With all the glossy ornaments, your Christmas tree represents irresistible playing ground to your cat. At the same time, it poses a huge risk for every cat. Tinsels, fragile balls, and strings may ruin your festive spirit if your furry friend ingests them. To keep your cat off the Christmas tree, veterinarians from Eastshore Vet, the best veterinary clinic in Branford, recommend applying some of these steps.
While the traditional Christmas tree usually brings nature in your home, it also brings a huge risk for your ball of fur. Cats like climbing the tree and enjoy nibbling its branches. By doing that, they might take in toxins from the needles. Because of that, your best option is to use an artificial Christmas tree to keep your cat safe.
Before setting up the Christmas tree, you may want to stop for a second and consider all options regarding its location. Find a place far away from your furniture to prevent a cat from using it as a springboard.
Little kittens tend to chew the wires, but you should be careful with older cats, too. To protect your cat, you may place the lights on the upper half of the Christmas tree, keeping them closer to the center. The idea is to hide the lights inside the branches and make them unapproachable to your cat. You may also want to cover the loose end of the wire with a cord protector.
Cats will most likely try to find out what it is like when they climb the Christmas tree. Before waiting what would happen if they climbed, secure the tree with a stable base. You may also want to fasten the tree to a wall by using a thin rope or fishing line to stabilize the tree.
After you find the right place and set up the tree, wait a day or two with decoration. You may want to give your cat time to explore the tree and get bored with it. When she loses her interest in the Christmas tree, you may hang the ornaments.
Shinny and colorful Christmas balls and ornaments entice cats to play with them. While your cat might struggle to reach the glittering ball from the nearest branch, you risk the tree to topple over your cat. To prevent this scenario, place the ornaments on the first half of the Christmas tree. You may decorate the rest with non-breakable ornaments to avoid a cat to hurt themselves.