For cats, Christmas timber should appear like big glowing play toys. Sadly, in addition they pose a hazard to cats and might trigger a irritating scenario for cat homeowners.
Maintain off adorning your Christmas tree this season till you see how your cat reacts. After cautious remark, you may determine which precautions are wanted to guard your cat and ornaments. Listed below are seven tricks to preserve cats away out of your Christmas tree.
Select Your Tree Properly
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There are a number of issues to remember when selecting your Christmas tree. First, cats who ingest resin or needles from a pine or fir tree could expertise nausea or abdomen harm. These with cats vulnerable to nibble on off-limits objects ought to take into account a man-made tree.
Additionally, stagnant water incorporates micro organism that may trigger gastrointestinal points. Keep away from water components to increase tree freshness as these could include dangerous preservatives and fertilizers.
In case your kitty is prone to climb and knock over the tree, decide a smaller tree that can trigger much less injury if toppled. One of the best Christmas tree for properties with cats could be a small tabletop tree that may be closed off in one other room when the kitties are out and about or arrange in a room totally out of bounds to any felines in the course of the Christmas season.
Spray Repellants
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Spray repellents can preserve your cats away from the tree, and it’s straightforward to make your individual. Some cats dislike citrus scents, so strive a twig of water combined with citrus or citronella oil.
You can even place recent lemon and orange peels across the base or inside the branches. Substitute the peels each few days to take care of the recent scent. Diluted apple cider vinegar sprayed across the base may also be deterrent to cats who aren’t keen on the odor.
Wrap Your Tree Base With Aluminum Foil
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An efficient impediment to maintain cats away from a Christmas tree is aluminum foil. Wrap the tree trunk and base totally with aluminum foil. Since most cats don’t just like the sound or really feel of foil, they’ll preserve their distance from the tree. You probably have an actual tree, cowl the opening of the water-filled stand with foil in order that your cat is not tempted to drink.
Include Cords
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Dangling electrical cords are an invite for cats to play and chunk. If a cat bites via a wire, it will possibly result in burns and electrocution.
Use wire covers and tape the cords to the wall from the outlet to the tree to maintain them out of your cat’s attain. When adorning the tree, wrap the lights across the tree trunk so they don’t seem to be as accessible. Remember to unplug the lights while you fall asleep and earlier than you allow the home.
Safe Your Tree
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Regardless of your greatest efforts, your cat should get into your Christmas tree. The tree have to be well-secured so your curious kitty doesn’t by chance knock the entire thing down. Begin with a heavy tree stand or add weights to a lighter stand to maintain the tree firmly on the bottom. You can even connect the tree stand to a heavy piece of plywood to maintain it safe.
Be sure you place the tree close to a wall. Connect a skinny wire or clear fishing line to the highest of the tree and fasten it to the wall or ceiling to make sure the tree stays upright.
Enhance Judiciously
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In case your tree is roofed with sparkly, dangly baubles, it will not matter how a lot pungent repellant you spray on it: Your cat will probably be hard-pressed to withstand.
For a extra cat-friendly Christmas tree, do not hold any breakable decorations on the decrease half of the tree. Preserve low branches free from all ornaments and potential temptations. Use wire to lock ornaments to branches to scale back the chance of them falling off and breaking if pawed by an keen cat.
Think about hanging bells on the bottom branches of the tree so in case your cat approaches, you will be notified by the rapid jangling and might intervene extra rapidly.
Warning
Keep away from adorning with tinsel or edible ornaments altogether. Each are hazardous to cats if ingested.
Put Up Roadblocks
Treehugger / Jordan Provost
Relying upon the dimensions of your tree (and your kitten), you could possibly put obstacles in place to maintain your cat out of the Christmas tree. Take away chairs and tables which may function a launching pad to assist your cat soar increased into the tree.
An train pen, fence, or child gate may also be positioned across the tree to restrict your cat’s entry. Some cats don’t like stepping on pine cones and gained’t get too shut if they’re positioned across the base of the tree. They could really feel much more deterred if these annoying pine cones are sprayed with apple cider vinegar, a odor they dislike.
Some cat homeowners have had luck surrounding their Christmas timber with crumpled-up plastic baggage, strains of masking tape (sticky aspect up), and partitions of wrapped items (some empty ones as fillers within the barrier). Relying in your cat’s character and preferences, these ways could or could not work.
Why Pets Matter to Treehugger
At Treehugger, we’re advocates of animal welfare, together with our pets and different home animals. The higher we perceive our cats, the higher we will help and shield their wellbeing. We hope our readers will undertake rescue pets as an alternative of procuring from breeders or pet shops, and also will take into account supporting native animal shelters.