Here are 5 Simple Tips to Keep Your Cat Out of the Tree
A lot of my clients are telling me stories about their cats misbehaving around the tree. Some of the cats cause significant damage or injure themselves.
First of all, cats want to climb. They are curious and want to explore the new “toys” that you finally gave them. Most cats are getting bored with your apartment and love the new arrangements you are “giving to them”. So, you can’t really blame the cat. Imagine all these dangling glittering cat toys, you may call ornaments.
If you try to command your cat to stay off the tree your cat won’t take you serious. When do you ever give your cat a command? In your cat’s mind, you are just there to feed them and to entertain them. Your latest introduction of the “Cat-mass Tree” is a great idea.
Here’s what you can do though:
- Cats hate Citrus smell.
If you hang mandarins, clementines, lemons or even oranges onto the tree, it will repel your cat. Best is, to hang them on the lower branches. Try to cut an orange into slices and hang the slices with a string. Your room will smell nice and your cat will not appreciate it.
- Put Aluminum Foil around the tree.
Cats hate to walk on the shiny surface of foil and the crackling sound it makes. You may create a nice skirt out of foil on the base of the tree. To give it a more festive look, get some printed wrapping paper made out of foil.
- Herbs like Rosemary repel cats too.
You could just pick up a bunch of Rosemary from the grocery store, hang it onto the tree to dry (and after the season use it for your favourite recipe), or just sprinkle ground Rosemary from the spice cabinet around the tree base. As you know, cats smell everything and they may just be turned off by the herb.
- Tinsel is out.
Truly. Tinsel is not a fashionable tree decorative item any longer. Years ago we had almost every Christmas season a cat that had eaten tinsel ornaments and needed emergency surgery. If you are still tempted to use tinsel in your décor, think again. Cats love playing with stringy items and ingest them a lot of the time. Please avoid this and keep your holidays stress free.
- Place your tree away from tables, chairs, furniture etc.
It is easier for your cat to jump up into the tree if there is a “starting ramp”. It’s much harder to climb along the stem up through the fine branches. If your cat jumps into the tree, chances are it will fall over and make a Cat-mess fest.
We wish you a peaceful time to spend with your loved ones and thank you all for the past year. If you found this blog informative, please share it with your friends on Facebook . Please call us (905)477-2323 for any questions or search for more articles on our website: http://unionvet.ca/resources/client-education/
Sincerely,
Dr. Ernst Marsig, veterinarian in Markham
Fear Free Certified Practitioner
Practicing Veterinary Medicine in Markham for a Long and Happy Life of ALL Your Pets.
Animal Hospital of Unionville, a veterinary clinic on the north side of Hwy 7, serving all pets in Markham, Richmond Hill, Scarborough, Stouffville, and North York since 1966. We are your family vets for dogs, cats, pocket pets (rabbits, chinchillas, gerbils, mice, rats, hamsters, guinea pigs, skinny pigs, etc.), ferrets, and birds (budgies, cockatiel, parrots, amazon, cockatoo, love birds, conures, African greys, finches, canaries, etc.). We pride ourselves to provide cost effective veterinary medicine and give you options for treatments. Some may think our services as cheap, but our goal is to give good value.
Disclaimer: No part of this website constitutes medical advice. Readers are advised to consult with their veterinarian.
