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Cats and Christmas Trees

Gypsy

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So... has anyone had a cat climb, knock down, destroy, or otherwise assault a Christmas tree?

My Facebook page is flooded with Memes like the below but with 6 cats (and another 4 I've had in the past) I've never had one do anything more than run off with an ornament or 6 (and stash them away).

We have a new cat this year. And she was raised in a Pet Smart adoption cage before she got to us so everything is REALLY new to her. And I thought for sure with her personality she would attack it or something but so far nothing.

I should note that I always put the tree up for at least 48 hours without lights or ornaments so the cats can adjust and explore. But I've never come across a cat climbing a tree or anything. So I'm wondering... how many of you have?

merry-christmas-meme-dog-201.jpg
 

dk168

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I only have a very small artificial tree if at all, and the cat has never paid any notice to it.

DK :))
 

missy

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Interesting. My cats love to eat the branches and yes they also attack it/assault it by jumping onto it but I have never seen them actually climb it. They love to knock off the ornaments however causing us to have to place them higher and higher each year LOL. Ornaments seem to be catnip to them haha. Our tree is going up soon so hoping they just lay under it as they finally did last year after a lot of admonishing on my part LOL. Here's a pic of them last year after they finally made peace with our tree. :big smile: Tommy and Bobby are laying underneath it in this pic.

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katharath

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Yes. My two cats have utterly destroyed our tree. We bought a fairly expensive fake tree about 3 yrs ago, hoping to use it for 10-15 yrs - it's now destroyed. The cats will climb it, knock it over, have busted the main supports of almost every branch from their endless climbing (so that they all hang low, wrong/distorted), they chew pieces of the tree itself off; they will EAT Christmas lights (yes the actual lights), chew through electrical cords, and they've broken countless ornaments. And it's a decent sized tree too, a 9 footer.


It's pretty frustrating. Let me just say that my cats are lucky I love them so much!!!

Here are a couple of pics from back when I used to think it was "cute"...and the cats were physically much smaller then so inflicted less damage. They also enjoy play fighting inside and under the tree. It will shake so hard that ornaments fall off and occasionally it will tip over.

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missy

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Omg Katharath, your sweet kitties look like precious elves in your tree. :love: :love: :love:
I know it's not funny but gosh they look so precious in your pics. :kiss: :halo:
 

Calliecake

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When I was a kid and baby sitting I had a cat get into the tree. I was putting the kids to bed and we heard a very loud crash. The cat Climbed up the tree and knocked it over. All the ornaments were broken, branches were broken and the lights quit working,. It was a huge mess not to mention how scared the kids and I were because we thought someone broken into the house. I was probably about 13 at the time.

Kath, That picture is hysterical!
 

katharath

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Missy and Callie - thanks :). It *is* funny, and I think they're cute in the tree too - but after years of destruction, it starts to get frustrating, lol!! My kids still enjoy seeing the cats' behavior but that's bc they never have to do the cleanup.

I love my cats though, so I put up with their Christmas crazies.

Oh and Callie - that sounds awful!!! I would've freaked if that had happened while I was babysitting!!
 

Gypsy

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Katharath, this is for you. Your kids are so cute (and naughty!):

12373445_768332066606178_7742194401367678982_n.jpg
 

Gypsy

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Calliecake|1450630569|3963881 said:
When I was a kid and baby sitting I had a cat get into the tree. I was putting the kids to bed and we heard a very loud crash. The cat Climbed up the tree and knocked it over. All the ornaments were broken, branches were broken and the lights quit working,. It was a huge mess not to mention how scared the kids and I were because we thought someone broken into the house. I was probably about 13 at the time.

Kath, That picture is hysterical!


That must have been really scary! Wow. Bad kitty!
 

Gypsy

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missy|1450618777|3963825 said:
Interesting. My cats love to eat the branches and yes they also attack it/assault it by jumping onto it but I have never seen them actually climb it. They love to knock off the ornaments however causing us to have to place them higher and higher each year LOL. Ornaments seem to be catnip to them haha. Our tree is going up soon so hoping they just lay under it as they finally did last year after a lot of admonishing on my part LOL. Here's a pic of them last year after they finally made peace with our tree. :big smile: Tommy and Bobby are laying underneath it in this pic.


Ahh, more naughty kiddos. They look so angelic in that shot.
 

azstonie

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:lol: :lol: :lol: gypsy and kath!!!! Love the pics and meme, hilarious!!!!

My Westies just open up any wrapped gifts under the tree :roll:
 

sonnyjane

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It was our first Christmas together with my current kitty and I completely expected him to knock it over, and he didn't disappoint. Luckily just once because I think it spooked him when it fell.

My friend posted this on my wall after I posted "TREE DOWN!"

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Gypsy

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Oh, how cute Sonnyjane!!

I love that!
 

Gypsy

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This is actually my favorite tree meme. Makes me giggle every time I see it. :lol:

unl4xlb.jpg
 

katharath

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Lol - great pics everyone, and thanks for "mine" above, Gypsy :)

I have to admit that it does make me feel a LOT better knowing that it's a fairly common issue, and not just my little hell cats, lol. (Actually, my cats are super sweet and the best kitties I've ever known, so I'm willing to forgive them a lot).
 

KaeKae

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I LOVE that "tree fainted meme."

I remember one year, the kitten I had would take a running leap at the tree, land all legs splayed and fall the ground, taking any ornaments in her path. Thankfully, the roommate I had at the time also had a cat and thought it was funny, but I kept the cat in my room during the day for the next few weeks.

My current cat just likes to sit under the tree, with a puzzled look on his face. I'll see if I can get a picture, but I swear that little guy, pretty as he is, is camera shy and runs away when he sees me with the phone.
 

lulu

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My guys haven't touched the tree even though I favor bird ornaments.

I did have a cat named Sophie who was feral and she used to sleep halfway up the artificial tree and she never knocked an ornament off. I'd just hear tinkling and I knew she was on her way for a nap. I wonder if she slept in trees when she lived in the woods. I miss Sophie.
 

Andelain

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Gypsy|1450660452|3964053 said:
This is actually my favorite tree meme. Makes me giggle every time I see it. :lol:

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


I had a calico that I'd brought back from Germany years ago that liked to knock my tree down every night. That big old tree was no match for that tiny scrap of a cat!
 

lambskin

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Our cat likes to eat tinsel. :errrr: So we do not use it anymore. Our cat is attracted to the low danglies and try to swat /bite them but he has left the tree pretty much alone. :appl: Now if we could get him to hang his stocking....
 

missy

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OMG Gypsy, I didn't realize Tommy read PS but I think he read this thread and decided to go for it. Our Christmas tree went up this morning and it's evening here and we are relaxing watching a movie. Just a few minutes ago we heard a rustling in the Christmas tree and wouldn't you know it. That little devil was climbing the tree. :devil: Snapped a pic but then he ran down because he saw me coming. :lol:

tommyclimbingtree2015.jpg
 

canuk-gal

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Scallywags!!

:bigsmile: but so adorable....
 

Matata

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katharath

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Missy - lol, so funny!! Love it.

Lambskin - one of my cats does that too (eats tinsel). He will eat ANYTHING that is long/stringlike - we really have to watch him. He's tried to eat yo-yo strings, yarn, etc, many many times. It scares me bc I know it can be very dangerous, so it's a house rule that we can never leave anything like that out. I really have to be careful with the tree lights bc the cord appeals to him too, I've caught him chewing on it. Usually we are ok though bc the tree itself fascinates him so much that he leaves the lights alone. That same cat also loves chewing on plastic bags, like the kind that companies use to ship things (the Old Navy bag that they shipped my kids pjs in is a recent example). He will chew and EAT the plastic, he loves the edges of the bag in particular. He's so weird!


I don't know what it is exactly, but I do think the tree climbing stuff is funny; I think for me, it's bc my cats seem to think they're wild cats in the jungle, when they're just silly house cats in a fake tree. Sort of like the equivalent of little kids playing dress up? The behavior just makes me laugh, bc I imagine my cats feeling all puffed up like big predators in the wild, lol.
 

Gypsy

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Maybe it's fake trees that appeal to them? How are they with real trees?

Missy, LMAO. Sorry to be a bad influence.
 

arkieb1

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Our Burmese who was a kitten last year went up the fake full sized tree every time we were not looking, he thought it was a kitty gym.... smashed a large number of porcelain and glass ornaments, so I took the remaining breakable ones off. This year I put up a tiny 1/4 sized tree, so far so good but he knocked over a smaller tree at my mothers house 3 times trying to get the ornaments off it to play with :shock:

Maybe the fake trees hold a heavier weight than real trees? My kitty goes up it like a rat....
 

katharath

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We've only had fake trees since we've had cats, so I don't know how they compare - good question.
 

Gypsy

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Oh crap. Penny ignored the tree by itself ( up 48 hours alone). Ignored the tree with lights (up 24 hours alone). But the minute mommy pulled out the shiny stuff and started hanging things on the tree... she's now INTRIGUED.

Intrigued is a VERY VERY BAD THING. With an oddly athletic, oddly spazzy 1.5 year old energetic kitty.
 

Andelain

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Gypsy|1450936310|3965638 said:
Oh crap. Penny ignored the tree by itself ( up 48 hours alone). Ignored the tree with lights (up 24 hours alone). But the minute mommy pulled out the shiny stuff and started hanging things on the tree... she's now INTRIGUED.

Intrigued is a VERY VERY BAD THING. With an oddly athletic, oddly spazzy 1.5 year old energetic kitty.

Uh-oh.......................

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 

Gypsy

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Andelain|1450939101|3965663 said:
Gypsy|1450936310|3965638 said:
Oh crap. Penny ignored the tree by itself ( up 48 hours alone). Ignored the tree with lights (up 24 hours alone). But the minute mommy pulled out the shiny stuff and started hanging things on the tree... she's now INTRIGUED.

Intrigued is a VERY VERY BAD THING. With an oddly athletic, oddly spazzy 1.5 year old energetic kitty.

Uh-oh.......................

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


Well, I gave her a talking to.

I told her that if she knocks down the tree or breaks the ornaments she is going down in history as our worst cat ever. Especially as she's peed on Mommy twice already (she has).

So we'll see.
 

jordyonbass

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azstonie|1450654613|3963998 said:
My Westies just open up any wrapped gifts under the tree :roll:

My guys do the exact same thing, we can't leave them out and since we can't leave them out we're like 'Well what is the point of a xmas tree with no presents', so we haven't bothered with it this year.
 
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