You don’t have to choose between your felines and feeling festive. I am so sorry or you’re welcome, whichever is most applicable.
Every November and December, I get tons of inquiries about keeping cats out of Christmas trees. Many people don’t think they can have a Christmas tree and cats. While some cats may be more challenging to keep out of the Christmas tree or from nibbling on the branches, if you know what you’re doing you can reduce the chances of your cat turning you from Santa to Scrooge.
Why Do Cats Climb Christmas Trees?
Let’s get this out of the way early: No, it’s not because they’re being spiteful or a little jerk. We as humans tend to anthropomorphize a lot of cat behavior, meaning we attribute human motivations and intentions to behavior.
It’s easy to assume that your cat may be doing something to get revenge on you for something you did yesterday. In reality, your cat isn’t even thinking of what happened yesterday. There’s a better explanation for unwanted cat behaviors.
Normal But Unwanted Cat Behavior
Cats like being up high because not only is it safer for them, but it allows them to have an advantage when hunting. It’s why cat towers are a popular piece of cat furniture and, in some cases, why your cat is going on the counter.
Of course, cat towers don’t exist in nature. In their natural environment, cats like to climb rocks or trees. When you bring home a Christmas tree, you are bringing something that cats instinctually climb into your home. Even if you get an artificial tree, your cat doesn’t understand the difference. It only makes sense that your cat would try to climb up to the top!
There’s no morality component here. Your cat is just being a cat.
The Most Step In Keeping A Cat Out Of A Christmas Tree
You’re bringing something very tempting to a cat into your home. Is all hope lost that you’ll be able to have a festive display while you have cats?
The most import step in keeping your cats out of the Christmas tree is to offer them a more appealing alternative. Namely, a cat tower or installing cat shelves because your cat needs places to climb all year round anyway. A tall cat tower placed in a location your cat will use and near the tree will give them an acceptable place to climb. If you want something more festive, there are some really fun holiday-themed cat perches or you can get a customizable floor to ceiling cat tree. You don’t get much taller than that.
Don’t Create A New Problem
Of course, you don’t want your cat can launch themselves onto the tree. Observe your cat at first to see if they are eyeing up the tree from up top and if they are, move the tower or your Christmas tree a bit further away.
Don’t Tempt Your Cat
Part of setting up a Christmas tree is decorating it with all sorts of glittery, dangly objects (including ones shaped like cats). These objects can be very tempting to cats as they may look like prey or their favorite toys.
If you use food like popcorn or cookies as decorations, your Christmas tree will smell like food. Don’t tempt your cat with food items as they don’t understand that the Christmas tree isn’t a weird treat tree just for them.
The easiest way prevent your cat from thinking the Christmas tree is a really fun, special cat toy is to not have food as decorations (consider plastic or metal versions instead) and to not have decorations on the lower branches. There are some decorations your should skip entirely, but we’ll get to that in a moment.
Live Trees Can Be Enticing
Another source of temptation comes with a live Christmas tree. That water under the tree may be tempting for your cat to drink so don’t add any additives to the water. Even then without additives, it’s still a good idea to keep your cat away from the base of the tree as it’s easy for your cat to climb.
Block Off The Tree In A Fun And Festive Way
A great strategy is to place boxes or cat beds (such as this cozy cavern that can be converted into a bed or a festive option like a Christmas tree or Santa hat) at the base of the tree to block the cats from having access to the trunk of the Christmas tree. This keeps them away from the lower branches and the tree water if you have a live Christmas tree so it’s less work for you overall.
A better solution, live tree or not? A circular cat tunnel that you can put around the tree. Your cat won’t be able to get to the trunk of the tree and they’ll have a cozy place to curl up under the tree. I imagine a few adorable holiday photos and memories you’ll treasure for years to come…
As a festive alternative (I’m big into festive alternatives because why just modify cat behavior when you can festively modify cat behavior?), block under the tree by wrapping a few big, empty boxes to place under the tree. Not only will it protect the tree, but it adds to the holiday spirit look of your home. And yes, there are present-shaped cat houses available if you want to give them their holiday gift a bit early.
Christmas Tree Cat Safety
There are other potential dangers the Christmas tree poses to your cat that you need to consider. Ingesting pine needles or tinsel can be a medical emergency for your cat. Make sure your cat isn’t chewing on the branches and gently redirect them to a toy if you do catch them munching.
For tinsel, skip it entirely in case it falls or gets knocked off. Make sure lighting and other cords are covered. You can run any extension cords under a rug, behind furniture your cat can’t get to, or cover it up using a dedicated cord cover.
If your cat does manage to get to the Christmas tree despite your best efforts, another danger comes from the tree falling over. A falling tree could injure your cat whether it falls with your cat on it or falls onto your cat so you need to secure the Christmas tree as a precaution If it seems wobbly, it’s best to either ditch the tree for a new one or add some additional support by securing your tree to a nearby wall.
If you need more tips on keeping your house safe for your cat throughout the entire year, check out my guide on cat proofing your home.
Prevent Your Cat From Being Bored
When working with clients, I love using interventions I call “twofers.” They’re interventions that provider two for one benefits to the cat and the cat’s behavior. Addressing boredom in your cat is absolutely a twofer when it comes to keeping your a cat out of a Christmas tree.
Make sure your cat has something better to do with their time than playing Grinch. If they seem to be attracted to chewing on the branches, find a toy that looks similar to the branches or grow cat grass to give them something to nibble on instead. You can even get them their own Christmas tree to scratch up.
If you catch your cat eyeing up the Christmas tree, don’t reach for a spray bottle. Instead, start a play session with a favorite toy to lure them away. Give them some treats while they are on an acceptable perch to reinforce them going up there instead or sprinkle fun cat plants on the perch to attract them there. A food puzzle is a great way to turn mealtime into a game and keep your cat occupied.
There are so many different choices of things you can encourage your cat to do instead of climbing the tree that you can continue even after the new year. Many cats are chronically understimulated. Boredom is the root cause of a lot of unwanted behaviors so your cat will thank you for the extra fun if you keep up some of these enrichment activities going year-round. It doesn’t just benefit your cat!
Encourage Your Cat To Climb The Christmas (Cat) Tree
If all else fails, there is a rather creative solution to consider: turn a cat tree into a Christmas tree.
Yes, you read that correctly. Rather than fight your cat’s natural behavior, embrace it. Get a nice, tall cat tree (ideally a green one) and decorate the heck outta it. Avoid things like tinsel or anything your cat may swallow. All decorations should be non-breakable and if you use lights, make sure they are covered by a thick cord protector so your cats can’t chew them. You could even consider attaching some danging cat toys or an automatic cat toy as a “decoration” to make it even more fulfilling.
Store Bought Is Fine
If you don’t want to put in that much effort, just buy a huge Christmas tree cat scratcher, Christmas tree cat tower or this spectacular holiday cat tree.
While a cat tower Christmas tree may not be what you typically think of when you think of the holidays, it meets your cat’s needs and your own needs to celebrate the season. Plus, once the holidays are over, your cats will have a nice cat tree to lounge on all year round. That sounds like a win to me!
