminum foil The presence of aluminum foil has a certain repulsive effect for the cat because it doesn't like the texture of this type of paper or dig its nails into it, so you avoid climbing on the base to climb the tree. This trick also prevents him from urinating at the base of the tree.
Choose the right embellishments
It's time to choose the decorations for your tree. You should first avoid decorations that are too attractive for your cat, such as objects that hang a lot, spin or make noise. Likewise, it is better to avoid electric garlands because they attract a lot of attention from cats and could become very dangerous for them. We also recommend being careful about decorating the tree with food or treats, since chocolate and sugar are harmful to these animals.
We advise you to use fabric embellishments, or unbreakable embellishments, and large size to prevent the cat from swallowing them, such as: dolls or large balls. After putting up the tree, we advise you to let your cat get used to it for a few days before putting up the decorations.
If you have more questions about Christmas decorations and the safety of your cat, we recommend you visit the article on dangerous Christmas decorations for pets.
Decorate him when he's not around
If possible, it would be better to decorate the tree when the cat is not present: seeing you move the decorations would greatly increase his interest and cause him to see them as toys
Also, we advise you to do not decorate the lower third of the tree, more or less the part that is at eye level with the cat. As there is no object at his level, his curiosity and interest in the tree will decrease and thus the probability that he will jump on it also decreases.
Use non-harmful natural repellents
If nothing works, there are natural repellents on the market that you can spray your Christmas tree with. Of course, it is essential to use repellents that do not harm your cat, simply that, due to the aroma, they cause rejection and do not want to approach. For example, there are repellents made based on citrus fruits that are really effective, since these are part of the smells that cats hate.
If you opt for this method, it is important not to spray the tree with the repellent when the animal is present, since if it falls on it or inhales it excessively, it could cause respiratory problems.
Offer safe alternatives
Another way to prevent your cat from damaging the Christmas tree is to offer him safe alternatives that are just as stimulating. For example, if you don't have a scratching tree, that is, a multi-height scratcher, it's time to get one to use instead of the tree Christmas. On this scratcher you can also place hanging toys designed for cats that simulate Christmas decorations. Thus, you will have your own Christmas tree and you can play and entertain yourself freely. If you want, you can even make the scratching post at home by following our tips: "How to make a homemade scratching post for cats?"
On the other hand, don't forget to play with him to keep him entertained and teach him that there are many other toys that are suitable.
How to protect the Christmas tree from cats?
If, despite putting all the above tips into practice, you have not been able to prevent your cat from playing with the Christmas tree, the time has come to try to protect it so that it cannot access it. To do this, as we have already mentioned, you can place a fence around it, which is high enough so that the cat cannot jump over it.
Since this option is not very attractive and prevents you from enjoying the presence of the Christmas tree, remember that you can choose to spray it with a natural repellent, always trying not to be harmful because the animal's he alth is the most important thing. Also, cover the wires to prevent damage or, if possible, don't use lights to decorate the tree.
Finally, you can consider letting your creativity run wild and choose a different tree, such as those that hang on the wall, or insert it into decorative elements if it is not very large, such as a lantern.
