Every year, Christmas brings enormous joy and happiness. From Christmas parties to Christmas presents along with delicious Christmas cookies, we have it all. However, with all of these fun, also comes certain situations that tests our level of patience. Either the christmas lights blow out which are hung so carefully or your christmas tree gets interrupted by your furry friends. Here are certain tricks as to how to cat proof your christmas trees.
1. Keeping Cats Away from Christmas Tree
If you are someone who has a cat as a pet, you need to be extra cautious with decorating your christmas tree. Some items on your Christmas tree such as electrical cords or other pieces of decorations can be extremely dangerous for your cat. So to avoid injury, you have to proof your christmas tree with necessary precautions.
1.1. You Have to Spray Repellants
Most cats dislike citrus scents, so spraying repellants can keep your cat away from your christmas tree. If you are wondering, how to do it, do not worry! It is really easy to make your own repellant. You can use diluted apple cider vinegar as a good repellant as most cats are not fond of this smell and hence, will stay away from your tree. Spray the diluted apple cider vinegar around the base of the tree and you are good to go.
You can also spray bottle water mixed with citronella oil around the tree skirt and you can even keep orange peels along with fresh lemons around the base of the tree or within the lower branches of the tree to keep your cat away from the christmas tree. Make sure to replace the orange peels every few days so that the fresh scent of the oranges remains maintained.
1.2. You have to Cover Your Tree Base with Aluminum Foil
If you are wondering how to cat proof your christmas tree, you can take the help of aluminum foil. Aluminum foil acts as an amazing obstacle to keep your tree cat proof. All you have to do is to wrap your tree trunk and tree skirt entirely with aluminum foil because cats generally dislike the sound and the feel of the foil. As a result, your cat will maintain its distance from the tree. In case, you have a real tree, your cat might get tempted to drink from the opening of the water filled stand, so you can use a foil to cover the opening in order to avoid that situation.
1.3. You Have to Put Decorations Cautiously
Cat proofing your christmas tree can be tough if you put decorations which will be hard for your cat to resist. If you have a cat in your house, you should make your christmas tree more cat-friendly if you want your holiday season to be peaceful. Do not put real candles or dangly ornaments, tinsel and decorative lights on the tree base or tree stand which your cat can easily topple.
Use a thin wire to hang those ornaments tight so that they donโt fall and break from getting hit by the paws of your kitty. Make sure to hang ornaments such as hanging bells on the lower branches of your christmas tree so that even if your cat bites it or tries approaching and chewing it, you get notified by the jangling.
1.4. You Should Put Physical Barrier
In this christmas season, cat owners should go off limits in order to avoid their cats treat the christmas tree as a scratching post. In order to keep your cat away,you have to put pine cones and pine needles near the tree stand so that your cat cannot proceed to climb the christmas tree. Chewing ornaments can lead to digestion issues in your cat, so you have to put pine cones on the solid base of the tree. Also, make sure to remove chairs so that they cannot climb them to reach to your christmas tree.
1.5. Give Your Cat its Own Christmas Tree
If you are wondering how to cat proof your tree and have an enjoyable christmas morning, you can gift your cat a smaller tree. You can decorate the new tree in such a way that your cat can have fun. However, do not put lights or ornaments or tinsel for decorations on the cat tree. Instead use toys because many cats like playing with toys and even edible ornaments as that will distract your cat from your real tree. Make sure to not keep both the trees in the same room as it may cause a hassel.
1.6. You Can Use a Fake Tree
If your cat decides to be mildly toxic and continuously climb the branches or try to affect the lights and ornaments of your christmas tree, you can consider keeping a small artificial tree on a table top in your room so that your cat cannot jump over it. You can use felt decorations or tinsel to make your artificial tree to look pretty.
1.7. Be Extra Cautious with Electrical Cords
Your cats can jump to the christmas tree especially if there are dangling cords in order to chew and bite those bitter things and it can be very harmful for your cats as it will lead to burns and damage. So, in order to avoid that, you can cover the wire with a duct tape on the wall. You can even consider using cord covers or keep the cords covered to the wall with a tape and keep it away from your catโs reach. Also, make sure to use a fishing line to hold the ornaments tight around the tree trunk. Do not forget to switch off the lights before going to sleep to avoid any mishappenings.
1.8. Move Furniture Away from the Tree
Cats are generally born climbers and they like climbing on furnitures or over the walls. So if you place your christmas tree near the furnitures, it will be easier for your cat to reach the tree as there will be more launching points. In order to avoid that, you need to keep your tree away from the rest of your furnitures as far as possible so that it gets difficult for your cat to reach the tree.
1.9. Keep Your Cats Busy
If you have just placed a new christmas tree at your home, it will not be a good decision to keep your cats bored. Cats generally need mental and physical stimulation in their day-to-day activities and if they donโt find any, they will try to indulge in something else or seek that stimulation on their own. Your newly decorated christmas tree will hence become a new toy to scratch for your cat. So, you can try distracting your cat with some new toys or any physical activity that will keep its mind indulged.
Your cats must have been very close to knocking off your christmas tree or even hampered your decoration. No worries! You can easily choose to trick your cat with any of these above-mentioned tricks as they will make your life much easier and you can perfectly spend your Christmas holiday. These methods will not only save your cat from injury but also can prevent further damage to the christmas decorations.
Final Note
As much as you want to enjoy this christmas, you also need to be extra cautious to your cats. Cats do need some extra supervision, especially during your Christmas holidays when there will be a beautifully decked out Christmas tree. Your extra curious cats can mistake the tree as a scratching post and it will not only ruin your decoration but also can cause damage to your catsโ health if ingested anything. So, you can use any of these techniques to keep your cats away from ruining your tree. You can even go one step ahead and surprise your cats with feline companions this Christmas. Hereโs to hoping that you find this article helpful.
FAQs
1. Will it harm my cat if I spray repellants on my Christmas tree?
The answer is No. It will just keep your cat away from the tree as most cats are not fond of citrus smells. You can spray apple cider vinegar or can even use a spray bottle to spray water with citronella oil in order to keep your Christmas tree cat-proof.
2. Is a fake Christmas tree safe for my cat?
A fake Christmas tree is more safe than a real tree and there are fewer chances of poisoning. However, your cat may still get attracted even if itโs an artificial tree because of the dangling lights and decorations.
3. Why does my cat like my Christmas tree so much?
Cats are generally born climbers. They like higher fences where they can climb and your Christmas tree being so tall naturally increases your catโs inclination to jump on the tree. This might be the reason that you canโt keep your cat away from the Christmas tree.
Last Updated on by Sathi
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