No. You can not cat-proof a Christmas tree.
You possibly can’t put essentially the most irresistible “cat tree” conceivable within the middle of your private home, grasp “cat toys” from each department, festoon the entire thing with tasty plastic wire, and anticipate the cat to remain away.
Positive, you’ll be able to assemble a fortress across the tree with “cat-proof” Christmas-tree fencing. And you may encompass it with a navy course of electrified scat mats and spiky pads.
However all of your efforts will likely be no match for a smarty-pants cat who has the entire day to do nothing however take into consideration methods to get at that tree.
That doesn’t imply you could’t have a tree. You simply can’t have the precise tree you need within the actual place you may want it. And you may’t enhance it precisely the best way you’d like to embellish it.
I believe it’s a comparatively small value to pay to take pleasure in life with cats for the remainder of the yr, and maintain them secure and wholesome via the vacation season.
Everybody is aware of somebody who has a cat who’d sooner sing karaoke than acknowledge the large Christmas tree within the room. Possibly you’ve gotten that cat and he or she’s sitting along with her again turned to the Christmas tree proper this very minute.
These cats do exist, however don’t assume your cat is one among them.
In actual fact, even when your cat actually IS one among them, don’t assume your cat is one among them.
The minute you begin congratulating your self in your brilliance in selecting a cat who is simply too sensible to mess with a harmful Christmas tree, is the minute your cat will likely be lapping poisonous water from the tree stand.
Educate your self in regards to the potential risks of Christmas timber for “different” cats, and contemplate what you are able to do to maintain your cat secure if you’re out of the room or home, and may’t maintain a watchful eye on him.
Loads of cats reside open air and climb timber day by day, proper? What may very well be so harmful in regards to the one tree you occurred to carry inside?
From the perspective of cat well being and security, there isn’t one benefit of Christmas timber. NOT. ONE. GOOD. THING.
Let’s speak about all of the the reason why cats and Christmas timber don’t work nicely collectively.
Dwell timber
Christmas timber can topple
Bushes residing within the wild are firmly rooted within the earth, secured by a large community of underground roots. If an out of doors cat climbs a tree, it won’t topple.
A Christmas tree is often stored upright in a small, flimsy stand that has a slender base of help. It doesn’t take a lot cat to tug a Christmas tree over.
A typical Christmas tree weighs 50 to 70 kilos[1] and all of that weight might fall in your cat if she pulls it over on herself. You do the maths.
Right here is proof it will probably occur:
Christmas timber have many sharp needles
A researcher in Helsinki, Finland estimates {that a} cultivated Christmas tree has as much as twice as many needles as a wild-grown tree, as much as round 400,000 sharp needles.[2]
Ingestion is the primary concern in the case of sharp pine, fir, or spruce needles. They’ll poke holes in a cat’s digestive tract, or impede a cat’s esophagus, abdomen, or intestines.[3] They’re additionally poisonous (see the subsequent part).
A cat who swallows a needle is in dire, quick want of veterinary assist. This isn’t a wait-and-see-if-she-passes-it type of scenario.
In case you haven’t seen your cat eat a needle, however she is:
- Vomiting
- In ache (hiding, avoiding dealing with, growling)
- Torpid
- Has no real interest in meals or water
- Is drooling, swallowing, lip smacking[4]
don’t wait. Digestive tract perforations and obstructions could be lethal, even if you happen to intervene in time. Give your vet a preventing probability to save lots of your cat’s life.
Christmas timber (and the water they stand in) are poisonous
Pine and fir timber comprise chemical compounds known as terpenes. Terpenes are what make Christmas timber scent so, nicely, Christmas-y.
There are terpenes within the needles, terpenes in tree bark, and terpenes in tree sap. In case your cat simply nibbles on a needle, or gnaws on the stump, he might expertise:
- Lethargy
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Lack of curiosity in meals
- Muscle weak spot
- Drooling
- Issues respiration[5]
The water the tree is sitting in is probably going poisonous, too. Pine resin, tree preservatives, and fireplace retardants sprayed on a tree can leech into the water. Micro organism and mould can develop within the water, too.
A cat who refuses to drink clear, scrumptious water out of her bowl, might discover poisonous water with a tree sitting in it positively irresistible.
(Learn why some cats are fussy about ingesting from their water bowls.)
Synthetic timber
Synthetic timber are sometimes a considerably safer selection for cats. They don’t are likely to drop needles, and a few cats are much less enthusiastic about climbing a faux tree. Some cats. Most likely not your cat.
Synthetic timber are usually lighter, too. A fast survey of 7-foot synthetic timber bought on Amazon.com means that they weigh within the vary of 10 to 40 kilos.
However synthetic timber are not at all secure for cats.
Synthetic Christmas timber are sometimes manufactured from poisonous supplies
Most synthetic timber are made in China from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is a type of plastic. PVC releases irritating gases into the air.
PVC is usually blended with result in stabilize it, and phthalates to make the PVC extra versatile. All of those chemical compounds are likely to shed into the air and accumulate as mud on surfaces.
Phthalates and lead have been implicated in lots of well being issues in folks, together with diabetes, weight problems, reproductive issues (for phthalates), and neurological injury (for lead).[6]
Many synthetic tree producers at this time promote their merchandise as being freed from PVCs. It is likely to be value changing an older synthetic tree with a more recent, safer mannequin.
Every thing else that’s fallacious with Christmas timber for cats
“My cat loves our tree. She thinks we set it up for her and sleeps on the tree skirt, hides underneath the branches, and performs with the ornaments.” – anonymousprincess[7]
Ornaments
So far as the cat is worried, they’re not ornaments, they’re the world’s most alluring cat toys: they’re shiny, they’re dangly, and a few of them even fall and break if you play with them!
Anticipate your cat to turn into obsessive about a totally adorned tree.
Some ornaments are delicate and shatter into shards upon falling. Others are comprised of tiny items that may very well be nibbled off and swallowed. Paint and glitter could be licked, and are most actually not non-toxic for cats.
Some ornaments or tree decorations are manufactured from meals: dough, macaroni, and popcorn. A cat who is likely to be finicky in regards to the Ocean Whitefish Pate that you just purchased particular from the native boutique pet store, may not be above gnawing on a glued-on raw elbow macaroni.
String lights
They could be Christmas lights to you, however they’re string to kitties.
Not solely that, they’re string lined in plastic. Learn this submit for extra details about why cats are significantly drawn to chewing plastic.
Cats who chew via string lights (Or, consider it or not, chew and intentionally break the bulbs. I’m not making this up.[8]) might find yourself with a burn within the mouth, or worse, a deadly electrocution.
Tinsel and ribbon
Tinsel and ribbon are string, and enjoying with string is a looking sport for cats. The ultimate stage of the hunt is the kill chew. As soon as a cat chomps down on a chunk tinsel or ribbon, he should swallow it. The design of the barbs on cat’s tongue, which face towards the again of the throat, make it virtually not possible for a cat to spit out a swallowed piece of tinsel or ribbon.
A swallowed piece of string (or ribbon or tinsel) turns into a linear overseas physique in a cat’s digestive tract.
Some swallowed string will make its merry method to the litter field, whereas some string will turn into you and your cat’s worst nightmare because it gathers up and saws via the intestines. Learn all about linear overseas our bodies and cats on this submit.
All will not be misplaced. You possibly can nonetheless love cats and rejoice Christmas. However you might need to make a couple of changes. Your particular person cat will assist you resolve what modifications are needed.
If you need Christmas to be 100% secure in your cat
“Mine love the tree yearly. I attempted cat repellent one yr – a TINY quantity as a result of I knew one among mine was very delicate to it. That one discovered it so terrible, she’d cease lifeless in her tracks a stable 15 ft from the tree, and mainly averted the lounge for per week. The opposite nibbled delicately the place I might sprayed, making eye contact the entire time.”
– SandboxUniverse[9]
In case you don’t need to fear about your cat in any respect in the course of the vacation season, you’ve gotten two selections:
Lock the tree behind closed doorways
You possibly can have no matter type of tree that you really want if you happen to put it in a room and maintain the cat out of that room. Don’t let the cat sneak in. There may be nothing so alluring, so seductive, so fascinating as a closed door to a cat. It’s one of many causes cats have to hitch you within the lavatory.
You possibly can have a 10-foot balsam fir, cloaked with multi-colored mild bulbs, and handblown, imported glass ornaments, if the cat is rarely allowed within the room with the tree.
Get a picket tree
Till cats, I didn’t even know picket timber existed. They don’t seem to be low cost, and so they don’t scent like a Christmas tree, however they’re stunning and they are often erected in your lounge, even in case you have 12 cats.
There are lots of types to select from, however most mean you can grasp ornaments on them, identical to an actual tree.
Listed below are a few types I discovered on Etsy:
Different issues that assist make Christmas timber safer for cats
“We’ve not had a correct Christmas with our cats however one among them is terrified by hairdryers even when they’re off, so I believe getting a couple of damaged hairdryers and laying them on the base would create a kitty forcefield round it.”
Not all cats do all of the issues.
Some cats eat pine needles. Some cats climb the tree. Some cats destroy ornaments. Some cats chew wires, and a few cats drink out of the water trough.
Now, simply because the crime YOU THINK your cat commits is climbing the tree, doesn’t imply he isn’t additionally secretly nibbling wires. Not one of the ideas I’m about to supply will defend your cat as fully as locking the tree in a room, or getting a non-tree tree.
So, with that big caveat:
Think about a synthetic tree
Though not “secure,” synthetic timber are barely much less harmful (see why above) than reside timber for cats.
Think about changing your outdated synthetic tree
In case you already personal a synthetic tree, discover out what it’s manufactured from. Think about changing an older tree with a more recent mannequin that isn’t manufactured from PVC.
Select safer ornaments
A home with a cat is not any place for dangling vintage and delicate glass ornaments. Exchange your breakable ornaments with ornaments manufactured from wooden, material, or straw.
In case your cat takes a swat at an opulent decoration, and it falls, it gained’t shatter and damage your cat.
Keep away from tinsel or popcorn strands
Keep away from string and string-like décor. A swallowed piece of tinsel can turn into a lethal linear overseas physique. It won’t be a merry Christmas Eve within the pet emergency middle whereas your cat undergoes life-saving surgical procedure to take away an embedded piece of tinsel from her digestive tract.
P.S. In case you ever see tinsel or string of any variety dangling from a cat’s bottom, don’t pull it. Doing so might trigger inside injury to a cat’s gastrointestinal system.
Strive battery-operated vacation lights
If a cat bites via Christmas lights plugged right into a 120-volt outlet within the wall, she might expertise burns, shock, and even dying.
There will likely be comparatively little quick danger to your cat’s life if he decides to snack on battery-operated fairy lights as a substitute of conventional string lights.
The chance of consuming plastic and wire stay, nonetheless.
Bolt the tree to a wall
Use heavy fishing line to safe the tree to eye hooks screwed into studs close to the ceiling or behind the tree, close to the highest.
Bolt the stand to plywood (or make the stand further heavy)
Make the tree tougher to topple by extending the bottom. Bolt a standard tree stand to a big piece of plywood.
You may also make the tree tougher to topple by duct-taping the bottom to one thing very heavy, like cinder blocks.
Wire ornaments to the tree
Forestall cats from batting each decoration to the bottom by firmly wiring them to branches, slightly than simply hanging them loosely with ribbon or hooks.
Present interesting perches within the room with the tree
I don’t have numerous religion that MORE perches will forestall your cat from climbing the ONE perch you don’t need him to climb, however if you happen to’re decided to have a tree, it’s value a strive.
Put new cat timber within the room with the Christmas tree. Add cat wall shelving, and different perches which may be extra interesting than climbing the tree.
Make the unreal tree boring
Earlier than assembling the unreal tree, depart the field (with the tree inside) within the tree room for a day or two.
Then depart it opened, however unassembled for an additional day or two.
Then put the tree up, however don’t enhance it proper method.
Hopefully, the tree will lose its magical enchantment as an thrilling new object by the point you grasp ornaments.
However don’t rely on it.
Depart the underside branches undecorated
This recommendation is for an aged or disabled cat, or a cat who, for no matter cause, you’ll be able to rely on to not climb the tree.
Simply put the entire ornaments out of attain.
Some fixes are worse than the issue. Listed below are a couple of of these:
Don’t spray the tree with fragrance or citrus oils
Cats discover many perfumes and citrus odors offensive. However perfumes and citrus oils comprise important oils that are dangerous to cats.
Oranges and lemons, for instance, comprise important oils, together with limonene and psoralen, that are very dangerous to cats. Learn all about important oils and cats on this submit for extra info on their risks.
Don’t frighten the cat with the tree
There’s a TikTok pattern that encourages guardians to chase their cats with timber, or branches from the tree, to discourage their cats from later climbing the tree.
I suppose the thought is to create a unfavourable affiliation with the Christmas tree. However, on this case, the treatment is worse than the illness.
Your cat is in her house, a spot the place she is meant to really feel protected and safe. She expects you to maintain her secure.
What’s so horrible about instilling somewhat worry of Christmas timber in your cat? Research have proven even one worry occasion may cause long-lasting worry in cats. It turns into embedded within the amygdala within the mind.[11]
Worry in some cats’ brains doesn’t simply cease on the Christmas tree, sadly. Worry can begin spreading to different objects and locations, in some circumstances, turning into phobias.[12]
It’s a tough factor, being answerable for one other residing being who might share your enthusiasm for all issues Christmas, however not in the best way you’d want them to.
Cats are simply hardwired to climb, chew, and play with issues. After they do issues that we people discover naughty, they’re usually simply behaving in the best way nature supposed them to behave.
It’s as much as us to discover a resolution that works for them, even when that resolution includes tacking a paper tree to the wall.
Meowy Christmas.
You may additionally take pleasure in these associated posts:
Essentially the most hilarious Christmas cat memes and cartoons
The 12 days of Christmas risks in your cat
Love Pinterest? Here is a Pinterest-friendly pin in your boards!
Daybreak LaFontaine is a lifelong animal lover who all the time appears to have somewhat pet hair in her keyboard. Her weblog, Kitty Contemplations, helps cat guardians higher perceive and look after the particular beings they share their lives and houses with. Her cat-products enterprise, Cat within the Field, sells stunning, well-made, and award-winning merchandise that she designed to fulfill the organic wants of cats.
_______________
FOOTNOTES
[1] Barry, Keith. “How you can Safely Drive House with a Christmas Tree. and Ought to You Adorn Your Automobile with Lights?” Client Studies, www.consumerreports.org/automobiles/cars-driving/how-to-bring-home-a-christmas-tree-safely-a2034416158/. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.
[2] Karjalainen, Tero. “Researcher Amazed at Variety of Needles in Christmas Tree – Sufficient to Cowl Your Bed room Flooring Utterly.” Forest.Fi, 19 Dec. 2023, forest.fi/article/researcher-amazed-at-number-of-needles-in-christmas-tree/.
[3] “Are Christmas Bushes Poisonous to Cats?” PetMD, www.petmd.com/cat/are-christmas-trees-toxic-cats. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.
[4] “Bowel Obstruction/Intestinal Blockage in Cats.” PDSA, www.pdsa.org.uk/pet-help-and-advice/pet-health-hub/situations/bowel-obstructionintestinal-blockage-in-cats. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.
[5] Taylor, Lauren. “Are Christmas Bushes Secure for Cats?” The Dodo, 11 Dec. 2020, www.thedodo.com/dodowell/are-christmas-trees-toxic-to-cats.
[6] Chejadmin. “Synthetic Christmas Tree.” The Middle for Well being, Surroundings & Justice, 1 Mar. 2023, chej.org/artificial-christmas-tree
[7] R/Catadvice on Reddit: Is It Doable to Have a Christmas Tree and a Cat?, www.reddit.com/r/CatAdvice/feedback/qywylw/is_it_possible_to_have_a_christmas_tree_and_a_cat/. Accessed 5 Dec. 2024.
[8] R/Christmasdecorating on Reddit: Hope You Consultants Can Assist; I Want Ideas Cat-Proof Christmas Lights, www.reddit.com/r/ChristmasDecorating/feedback/18oowhx/hope_you_experts_can_help_i_need_suggestions/. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
[9] R/Catadvice on Reddit: Is It Doable to Have a Christmas Tree and a Cat?
[10] ibid
[11] “Pavlovian Worry Conditioning.” Pavlovian Worry Conditioning – an Overview | ScienceDirect Matters, www.sciencedirect.com/subjects/psychology/pavlovian-fear-conditioning.
[12] Howard, Brian Clark. “Individuals Are Scaring Their Cats with Cucumbers. They Should not.” Nationwide Geographic, 4 Dec. 2015, www.nationalgeographic.com/information/2015/11/151117-cats-cucumbers-videos-behavior/.
