Cats and Christmas trees often make a bad combination. Keepsake ornaments may become broken and your angel on the top of the tree replaced by your furry feline.
Here are a few suggestions on how to keep your cat from becoming part of your Christmas decorations:
Often cats do not approach a tree from the floor. Moving furniture away from the Christmas tree may help with your flying feline’s escapades onto your Christmas tree. Putting a wide funnel of stiff cardboard or plastic wrapped around the base of the tree may dampen the “climbing monkey” in your cat. Use tape to fasten the funnel to the trunk, with the wider part of the funnel facing the ground.
Hanging citrus scents from the tree may discourage your cat. Cats are not fond of citrus fragrances. Lemon-scented air fresheners or cloth sprayed with citrus scent placed on the lower limbs close to the trunk may help. You can hide these in with your tree ornaments and your cat will still smell their aroma.
Finally, mouse traps wrapped in thick paper (even thick Christmas paper) wrapped around the trunk may help. When your cat steps on the mouse traps, they will snap shut, not harming the cat but making an unpleasant noise. Cats do not appreciate sudden noises. After a few snaps, your cat usually finds the Christmas tree more enjoyable to look at than climb. You can then remove the mouse traps.
At Christmas time, be careful of ribbon, twine, yarn, tinsel and strings. Cats love to play with these and can swallow them. This may cause serious intestinal blockage by wrapping around the intestine. If a blockage occurs it often requires surgery.
Tinsel hanging from a Christmas tree sparkles and catches your kitty’s eye; it may be irresistible. If you have a curious cat, it is best not to use curling ribbon on gifts that cats can reach. Twine looks so natural but also has a potential to cause harm. Ribbon that is an inch wide or larger is not as tempting for cats to play with.
Holly, mistletoe, philodendron, oleanders, azaleas, lilies and yew are toxic to cats. Poinsettias are irritants to the mouth. Also, extension cords and electric strings of Christmas lights may shock playful kitties.
During the Christmas holidays we often have family and friends visiting. It is a good idea to keep your cat indoors to avoid a possible bad encounter with a car.
When the nights get cooler, cats occasionally climb up into a car’s engine to keep warm or lie under the car for the heat coming from under the vehicle. So this is another good reason to keep your cat indoors. If your cat is an outdoor cat, recommend your guests check under their car and knock on the hood before starting the engine.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all Noozhawk readers and their furry feline and canine pals, too.
— Dr. Bonnie Franklin is a veterinarian who grew up in Santa Barbara and owns Your Pals Pet Hospital in Goleta. She earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from a joint program of Washington State University and Oregon State University, a master’s degree in wildlife biology from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and does consulting work with the U.S. Forest Service. Click here to contact her, and click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are her own.