posted on December 18, 2000 04:36:27 PM new
Imagine a glowing X-mas tree, complete w/ lights, ribbons, ornaments. The works.
Now imagine 3 weapons of mass destruction (2 young siamese and a persian in here).
What do you get if you mix them all together?
Broken ornaments
Burnt ligts
Ripped ribbons
Hourly sweeping of the Pine tree's needles.
Lots of screaming.
posted on December 18, 2000 05:13:37 PM new
On behalf of myself and my fuzzy ferrets, I would like to disagree with the idea of training cats to attack fuzzy things!!
As for protecting the tree.....I asked my 500 pound feline friend what she suggests. She laughed. Not a good sign.
The only thing that worked kinda ok was to leave the tree on the ground for a few days to let the cat 'explore' it. Then, when you put it up leave the decorations off for a few days so they can climb up and down it. Other than that? Barb-wire?
posted on December 18, 2000 05:24:37 PM new
LOL!! I have a "new" cat myself - he's 6 months old, and my first cat in 10 years. We have had an artificial tree for the last 5 years because I'm afraid my dog will lift his leg on a real one. This year will be interesting to say the least "cat+tree=?" Thank you for the warning, preacher4u, the "weapons of mass destruction" was, I'm sure, the perfect description of what is yet to come. We will be putting our tree up within the next couple of days. (At least maybe the tree will give the parrot a reprieve
posted on December 18, 2000 05:48:38 PM new
I have kind of an amazing cat. His name is Oliver and he adopted us when he was less than 3 months old. Just walked up to the house and refused to leave. We think his parents are feral, as we've sen an older cat like him wandering loose.
We have an indoor dog and an outdoor dog (who moves into an enclosed space in the house in the winter). We kept Oliver on the understanding that he be an outdoor cat. I thought he understod. At first I fed him outdoors, but our dogs are allowed to roam loose several times each day, and while they didn't mind that the cat existed, they kept eating his food.
So, I took to feeding him indoors, putting him out immediately after. He does have a prodigious appetite, do they all eat like that? Oliver has decided that he wants to be an indoors cat, with outside priviledges, like the dog. Plus, now that it's cold, I had planned to lock him in the bathroom at night anyway.
I too worried about the tree, it being his first Christmas. But much to my surprise, after I scolded him a few times for hitting it, and put him out as punishment, he has decided to ignore the tree.
Because I don't know if Oliver truly understands the purpose of kitty litter, he being 8 months old before I let him sleep in the bathroom, I keep trying to put him out during the day. And he tries just as hard to get back in whenever the door is opened.
Oliver spends more time in the house than out, which we find very funny for a "feral" cat.
posted on December 18, 2000 09:09:14 PM new
Here's how we handle the tree and our 6 (yes, 6, including a 7 mo. old kitten) cats. First we put the tree up (artificial) and let it sit for a day or so. Then put on the lights, waited another couple of days. Then put on the ornaments. About the bottom foot or so is almost bare of ornaments. We do have a few cheap, non-breakable ones we put low for them to play with if they feel they must. And NO tinsel!
Oh, and when needed, the best way to get them out from under (or in if they get that far) the tree is a can of compressed air. They hate it and no mess like a water gun. Half the time we don't even need to spray, just show it to them...
posted on December 18, 2000 09:13:14 PM new
I've got a cat/tree problem as well. Spaz is around 8 months old now and is the most NOT graceful cat I've ever seen. I'm thinking about super gluing her to a spot until she's older.
posted on December 18, 2000 09:58:43 PM new
Hi, Mouseslayer. Funny we should meet like this!
Your solution was almost exactly the solution I saw an expert give on TV today! The only difference was that the expert says you should have only unbreakable ornaments on your tree, not just cheap ones on the bottom branches.
And she even agreed with you about "no tinsel"!
It was an "Easy Christmas" (oxymoron?) expert on "The View," and some of what she said actually made sense.
posted on December 19, 2000 12:07:59 AM new
Hi roadsmith!! Yes, it is funny
I used to be a staunch supporter of tinsel, until I had to pull a length of it out of my cat's you-know-where one day. That did it for me, even though I think it hurt me more than the cat...
We end up with a broken ornament maybe every other year or so. I just make sure they're on a strong branch, have a good hook and the part to hold the hook is sturdy. The people in the house probably break more than the animals do
Oh, and having an artificial tree I've noticed helps a lot! They used to get under there to drink the water and that usually led to fooling around. Now there's no fragrant water to tempt them...Although my plastic chewing cat loves ribbon!
posted on December 19, 2000 01:49:44 AM new
no problems this time but my cats are turning into theives
I set my baked cookies on the wax paper layed out on the dining table to cool.
later on, I happened to spot a paw peeking from under the edge of the table and knocked the cookie off the table...
as for my tree, I always drag out my stuffed toy with light-sensitive eyes.
you see.... everytime my cat goes near the tree, they would cast a shadow across the toy's eyes
then the toy will make the odd giggling sound.....
which always startled the cats and they won't go near the tree because of it.
[ edited by toomanycomics on Dec 19, 2000 01:51 AM ]
posted on December 19, 2000 03:36:24 AM new
I consider the cat part of the decorations. Most of the others are on the floor. We've had her two and a half years and have given up trying to keep her out of the tree. She isn't afraid of the compressed air and doesn't seem to mind being wet.
posted on December 19, 2000 08:45:53 AM new
Wow, too bad you can't clone Bubba...
You might try some of that cat repellent stuff that they sell in pet stores. Another thing I've done is not hang breakable ornaments on the cat-reachable branches. The worst thing is tinsel, the cats eat it and then barf it up. So, tinsel only on the top half of the tree and no dropped strands. And, when away from home we shut the cats in the basement so they can't get at tree.
________
I never had one, and I didn't want one, and I don't, so now I do...
posted on December 19, 2000 10:25:38 AM newVictoria, I had an indoor/outdoor cat for over 17 years. She got so spoiled that she would come in from the cold outdoors, use the litter box, and immediately return outside. I'd bet money your cat can be trained almost as well.
posted on December 19, 2000 11:45:04 AM new
We actually would tie the tree down and once Jonsie found he couldn't make it sway back and forth anymore he lost interest.
One year I put tiny chimes on the lower branches and once he discovered them he would walk around the tree making the chimes ring by hitting them with his tail. So that became a tradition for decorating the tree. He is gone now but I still put the chimes on and his stocking still hangs on the mantle.
posted on December 19, 2000 02:18:25 PM new
Er, we trained our cat quite well and very quickly.. by use of a Super Soaker (one of those huge squirt guns?) Would keep it by our sides and when we heard stirs around the tree, all we had to do was pump that baby up and she ran from the room. After a couple of days, we just laid the thing in front of the tree like a gift out for the kids and BINGO. She never went near it again.
PS I might add we only had to squirt her once or twice, and the squirt gun wasn't fully pumped so it didn't knock the wind out 'er sails.
posted on December 20, 2000 06:42:58 AM new
jenado - I use a small squirt gun (I have several of them all around the house just in case). all I have to do now is to pick it up and the cats scatter.
use the word "Outside" and my cats take a dive into their hiding places thinking that I cannot reach for them....
....they still haven't counted on the fact that my arms are MUCH longer than theirs.....
posted on December 21, 2000 07:42:51 AM new
Too many cats plus a two year old = ornaments that are not breakable!
We put up the artificial tree...and within ten minutes had a black and white whiskered face peeking out at me - eye level. Pulled him out. Got two strings of lights on - another eye level visit. He isn't climbing it now...just attacking the stuff he can reach.
We used those bead garlands instead of tinsel, the various ornaments my son has made in school (hung up HIGH!), non-breakable golden apples (Thank you, K-Mart!) and sprigs of artificial flowers. Nothing hung on lower branches.
Loving the idea of the compressed air in a can, tho.... LOL!
posted on December 22, 2000 02:41:13 PM new
Well, am I lucky or what? I have three cats, including two five-month-old kittens. The kittens like the tree and especially the bows on the presents underneath, but they haven't yet attempted to climb it. They've knocked a couple of ornaments off but haven't done any major damage, and I managed to get some cute Christmas-themed kitty pics of them peeking out from behind presents.
What they really loved was the packing materials from a package my parents sent. It was stuffed full of large sheets of packing paper and when we pulled them out of the box we piled them on the floor. The next thing we knew the kittens were literally diving into the pile and plowing it around on the floor. They had a ball!
posted on December 24, 2000 06:18:56 AM new
To avoid potential problems with our 6 month old kitten, we only setup a 3 foot artificial tree with lights and velvet bows. She hasn't so much as touched it, but she does like to take a nap under it.
Wrapping presents was a completely different story. Ribbons, bows, and wrapping paper = cat heaven. Some of the presents have little claw marks on them, but what a joy it was to have our new little friend to help us.
...........
Speaking of cats...
What to do, what to do.
About a month ago, a stray momma cat (complete with kitten) decided to take up residence under our shed. The kitten appears to be about 4 to 5 months old. As the weather started to turn cold, my wife decided to feed them. Now we have four stray cats coming each day to eat, but that's another story. Each morning when I look outside I see an empty food dish, the water dish frozen over, and fresh pawprints in the snow. Shortly after they are cleaned and refilled, the kitten comes to eat. (shivering the entire time) Here is my question...
Should we continue to feed them. Should we stop feeding them for fear they will not be able to fend for themselves in the future, or should we attempt to catch them and take them to a pet adoption center. (it's too late to not feed them in the first place)
posted on December 24, 2000 09:28:52 AM new
MrJim - are there any no-kill shelters in your area? If there are, you might want to contact one and ask what you should do about the strays and especially the kitten. How sad that he comes to eat shivering!
You could call animal control but that would mean that the cats would have a chance of either being adopted or euthanized, but trying to get them placed in a home is better than leaving them to be stray and to breed future generations of strays. I'd have a hard time making the call to animal control, though, if I knew the cats might be euthanized if they're not adopted.
A no kill shelter is your best bet if it's available.
Edited to add: anyone considering adopting a pet, please look at your local shelter! There are lots of cats and dogs who need homes. The place to start on the web is http://www.petshelter.org. You can pull up listings of adoptable cats and dogs, usually complete with pictures, at shelters in your area.
[ edited by RainyBear on Dec 24, 2000 09:33 AM ]
