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cats & xmas trees

chiquimonkeychiquimonkey Posts: 9,337
edited November 2008 in All Encompassing Trip
this is my first christmas with my cat winston, who i adopted in april. the cat i had before (trixie, rest her soul) was an angel with christmas decor....never disturbed a single thing.

winston.....i love him to pieces, but he insists on being in EVERYTHING, so i'm already envisioning shattered ornaments and eaten tinsel haha

does anybody have any tricks for keeping kitties off of xmas trees? i use a fake one cuz i'm allergic to the fire retardant on real ones, i dunno if there's a spray or something that i could use, or something natural i could spray on or around it to keep him off of it?

i'll forgo having a tree if necessary, his safety is most important...just thought i'd ask in case anybody here had any luck! :)
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  • eyedclaareyedclaar Posts: 6,980
    Cats love x-mas trees. Let them go crazy. Just hang the non-breakable ornaments at the bottom and make sure the base is stable so if they try to climb it the whole thing doesn't tip over.
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  • chiquimonkeychiquimonkey Posts: 9,337
    eyedclaar wrote:
    Cats love x-mas trees. Let them go crazy. Just hang the non-breakable ornaments at the bottom and make sure the base is stable so if they try to climb it the whole thing doesn't tip over.
    i would let him go to town but i worry about him eating it. he's a goat. he likes to rob q-tips and eat them :o lol

    it's a short tree, i'll see if i can secure the base so it doesn't tip over
  • brain of cbrain of c Posts: 5,213
    just leave off the tinsel and it's cool for cats!:cool:
    d'oh!!!!!!

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  • chiquimonkeychiquimonkey Posts: 9,337
    brain of c wrote:
    just leave off the tinsel and it's cool for cats!:cool:
    true dat. i think i'll do a test run....i'll pull it out of storage and set it up with no ornaments on it...see what he does. maybe that bitter apple stuff would work just in case he does want to chew on it?
  • TrixieCatTrixieCat Posts: 5,756
    He's a goat...rotflmao
    Yeah, leave off the tinsel and put some cheap ornaments on the bottom for him to knock off.
    It may behoove you to anchor the tree to the wall. :cool:
    Did you name him after Churchill? :)
    Or the dude from Gilligan's Island? HA!
    Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
    And I don't feel right when you're gone away
  • chiquimonkeychiquimonkey Posts: 9,337
    TrixieCat wrote:
    He's a goat...rotflmao
    Yeah, leave off the tinsel and put some cheap ornaments on the bottom for him to knock off.
    It may behoove you to anchor the tree to the wall. :cool:
    Did you name him after Churchill? :)
    Or the dude from Gilligan's Island? HA!
    haha he seriously is a goat! he loves paper towels, q-tips, he's a paper freak. i bought some new shoes the other day and the paper they use to wrap them in the shoebox? i found him running away with a piece no less than 10 minutes after i got home!

    he has also made lovely toilet paper sculptures in the middle of the toilet bowl where i'm training him to use it :rolleyes: lol

    so yeah, this one.... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/ariabee/winston.jpg mega goat goat haha

    thanks for the suggestions, i'll give them a try! :)

    not named after churchill or gilligan island dude heehee just thought it'd be a cute name for him :)
  • anothercloneanotherclone Posts: 1,688
    chiquimonkey wrote:
    haha he seriously is a goat! he loves paper towels, q-tips, he's a paper freak. i bought some new shoes the other day and the paper they use to wrap them in the shoebox? i found him running away with a piece no less than 10 minutes after i got home!

    he has also made lovely toilet paper sculptures in the middle of the toilet bowl where i'm training him to use it :rolleyes: lol

    so yeah, this one.... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/ariabee/winston.jpg mega goat goat haha

    thanks for the suggestions, i'll give them a try! :)

    not named after churchill or gilligan island dude heehee just thought it'd be a cute name for him :)

    your kitty has a wee bit of "insane" in his eye.

    good luck with the tree. :) I think you're going to have your hands full with this little fur person.
  • yellowled24yellowled24 Posts: 3,118
    chiquimonkey wrote:

    does anybody have any tricks for keeping kitties off of xmas trees? i use a fake one cuz i'm allergic to the fire retardant on real ones, i dunno if there's a spray or something that i could use, or something natural i could spray on or around it to keep him off of it?
    Try diluting some white vinegar with water and spraying it on the tree. You might have better luck diluting some citronella oil and spraying that on the tree also.

    Cayenne pepper sprinkled on the tree could work aswell :)

    Good luck!
    "....and was very surprised to see that he didnt actually have a recipe for anus-ankle soup." - Big Ed
  • RolandTD20KdrummerRolandTD20Kdrummer Posts: 13,066
    I don't think about Christmas until it's officially December. I think that's how it's supposed to work... right?

    Back in the good ol days?

    some people start in October now....I wonder if it will ever reach September.
    Progress is not made by everyone joining some new fad,
    and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
    over specific principles, goals, and policies.

    http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg

    (\__/)
    ( o.O)
    (")_(")
  • mca47mca47 Posts: 13,300
    When I was a kid, we had a cat that would literally climb to the top of the tree knocking every ornament off on her way up.
    We came home from my grandma's one Christmas Eve to find all 50 or so ornaments laying on the ground (some batted around). There wasn't one left on the tree!
    Oh and she pulled down most of the lights too.


    LOL!

    My current cat hasn't seen a tree but I know if she did she'd use it like a jungle gym!
    :D
  • prismprism Posts: 2,440
    when our kitties were wild, crazy babies i got some bells and tied them onto some pretty ribbon and tied them on the tree....the sound the bells made freaked them out and they quit climbing the christmas tree. :)
    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    angels share laughter
    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
  • CosmoCosmo Posts: 12,225
    chiquimonkey wrote:
    this is my first christmas with my cat winston, who i adopted in april. the cat i had before (trixie, rest her soul) was an angel with christmas decor....never disturbed a single thing.

    winston.....i love him to pieces, but he insists on being in EVERYTHING, so i'm already envisioning shattered ornaments and eaten tinsel haha

    does anybody have any tricks for keeping kitties off of xmas trees? i use a fake one cuz i'm allergic to the fire retardant on real ones, i dunno if there's a spray or something that i could use, or something natural i could spray on or around it to keep him off of it?

    i'll forgo having a tree if necessary, his safety is most important...just thought i'd ask in case anybody here had any luck! :)
    ...
    That reminds me... I really need to take down the Christmas tree this weekend.
    ...
    Thanx.
    Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
    Hail, Hail!!!
  • chiquimonkeychiquimonkey Posts: 9,337
    thanks for the suggestions everyone! i haven't dragged the tree out yet, maybe tomorrow. it should be......um, interesting lol

    roland i usually try to not think of xmas so early, but having made some xmas cards to sell on my shop, it got the gears going earlier than usual :o
  • iamicaiamica Chicago Posts: 2,628
    DON'T USE TINSEL on your tree if you have a cat. Trust me.
    I'm a bit nervous about my tree this year too; this is my first time having cats in a long time, and they haven't seen a Christmas tree yet. Should be interesting. I'm going to keep all the small ornaments off it so they don't try to eat them.
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  • RygarRygar Posts: 8,689
    chiquimonkey wrote:
    haha he seriously is a goat! he loves paper towels, q-tips, he's a paper freak. i bought some new shoes the other day and the paper they use to wrap them in the shoebox? i found him running away with a piece no less than 10 minutes after i got home!

    he has also made lovely toilet paper sculptures in the middle of the toilet bowl where i'm training him to use it :rolleyes: lol

    so yeah, this one.... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/ariabee/winston.jpg mega goat goat haha

    thanks for the suggestions, i'll give them a try! :)

    not named after churchill or gilligan island dude heehee just thought it'd be a cute name for him :)
    That is an awesome picture. It ought to be sent to Lolcats for a 'wtf' caption.
  • chiquimonkeychiquimonkey Posts: 9,337
    iamica wrote:
    DON'T USE TINSEL on your tree if you have a cat. Trust me.
    I'm a bit nervous about my tree this year too; this is my first time having cats in a long time, and they haven't seen a Christmas tree yet. Should be interesting. I'm going to keep all the small ornaments off it so they don't try to eat them.
    yeah the tinsel isn't happening for sure. i wish us both luck!

    rygar yeah he has the best expressions, i call that the "zoinks!" look :p also love this one http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/ariabee/Picture010_small.jpg
  • RygarRygar Posts: 8,689
    chiquimonkey wrote:
    yeah the tinsel isn't happening for sure. i wish us both luck!

    rygar yeah he has the best expressions, i call that the "zoinks!" look :p also love this one http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/ariabee/Picture010_small.jpg
    haha, the 'nuts to you' look :p
  • chiquimonkeychiquimonkey Posts: 9,337
    Rygar wrote:
    haha, the 'nuts to you' look :p
    haha he has his tongue out most the time, even if it's just the tip of it lol

    he's a riot, i'm so glad i got him, even if he acts like a loon :D
  • eyedclaareyedclaar Posts: 6,980
    chiquimonkey wrote:
    haha he has his tongue out most the time, even if it's just the tip of it lol

    he's a riot, i'm so glad i got him, even if he acts like a loon :D


    Loony cats are the best. I once had a flame-point siamese that was so crazy and badass. He even chased a pitbull out of my yard once. And he would attack my feet while I was sleeping. OK, that part was little annoying and painful, but still...
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  • RygarRygar Posts: 8,689
    eyedclaar wrote:
    Loony cats are the best. I once had a flame-point siamese that was so crazy and badass. He even chased a pitbull out of my yard once. And he would attack my feet while I was sleeping. OK, that part was little annoying and painful, but still...
    Mine does that if my toes are poking out of the covers.
    My cats are terrified of dogs (most dogs), but I had a chihuahua once that attacked a rottweiler...
  • chiquimonkeychiquimonkey Posts: 9,337
    eyedclaar wrote:
    Loony cats are the best. I once had a flame-point siamese that was so crazy and badass. He even chased a pitbull out of my yard once. And he would attack my feet while I was sleeping. OK, that part was little annoying and painful, but still...
    yeah winston does the same thing with my feet. as i'm waking up, he'll hop up on the bed. i'll shuffle my feet under the blanket and he sees this as a cue to start jumping on them lol

    he is looney but he is really such a joy.....he has such spastic moves, throws himself everywhere. i refer to him as ed around 1992....that wild spaz abandon he had on stage :D

    i might just wait till after thanksgiving to deal with the tree and see what happens then, i don't feel like dragging it out tonight, i'm already feeling lazy and i havent' even left work yet lol
  • jimed14jimed14 Posts: 9,488
    chiquimonkey wrote:

    so yeah, this one.... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/ariabee/winston.jpg mega goat goat haha

    THIS CAT HAS NOTHING BUT MISCHIEF ON HIS MIND!!!

    (I love it)
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  • MattCameronKicksButtMattCameronKicksButt Posts: 4,317
    Tinsel was never a problem for me. It was always the 'ball balls' (sp) that caused a problem. We took them off and my favourite cat lost interest after that. :confused:
  • chiquimonkeychiquimonkey Posts: 9,337
    jimed14 wrote:
    THIS CAT HAS NOTHING BUT MISCHIEF ON HIS MIND!!!

    (I love it)
    haha it's written all over his little face isn't it? he definitely is a handful....i can't have flowers out when i'm not home anymore. not because he eats them, but because he loves knocking vases over. just cuz lol

    (but i love him :) )
  • Drowned OutDrowned Out Posts: 6,056
    Cosmo wrote:
    ...
    That reminds me... I really need to take down the Christmas tree this weekend.
    ...
    Thanx.
    that cracked me up....
    just a few weeks ago, I put away a string of mini-lights from last year that I suffed between the couch and the wall after getting fed up with the tear-down.
    Got tired of picking it up to vacuum around.
  • chiquimonkeychiquimonkey Posts: 9,337
    Drowned Out wrote:
    that cracked me up....
    just a few weeks ago, I put away a string of mini-lights from last year that I suffed between the couch and the wall after getting fed up with the tear-down.
    Got tired of picking it up to vacuum around.
    you should have just waited a few more weeks lol :p
  • Drowned OutDrowned Out Posts: 6,056
    chiquimonkey wrote:
    haha it's written all over his little face isn't it? he definitely is a handful....i can't have flowers out when i'm not home anymore. not because he eats them, but because he loves knocking vases over. just cuz lol

    (but i love him :) )
    mine knocked my damn sugar bowl off the counter today while I was at work. It usually waits till I'm home to trash the place; she gets more satisfaction out of it that way. She wasn't so bad at xmas last year, but I think I'm gonna have to take a tip or two from this thread too.
  • Drowned OutDrowned Out Posts: 6,056
    chiquimonkey wrote:
    you should have just waited a few more weeks lol :p
    I swear, I never even thought of it as close when I did it....
    I can't believe how many people have asked me if I've finished my shopping yet. it's like....I never even thought of it till you asked :eek:
  • chiquimonkeychiquimonkey Posts: 9,337
    Drowned Out wrote:
    mine knocked my damn sugar bowl off the counter today while I was at work. It usually waits till I'm home to trash the place; she gets more satisfaction out of it that way. She wasn't so bad at xmas last year, but I think I'm gonna have to take a tip or two from this thread too.
    he does move things around when i'm not home but it's just relegated to his toys which is fine. if i leave something out that would tempt him though then it's partytime for him (vases, q-tips lol)
  • chiquimonkeychiquimonkey Posts: 9,337
    Drowned Out wrote:
    I swear, I never even thought of it as close when I did it....
    I can't believe how many people have asked me if I've finished my shopping yet. it's like....I never even thought of it till you asked :eek:
    haha yeah i haven't started mine either yet....i have a friend who is already done (freak! lol)

    only reason i even had xmas on the brain to start this thread was designing xmas cards....i should start my xmas gift list....ah well, easier to deal with the little monkey and the tree for starters lol
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