A Arabian tea - proof Christmas tree can help you enjoy the holidays without worry about your feline friend turn your gay display into a climb gymnasium . Think about it . From your cat ’s view , a Christmas Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree may be the best gift ever . Jumping ! climb ! Pawing at ornaments ! In other word of honor , it ’s just not realistic to imagine that your cat-o'-nine-tails wo n’t try and scamper up the tree diagram and toy with the palm — unless he ’s elderly , infirm , oroverweight .
So keep your kitty safe by taking some care to cat - proof your Christmas Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree in front of the holiday .
What Type of Christmas Tree Is Best for Cats?
alive Tree : Choose a Christmas tree diagram with pet - friendly , pliable needles , such as a Douglas true fir or white pine tree . Their needle wo n’t stick in your cat ’s paws . Some true cat care to eat stray needles , which can do gag and seriously overturned tummies . Keep your vacancy handywhile the tree is up to keep the story clean of debris .
Artificial Trees : gratefully , fake trees wo n’t dry out up and drop needle ( or at least not as many ! ) and their offset will be less tempting for your feline ally to smack . zip the aluminum tree , though ; your cat would n’t be able to resist its glitter . And realize you ’ll still need to cat - proof an contrived tree — because when it comes to kitty finding a high-pitched place to light , fake is as honorable as real .
modest tree : Imagine your cat ’s athleticism causing a to the full loaded tree to topple . A shorter , lighter specimen is less likely to bruise your computerized axial tomography or to erupt other target when it come to the flooring ( or the chocolate mesa ) . And you ’ll spend less time strip up the resulting sight if it happens .
Danielle Donders / Getty
Cat-Proofing Your Christmas Tree Stand
Use a satisfying tree base with enough heft to hold the tree good . serve the bag do its job by securing the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree to the ceiling or bulwark with sportfishing ancestry ( a.k.a . monofilament ) . And see that there ’s nothing you could pour into the tree diagram stand that will lengthen a impertinent Christmas tree ’s life — aside from saucy urine . So leave out so - called helpful additive like plant food , chicken soup , frump urine ( yuck ! ) , or bleach . accord to the Independent Veterinary Practitioners Association ( IVPA ) , those bundle that descend with a tree diagram from the entrepot contain preservatives , fertiliser , pesticide , and other harmful chemicals for cats and click .
These additives will make stagnant , bacteria - lade water even more dangerous for your feline friend to wassail . The IVPA recommend covering the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree water supply to prevent your cat from quenching his thirst and getting sick . Some Arabian tea possessor even cover the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree skirt with presents to further camouflage that tempting basin of water .
How to Protect Your Cat and Your Christmas Tree Decorations
Both your decorations and your cat ’s safety may be at risk if he make up one’s mind to turn those swing ornaments into a quat toy , or even forged , go up its branches for a better survey .
1. Set Up a Barrier Around Your Tree
Keep your curious kitty on the ground by setting up a barrier around the base of the tree — consider lattice fencing , aChristmas Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree gate , or even piece of furniture . And just in face your cat ’s a jumper , display delicate gaffer or shabu ornaments and tree toppers beyond his reach . Another ( safer ) position to show them off could be the fireplace mantel , bookcase shelves , or in a closed in , secure cabinet with glass doors . Place the tree diagram far away from table or chairman that may provide a spot for him to vault into the atmosphere , too .
2. Keep Fragile Tree Decorations Out of Reach
The IVPA suggests get certain your ornament and hooks are firmly hung high on the branch when decorating your tree diagram . If they should strike or break , your pet could either step on them and rationalise their paws or eat the spell . flow them high also celebrate the temptation to wager with them like toys at bay . Some preferred parents even lead the tree ’s bottom branches unornamented and start dress at a level eminent enough to make their cat lose interest .
Any broken ornaments should be cleaned up right away to keep your pet from stepping on — or take in — penetrating shards of glass or charge card , allege Douglas Kratt , DVM , former chairman of theAmerican Veterinary Medical Association . Kratt and his wife , Dr. Kimberly Kratt , own Central Animal Hospital in La Crosse , Wis.
" When cats see something shiny dangling from a tree diagram branch , they ’re going to bat it , " Kratt says . " They might even bite into it . They do n’t know it ’s going to go against . And when they take the air across the rugged pieces , they do n’t screw they might tailor their pad . "
Kailey Whitman
3. Skip the Tinsel
" They ’re attracted by the radiance , " say Jerry Klein , DVM and Chief Veterinary Officer for theAmerican Kennel Club(AKC ) . " And they ’ll need to eat it , which will make dyspepsia " or potentially an obstruction .
Do You Need to Cat-Proof Your Christmas Tree Lights and Battery-Powered Decorations?
Yes ! Keep your cat ’s paws out from wires , electrical cords , and batteries . If chew , wires and cords can cause a potentially fatal electrical electric shock . Punctured batteries can leak alkaline or acid fabric that will damage your pet ’s back talk and esophagus .
But do n’t think you have to give up all the cool clobber ! you may put your Christmas tree diagram behind a roadblock or " plant " it on a tabletop that thwarts your kitty ’s plans . You may also want to startle nose the light around the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree at a altitude out of your cat ’s range — and labour them as far inside the branches as possible — to make them harder for your pet to access .
Protect Your Cat From Toxic Holiday Plants, Too
Though they may look nice throughout your home during the holiday , there are quite a few festive winterplants that are poisonous for cats(and dogs , too ) . Besides pine needles from your Christmas Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , the IVPA says to watch out forpoinsettias , mistletoe , and holly berry , all of which can make rima oris irritation , gastric distress , or even death for cats . Amaryllis is toxic for qat , too . And especially watch out forlilies , which are pop for holiday throughout the year , as these can causekidney failureand last .
Safer holiday plants for petsto seat around the mansion instead at Christmas time include :
Other Tips to Keep Kitty Out of the Christmas Tree
" And some cats do n’t like the olfaction of pine , " Kratt aver . " There ’s no perfect solution . So I recommend try totrain your catto stay away from it on the whole . Training goes a long way with cats and Christmas trees . "
A variation of this article first appeared inHappy Paws Fall / Winter 2019 .
Amaryllis . ASPCA .
Christmas Dagger . ASPCA .
