Conference misery::feline_v1

    This may sound far-fetched, and I never tried it, but...
    
    I heard that cats dislike aluminum foil, and that this is a great way 
    of discouraging them from clawing furniture.  What if you covered
    the floor around the tree with aluminum foil???
    
    

    Um, would it be heresy to suggest that the best way to prevent
    your tree getting de-needled would be to buy an artificial tree?
    
    (you can put a real wreath inside the tree while building it, which
    will give you the real scent, but drops a lot fewer needles than a tree)
    
    We tie the tree to the curtain-rods on either side, to prevent it from
    toppling, but we haven't had anyone climb the tree for years.
    
    
    

    Yesterday, my kitten ate through tinfoil to get at a pastry- so I would
    have to say that tinfoil wouldn't work in my house.  I have thought
    about some kind of fence around the tree- but haven't come home to too
    much damage yet to justify any fencing.
    
    good luck
    Sonia

    I don't think an artificial tree would do the trick. My Aunt put
    her artificial tree up on Saturday, with no decorations, just lights.
    She wanted to see how her cat would be with the tree before she
    hung the decorations. When she got up Sunday morning Willy had chewed
    and pulled down most of the lights, and most branches where bent
    all the way to the floor.
    
    You better watch out Sonia, your Willy might do the same!! Ha ha.
    
    Stephanie 

    I'm not sure, I'm doing so many preparations I never thought I'd
    need to:
    
    1.) Coating the cords with tabasco sauce;
    2.) Buying a cast iron Christmas tree stand;
    3.) Hanging innoculous ornaments on the bottom;
    4.) Throwing out tinsel and garland.
    
    The girls stay downstairs in the basement while I'm at work,
    and I can sorta watch them when I'm home.  I found last year
    that the biggest thing that shortened the life of the tree was
    Boogie deciding that the stand was a personal water bowl.  Poor
    tree never had a chance!  ;-)
    
    Mary-Michael

    We haven't had a tree in 5 years - and since we got Stitch two years
    ago it doesn't seem likely we'll have one this year.  We decorate
    the rest of the house with tons of Xmas stuff - the mantel is loaded
    with cards and garlands, wreaths in the windows, etc., and every
    night after we go to bed the critters tip-toe into the other rooms
    and make a game of chewing on cards, knocking decorations to the
    floor and trashing the He** out of the rooms.  I could just imagine
    what they would do with a tree??????  Richard wants to get a tree
    this week end but I AM RESISITNG IT!!
    
    
    Giudi in SF  (Pippin, Gino & Stitch Too)

    How about....
    
    Put the tree in a corner, so you only have to worry about 2 sides.
    make up a barrier or screen (rope w/ a sheet?) and spray the
    indoor cat repellant on the sheet every morning.  That stuff is 
    so offensive, they might just aviod it all together.  When you were
    home or had company, you could take it down and supervise the little
    darlings ;^)
    
    RE: cats drinking water out of the base.  
    
    I read recently that this could make a cat or dog ill.  The article
    suggested putting tin foil or a screen over it.  

    How about a table-top mini tree?  p.s.  I read somewhere that
    pine needles could get stuck in cats' throats, though.
    

    Wow. Thanks folks !  
    Great ideas.  I think that I may, if I get one, try the
    spraying the tree with something that stinks.  I already have
    a hook screwed into one of the logs to stake the tree to the
    wall.  Last year they climbed up the middle - when I took the
    tree outside, there wasn't a single needle on any branch. 
    
    It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen.  Of course, they
    climbed the silly thing all day and whenever they felt like
    doing it when I wasn't home.  Jack and Nancy, if you can come
    up with something, feel free to come on up and we can try it out.
    Feel free to come on up even if you dun't come up with something !!
    I have to fence off Lil's room (how I haven't figured
    out yet), maybe I can use the same fence twice.  
    
    I really look forward to hang all the pretty ornaments and
    having the tree - I'll really miss it if I decide not to 
    put one up.
    
    oh, re: putting it in a corner - I only have 2 rooms - the only
    corners are the actual 4 corners of the house.  The TV occupies
    one corner - the livingroom, kitchen are all one room (a great room),
    and one large bedroom.  Maybe outside??  no fun.  Yeah, love those
    pine needles!  I'll have to come up with something before 12/15.
    
    E.T.

    I spent $50 on an artificial table top tree with all the trimmings
    which wasn't long for this world.  My cats like to play with aluminum
    foil so that strategy didn't work either - I tried spraying REPELL
    on everything and it only managed to keep the people out of the
    rooms - But Richard has this SICK idea of getting a TREE AND WATCHING
    WHAT HAPPENS.
    
    Giudi in SF

    We use bells as ornaments on the bottom of our tree.  They serve
    several purposes.  1) they tie on and won't come off no matter how
    determined the cats are 2) they alert us that there is a very
    determined cat working over the tree 3) they are golden, with red
    velvet bows, and look terrific on the tree.
    
    I bought these several years ago, but was in a store yesterday and
    saw some that were very similar.
    
    Our tree is mostly decorated with bells, fabric bows, and wooden
    old fashioned ornaments.  Not much fun for the cats.  Plus, I have
    Birmans (enough said, right Linda, Nancy, and Roberta ;^D)  For
    those of you who don't know, they aren't God's smartest creatures.
    
    Jo

    Yeah, God Bless those mixed breed domestics - they really are VERY
    bright and very determined!  Bells, huh?  hmm - will have to think
    about that one - I can see me getting out of bed at 3 am every time
    I hear the bells ringing - pretty good idea though the more I think
    about it.
    
    tanx,
    
    E.

    Well, we've got the artificial tree lashed to the staircase,
    unbreakable ornaments on the bottom, bells to alert us of pussycat
    terrorists, and so far it's been pretty much of a standoff.  They've
    knocked over several ornaments, and some of the branches look a bit
    more crooked than they did initially, but nothing's been broken (yet).
    
    One of their favorite parts that hasn't yet been mentioned is the tree
    skirt on the floor.  Kitties find this to be a great place to hide from
    monsters and other kitties!
    
    Resigned in Manchester
    

    Boy, resigned is right.  I just haven't decided just how resigned I
    am this year.  I am buying stock in the Sears Vacuum Cleaner Bag
    company.
    
    What do you all thing about trying a Scotch Pine - maybe they won't
    be able to get into or on the branches?
    
    E.T._resigned_in_Candia

    Scotch Pine may be ok if you don't have any jumpers or flingers
    in your clan.  Pippin couldn't get up on the inside of the last
    tree we had so she tried jumping on to it from different vantage
    points and then did this flinging thing from the floor with front
    legs positioned like she was going to do a belly-flop - and she
    did on the bottom part of the tree.  Gino just hung out under the
    tree and batted the quilted decorations around.  So the tree listed
    and fell several times that year and that was the last one we got
    ... but there is always this weekend?????
    
    
    
    Giudi in SF

    re: .9 - VISIT!!  Oh boy! You mean I can see what its like with
    18 cats!  Sounds like heaven on earth.  I can practice for visiting
    the Last post.
      Nancy DC
    

    ignore the title of that last message.  I'm working on TSN and it
    ain't the most responsive.
    

    
    	re: .14
    
    	Sandy, I *love* that p_name!!
    
    	JJ
    
    	Oh, and last year our kitties didn't pay too much attention to
    	our tree.  Brandi is bored by it.  Sasha was a kitten then and
    	didn't do too much so I hope now that she's mature (cough!)
    	she'll ignore it this year too.  Chloe is a wimp so she probably
    	won't go near it....now Dukie is a different story.... =)
    

    
    	re: last...oops!! I meant re: .13
    
    	Guess it's time togo home...
    

    re: 15
    
    Oh Lordy, I really thought that the Scotch Pine might work.  When
    ya have 18 suckers, there's bound to be one of almost everything
    in the the bunch.  I would put one outside, but I only have indoor
    lights - would have to invest in outdoor lights - not this year !!
    
    Come visit Nance, a massive kitty fix !!  Just give me 20 minutes
    notice so I can vacuum !! (You can bring Jack too)
    
    E.

    You could try hanging orange peel around the tree - or even tangerines
    work with Oliver. Cats are supposed to hate the smell. 
    That was what we ended up doing with Kayleigh last year - mind you
    the tree was in such a state, she probably felt that it wasn't worth
    it anymore.
                                       

I have a tree stand that holds lots of water, is very steady (holds
the tree and at least two cats) and PREVENTS CATS FROM DRINKING THE
WATER.  I don't know the brand, but it is widely available at discount
stores (like Caldor or Bradlees) and drug stores (like Fays.)

It is made of red and green plastic, with four huge metal screws through
the top to hold the tree.  It has minimal space around the trunk, which
keeps cat heads out, and a 1" square watering hold (use a plant 
waterer to fill.)

I have learned not to get attached to the ornaments, but otherwise have
little problem with having a live tree.  Does anyone else find their
presents unwrapped before December 25?  And have you noticed how they
always know which presents are theirs?  They have X-ray vision, I know
they do.


Klaus, Katrina, Phantom, Nutmeg, Coconut, Georgina, Algernon, Bailey,
Bosco, diane and i (bill)

    Christmas trees are to be enjoyed by the whole family, right?
    Why not put up the tree and let the kitty children decorate it as
    they see fit?[with themselves..heehee] No lights, no glass balls
    just kittys!!!
    

    
    Someone asked a similar question about cats and christmas trees
    in the NEW_HAMPSHIRE notes file.  Here's an idea that is probably
    very effective (if you have the space):  attach your tree holder onto
    a 3' square piece of 3/8" thick plywood.  It would take one heavy 
    kitty to knock that tree over!

    Well, I must be one of the fortunate few.  I now have an artificial
    tree, but even with a real tree, the cats never bothered it.  Gonezo
    does like to sit under the tree surrounded by the presents, pondering
    what he's going to get.  He leaves them alone, though.
    
    One suggestion, though, for keeping cats away.  My cats hate my
    husband's train sets (small trains and large trains).  Set them up
    around the base of the tree and run them when the cats go near the
    tree.  Soon, they will associate the tree with the trains (that chase
    them) and won't go near it... hopefully.  Large trains work better than
    small ones because they are more intimidating.  
    
    Mary,
    Barney, Gonezo, and Ben
    

a subject close to my heart...and wallet...I have replaced all ornaments
with the styrofoam balls covered with satin (unbreakable, light enough
for kitty hockey, generally acceptable), purchased a special tree stand
to keep little noses out of the water, and purchases special lights with
heavy-duty cords - which I cover with a paste made of LOTS of cayenne pepper
in a little corn syrup - sticky, but NOT appealing to cats as any fat or oil
might be.  Of course, I don't use tinsle (cats eat it and can get it
wound up in the intestine)...or any garlands (same reason).  The cats
bat at the ornaments and Nicky manages to tootle down the hall with one
or two a day - to his secret hiding place from which I retrieve them once
or twice a day.  I figure it is a form of interaction with him, and good
for both of us.  I chide him about stealing the ornaments and he looks
extremely innocent - the normal human/cat interaction ...8^}

My only concern is that Hannah is beginning to LIKE the cayenne paste
she gets on her nose when she sniffs too close...I may have to improvise
another solution for that one.

    .25
    
    Great idea!!
    
    And the trains can be passed off as part of the decor'  

    Has anyone seen the commercial for the new Chevy Chase movie.  It
    shows a white kitty with a string of lights while Chevy is about
    to plug them into the electric outlet. When he does, you hear this
    horrible howl.  I HATE the commercial.
    
    Flo

    When my husband and I got home last night, we found our 9' tree
    laying across the living room floor; ornaments EVERYWHERE!
    I have a feeling that Ninja at 20 lbs brought 'er down.
    Unfortunately some of the presents under the tree had gotten wet
    from the water in the tree stand.  Most of our ornaments are wooden,
    so the damage to them was minimal.  However, somebody gnawed on
    one whole strand of wooden beads.  Pumpkin is worse than a puppy
    when it comes to small wooden knick-knacks.  
    
    Tonight we are going to lash the tree (if it is still there...)
    to the corner of the room.  My husband was VERY angry about the
    whole episode.  He said, "NO DINNER FOR KITTIES!", but naturally
    I fed them after Dennis went to sleep.  This morning the kitties
    were BEGGING for attention, but I just ignored them.  Pumpkin was
    doing her irresistable kangaroo act--the desperado!  But I guess
    you really can't blame your indoor cats for wanting to climb a tree
    now and then. 
    
    I LOVE the train suggestion.  My two monsters would be terrified
    of such a threat!  I am seriously going to look into this idea and
    the orange/tangerine peels.
                              
    Best whiskers for the holidays,
    
    Cathy & Dennis, Pumpkin and Ninja
    

    If you are concerned about stringing lights ON the tree then try
    a couple of small spot lights which will light up the whole area.
    Then cover up the cord or tack it to the baseboard.
    
    Tried this on a friends recommendation years ago and it worked and
    gave me less to worry about.  Then you could do lights on the windows
    outside? 
    
    My manager just brought me a 3 foot living tree - complete with
    ornaments (quilted) Maybe if I take this one home Richard won't
    insist on getting a 5 footer this weekend. 

================================================================================
PARITY::DENISE "And may the traffic be with you"     26 lines   6-DEC-1989 16:37
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
		    <X-mas trees and flea spray>

      I think I did it!!!  I think I found a way to get my guys to stay
    away from the x-mas tree.  Flea spray!  yes... as odd as it sounds,
    what I did this morning after Pumpkin broke two of the ornaments is
    to get the can of flea spray which they all hate with incredible
    intensity and spray the skirt around the tree.
     No one, absolutely no one, will go anywhere near anything that smells
    like flea spray.  And so far, so good.  She saw me do it, and the 
    bottle is under the tree as well, so we'll see how it goes.
     I'm surprised I didn't think of it sooner, since that's what I use
    to keep them from pounding down the bedroom door at night. With now
    7 cats, we just have to keep them out of the bedroom when us humans
    are trying to sleep, so I keep the bottle right outside the door and
    it has completely solved the problem.  So, why not the poor x-mas tree
    as well.
     I don't know how often I'll have to refresh the smell, which by the
    way is not noticeable except at ground level where they are, but if
    I know my guys, it won't be often.  I guess the next step would be to
    spray any cats that are caught playing near the tree, as well as the
    skirt, that would really get 'em.....  by the way, the skirt also
    kept wrapped tightly around the tree base keeps them from drinking
    the water as well.
     Try it, if the cat is already conditioned as to what flea spray is,
    it should work, I'd think...........
    
                                  good luck!  
                                         Denise and the gang of 7

    Yes, I've seen the Chevy Chase commercial.  I hate it too.
    

    re: Chevy Chase commercial -
      When will people learn ANIMAL ABUSE IS NOT FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!

    =.34
    
    I've been TRYING to miss Mr. Chase and the likes of him and his
    abusive cronnies for years - but they just won't seem to go away.
    
    
    Maybe they should go back to abusing themselves and eachother!!!!!
    
    
    
    Giudi in SF

    
    Had to laugh this morning:  I heard the tinkling of the tree and came
    out of the bathroom to find out who was up to what.  Up the stairs came
    my little C.C., carrying a fierce ornament in her mouth!  She's usually
    our best cat, but seems to have decided that the tree is her own
    personal toy.  I spent a good part of the morning re-attaching
    ornaments, and now have started to bend the hook over the branch so
    that they don't come off so easily.
    
    The train idea sounds good, but we have an HO railroad in the cellar,
    so they already know not to be afraid of it :^}
    
    The flea spray might work, though . . .thanks!
    
    Sandy
    

    
    	Last year Cary and I came across some plastic ornament
    	hooks that were shaped kind of like a 'tight' S.   They
    	almost 'clipped' onto the branches.  We used those for
    	the ornaments along the bottom of the tree so that they
    	weren't so easy to 'bat' off.
    
    	I don't remember where I got them (Bradlee's maybe?) but
    	if I see them again this year I'll post it here.
    
    	JJ
    

    I agree, I ***HATE THAT CHEVY CHASE COMMERCIAL***. We also saw one
    last night for another soon to be released movie where someone pushes
    a dog down to the floor off of some object. I told Tim, great movies
    for kids to see. What with those monsters liking all those "Jason"
    movies and blood and g_ts, lets add animal abuse.
    
    Barbara

    Re: 38
    
    This went past in a picosecond, but in the commercial for the
    movie War  of the Roses it looks like someone pushes (i.e. throws)
    a cat onto the floor from some object.  It was accompanied by
    a loud cat screech.  Maybe this is the same commercial
    as .38
    

    
    
    Yes I saw that commercial, it's for the movie WAR of the ROSES,
    looks like another one to miss.  I think what you saw was Michael
    Douglas swiping a red and white tabby off or a table or counter
    and throwing the poor animal across the room.  Great way to advertize
    a movie at Christmas time.  
    
    The cat in the Chevy Chase movie is a oersian I believe, I HATE
    that ad.
    
    Feline angry!
    
    Sue, who_won't_let_Panther_or_Spot_watch_those_ads.
    

    Gee Jo, I don't know what you mean about the birmans  :^)  Breezy
    has been having a blast chasing ornaments all over my living room.
    I caught Klem up on top of my four foot high entertainment center
    checking out my little artificial tree.  So far all Marrakech seems
    to like doing is sleeping under the tree.  She looks so pretty
    under the tree with all the lights on.....
    Since they now have two huge cat trees (one three feet away from
    my christmas tree) I have been lucky so far not to find it on the
    floor.  They seem to prefer climbing the cat trees instead.  I have
    considered staking one of my shelties under the tree but somehow
    since Breezy and Marrakech like the shelties I don't think it would
    matter :^).
    
    This is going to be a very special and exciting Christmas for me
    with three new cats in the house and a two year old son.  If the
    cats aren't trying to pull down the christmas lights then my two
    year old is.  Ain't it wonderful!!!!
    
    Merry Christmas everyone!!!!
    
    Nancy

    re: "Animal abuse is NOT funny" - Anyone know who we could write
    to to express our anger and intent to boycott the movies because
    of the abuse in them!  Gee, what does this say about our society!
    Those trailers are supposed to contain things to attract people
    to the movie!  So they put animal abuse in them?!!!!!!!

    
    	Put the tree up yesterday.  Put the first bulb on and it was 
    	immediately knocked off by Sasha...
    
    	So we gave her a couple of the satin ones that she destroyed
    	last year.  She seems contented (so far) with just batting 
    	those around the kitchen.
    
    	JJ
    

    
    
      RE:25
    
            My wife purchased a train set on sale from JC Penney this
    weekend and it seems to be doing a great job keeping our cat away
    from the tree. He wants no part of the tree when it is going and
    continues to stay away from it when it's not. We purchased the
    train without even knowing about message .25 and were amazed with
    the results. This little set goes for about $22.00 and has large
    train cars.

RE . 25 and .44

You guys are lucky, nothing like a train set would intimidate my horde!

We tried it a few years ago, and after watching it go round and round a
few times -- George went over and laid down on the tracks.  He was surprised
when the metal choo-choo ran into him, but not unduly frightened.

Punkin Head took a more direct approach and bashed the locomotive as it 
went by!  He looked distinctly pleased as it toppled over and took most of
the cars off the track as well.  Frightened, not on your life.

We took an easier approach to protecting our Christmas tree -- we keep it
in a room that they cats are physically prevented from entering.  It does
mean we can't share their company while looking at our tree, but it's our
only hope!

Jan  and_her_10_destructive_furfaces

    
    The cat I had as a child seemed to like my train, also. She'd knock
    it off the track when she laid on it and the train ran into her...

    Since we are going down to Phoenix to visit middle daughter and family
    for Christmas, we decided only to put up a plastic 3 1/2 ft tree in the
    window seat in front of the bay window.  We decorated it with soft
    stuffed ornaments and some wooden apples, etc.  Jane made some cat
    decorations that look like pot holders and it is topped by a mouse
    angel that Jane found last year. Cassandra, this being her first
    Christmas, was fascinated by all the stuff.  About 20 minutes after we
    got the tree up and decorated, here comes Cassandra carrying one of the
    wooden apples.  A few minutes later, Jane called me into the living
    room, where I found Cassandra walking around the lower layer of
    branches and poking up to the next layer to bat the stuff around.
    I got the video cam and took about 5 minutes of this mayhem going on.
    I know the grandchildren will love the footage.  We have now decided
    that the tree is Cassandra's for the season and we will re-decorate it
    a couple of times a day until we leave on Saturday.
    While messy, it really was funny to watch her swarm all over the tree!
    
    Chuck, Jane, Peaches(who thought it uncouth), Doobie(who has better
    manners) and Cassandra(who loved every minute).
    

    Re: War of the Roses
    
    According to a review I saw yesterday, both the family cat
    and dog are killed during this picture.
    
    Re: ornaments
    
    The local humane society sent out lightweight cardboard circles and asked
    members to paste on a picture of their cats and send it back for the
    humane society tree (of course, they wouldn't object if the members
    sent in a check as well :-)).   Anyway, I made one up with Holly, (one
    of their alumna) and
    it looks terrific.  It would be easy to duplicate this idea with any
    lightweight cardboard.
    

Well, Marge "the CRAZY lady" decided she HAD to have a tree this year...
it must be in the water...so, my roomy and our friend scooted down to
the tree place and bought a lovely, sturdy little tree.  Needless to
say, I was pretty sceptical - we haven't even bothered to TRY since
we got Hannah, figuring major mayhem would ensue the minute the tree
was installed.  However, I'm basically game enough to try if it is
unavoidable, so we set the tree up in it's stand, I strung up lots
of lights, and we placed all our pretty, unbreakable, decorations
on the tree.  The whole time we did this, Hannah danced around us
chirping and trilling with excitment.  Her eyes were shining with
joy.  This was one happy cat.  It did NOT bode well for the life
expectancy of this tree.

Once the lights were lit and the ornaments hung, Hannah tried to
climb the inside of the tree ONCE...and stopped the minute I called
her on it.  I had a talk with her and explained we LOOKED at this
tree, we didn't climb it.

She tucked herself up really tiny and curled up under her tree, 
looking up through the branches to see the lights blinking and the 
pretty ornaments shining....a totally rapt expression on her face.
She stayed there most of the evening, coming out only for a cuddle
or two.  It bodes very well indeed for the life expectancy of Hannah's
first Christmas tree...

    re .49
    
    Awwwwww that was nice.  Now would Hannah like to have a little talk
    with Black Thunder???  I dread putting the decorations up and the
    packages down....
    
    Sandi
    
    

    re: .49 - Isis and now Dundee have decided that they are
    Christmas presents and their appropriate place is curled up
    under the tree amongst the presents.
    

    re:    re: .49 - Isis and now Dundee have decided that they are
    Christmas presents and their appropriate place is curled up
    under the tree amongst the presents.
    
    Don't anybody get the idea that they are up for grabs, now.
    
    (fyi If I fit under the tree, Nancy might choose to give me away,
    but as ET will tell you, I don't do windows or stack wood, and nancy
    will tell you I don't do litterboxes either. So I'm just a useless
    male. :-)

    Oliver loves bows.  He has removed 4 so far and they are decorating
    the house instead of the packages.  He makes me laugh -  I
    should know that they belong to him.  He even finds a bow when its not
    Christmas if there is one in the house that can be found.
    
    They're such cuties.
    
    Flo & Oliver/Oliluv
    
    
    

People with kittens beware!  Speaking of bows, etc.  One day, just after
a birthday celebration in our house, Hannah walked up to me and hacked up
a large clump of the ribbon used to decorate one of Marge's gifts.  I
grabbed cat, called the vet and asked what to do.  She said watch Hannah
carefully - if I saw any more throwing up or attempts to or any problems
in the litter box I was to rush Hannah in for surgery.  I have since
banned any ribbons on packages in our house - whereever the bows are,
she will find them...even on top of the hutch!  Be very careful and
watch your cats closely...if you see any symptoms of distress or illness,
get to a vet fast...unless you can account for every ribbon on every package
in the house, you may be facing a life-threatening binding of the intestines.

    Thank you for your warning. 
    
    Oliver doesn't chew on the bows, but carries them in his mouth from
    one part of the house to the other making cat noises. He doesn't
    meow, except for a weak little squeak and is really only audible
    when he puts something in his mouth.
    
    The bows that I used are the pre-made bows with the sticky piece
    of cardboard on the bottom.  Are these also dangerous?  If so there
    will never be another bow in my house either.

    I gave up on bows after I got my first cat.  They really like
    the challenge of the stick-on bows.  When my daughter was little,
    I would put the bows on her packages about 5 minutes before I
    went to bed figuring that they would only have to stay on the
    packages for about 6 hours until she got up and ripped them
    off!
    
    E

Ribbons, bows, etc. seem to be coated with an attractive smell/taste to
many cats...they are very stringy and not organic - a deadly combination
in a little cat intestine.  If you are sure your little tiger is not
chewing the bows, you may be okay, but do be careful and watch closely.
It was a terrifying night with Hannah before I knew she had managed
to throw all of it up - I learned a lesson the hard way on this one.
Now, all packages that come in are admired, stripped of all ribbon
and bows, and then placed under the tree - or on the table until opened
whatever the occasion.  Our friends are used to it...I also had to
ask them to NOT bring me any flowers when I invite them over - cats
eat 'em and barf on the water bed - they lose alot of their charm
in the process...the flowers, that is....well, actually, the cats
lose some appeal for awhile there too!  8^}

    
    No bows in my house!  Its not that my cats eat them... they steal them!
    I have never had a present last more than 5 minutes with a bow on it
    before the cats decide "time's up, it's ours now!".  It is hard enough
    trying to keep the gifts intact, as the "kids" like to chew on boxes,
    and how do you tell someone to not mind the little puncture marks on 
    their gift?  I can't even put my presents in a room and shut the door
    to keep the cats out - Bouf knows how to open doors!  She has become
    proficient in opening sliding closet doors and any door that has a
    door knob on it - what a brat 8>)!