It is a truth universally acknowledged that if you have a cat, you will find your Christmas decorations in various states whenever you leave them unattended.
If you have cats you might have a few concerns about putting up your decorations, will they pull down the tree? Will they try to eat pines and get sick? Will they smash the glass baubles?
Don’t fret, we’ve searched the internet and come up with a guide to make sure that you and your cat have a good Christmas.
- Avoid Tinsel
Tinsel can cause blockages in cat’s intenstines, as its shiny and can grab your cats attention, it is easier to just ditch it. - Wait to decorate
Ok, we know this sounds silly, you’ve got the tree out, you’ve got excited children, you want to just get it over with, but wait a few days. Let your cat have a good sniff of the tree and explore it before you add all the sparkly bits. Hopefully, by the time you decorate it, the cat will have had its fun and won’t have any interest in it. Also, it’s a good way to gauge what sort of decorations to go for, if your cat is climbing all over the tree or batting at the branches, go for minimal or robust decorations to prevent breakages. - Clear away pine needles
If you go for a real tree, you’re probably doing this anyway because they are a mess! But you don’t really want your cat eating them. They’re not toxic and generally, cats are pretty fussy about what they eat, but if you have a curious cat that will eat anything, be aware that pine needles could get stuck in their intestines which could result in pricey vet’s bills. - Cover the pot
Again for those of you going for real trees, you’ll know that there is water in the base pot and you’ll need to cover this up.
Fir trees that are produced for Christmas may carry chemicals in their needles, so while your cats might not eat them as they drop, they might try and drink the water which will collect the chemicals, so keep it covered. - Make sure the tree is stable
If you have a cat that does like climbing on the tree or batting at it playfully, make sure your tree is stable. Put your tree somewhere it can be secured and make sure the base part is sturdy and doesn’t wobble. - Citrus
You might know this one already, if your cat won’t stop scratching at stuff or insists on investigating the houseplants, use citrus. Cats don’t like the scent of citrus and luckily, orange is a festive smell, so just spritz the tree with orange oil or use dried citrus rings as decorations, cats will steer clear!
Do you have any top tips for keeping the cats (or maybe its dogs that keep playing with your tree!) let us know!
