Conference misery::feline_v1

      I have 11 cats in the house right now.  None of them pay any
    attention to the fully decorated tree whatsoever.  We always put it up
    for the first day without any decorations, and wait till the next day
    to deck it out. That gives us a chance to see if there will be any
    problems.  We put all breakables above 4' off the floor and don't use
    tinsel.  We also cover the water container with a skirt.  They do like
    drinking the water for some reason.
      I've only had one cat that caused a problem, that was many years ago.
    But what helped is using bags of things that smell offensive to cats,
    like citrus, lavender, mint, etc.  I would wrap a spoonful in a pretty
    lace fabric and tie with xmas ribbon and hang on the bottom branches
    of the tree.  Every time he got a wiff, he was history.  They looked
    pretty and smelled great to people too.
      Maybe after a couple days, the novelty will wear off and they'll
    leave your tree alone.  In the meantime, make sure it can't tip.  We
    always secure ours with a cord to the wall, so it doesn't fall.
    
                                Denise and the gang of now 11!!!

    We have hooks in the ceiling (during the rest of the year macrame room
    dividers are suspended from them).  We wire the top of our Christmas
    tree to one of these hooks to prevent a recurrence of the time The Fonz
    chased Chachi up the tree, and, inadvertently, down.  I lunged for the
    thing, and caught it, but the tree stand was bent out of shape (as was
    I until the humor of the whole thing caught up with me, say about 15
    minutes later).  So there I was, unable to stand the tree back up and
    unwilling to let it down.  Did I mention it was a *big* tree?
    
    I'd be there yet (exaggeration) if I hadn't indulged in procreation 
    some two years before:  "Rebecca, bring Mommy the telphone please." 
    "Yes, Honey, the one on the table here in the living room."  "That's
    right, Sweetheart, bring it over here to me."  "Now."  "Please."  (The
    foregoing said through increasingly clenched teeth.)
    
    It was just noon, my husband was active duty military then and we lived 
    on post, about a 5-minute drive from his office.  I managed to dial (no 
    touchtone, dear me no, why make it easy?) his work number, to be told 
    that he was on his way home for lunch. 
    
    Within moments (moments which lasted long enough for me to do some
    truly creative worrying about whether he might be running errands, or -
    fearful thought - have encountered a convoy) he walked in.  I feel that
    he handled it well, a lesser man might well have left me pilloried
    with that dratted tree while he guffawed, rolling helplessly about.
    
    Truth be told, had the situation been reversed, I suspect I would have.
    
    aq
      

    Mine don't seem interested in climbing it, but they do
    drink the water and sleep underneath.  We also tie the
    tree to the walls.  We also have certain "harmless"
    (to kitties) ornaments that we hang on the lower branches,
    as all four like to bat them around.
    
    Lynne

    We tie little gold jingle bells to the lower branches to alert us 
    when the cats are trying to molest the tree.  Works like a charm.
    We just spray the little devil that is messing with the tree.
    
    My boss came in yesterday and said he found his tree lying on the floor
    this morning.  I nearly died laughing.  He couldn't understand what was
    so funny until I pointed out that he didn't even *have* any pets!! 
    There was no excuse for his tree falling down.  Here I am with 16 cats
    and a dog running around and my tree is still standing.  (I better
    knock wood before I jinx myself)
    
    Jo

    Our only solution to keep our tree standing when noone was
    home....was to actually put a door on the livingroom.  After
    X-mas.. the door will come down with all the other ornaments.
    
    I feel much safer being at work and knowing my tree is not
    being mis-handled by my furfaces.  Excuse me...the three big
    kitties do not touch it....but the three little ones love to
    swing on the branches.  (Sorry big guys...didn't mean to blame
    you)
         
    
    Sandy
    

    Be careful about letting them drink water from the tree stand.
    I recollect that it could be poisonous, but I'm not sure
    if this is from the sap or from the additives used to keep the tree
    fresh longer.
    

    I don't put up a tree anymore because I can't keep Linus from climbing
    it.  Though he used to make me laugh so much because he'd sit in the
    branches like a bird nesting and peer through the needles with his big
    yellow eyes--he was soooo pleased.  I really don't know how he could
    take the needles sticking him--he didn't care.  Anyway, the last time I
    had a tree (a couple of years ago), I had a little stocking on it
    halfway up the tree with Linus' favorite furry mouse toy in it and one
    night while I was in bed I heard a crash.  Well, I looked over the loft
    to see my HUGE (I lived in a barn) tree lying across my coffee table
    and couch--but no Linus.  Well, I'm looking for the culprit but can't
    find him, so I pick up the tree and there he is sprawled out, belly up
    with the furry mouse in his mouth...he then booted...he knew better!! 
    Needless to say, he managed to break the star at the top, the lights,
    and he took down most of the bulbs...  It's funny, but it was a lot of
    work picking up after the tree messes.  I'll try it again someday I'm
    sure....
    
    Di & Li

    Re: .2

    I got a good laugh out of that! I can just picture it.

    Re: .4, fallen tree, no pets

    Jo, that's hysterical! So what does your boss have, ghosts??

    We put up our live tree on Sunday. I have no illusions of being able to 
    keep my guys away from it entirely but, now that the novelty's worn off, 
    they don't seem too interested in it so I'm not expecting any problems. 

    When we first put the tree up, Cubby stood up against the trunk, sniffed 
    it and checked for clawability. (Why he did this I don't know, since they 
    have two cat trees with real, live tree limbs holding the perches that 
    they don't want to scratch.) There's nothing to tie the tree to without 
    putting holes (over my dead body!) in the (MY recently painted and 
    papered) walls, so Joe nailed the tree stand to a 2' x 2' square of 
    plywood (covered by the tree skirt). The cats haven't tried to climb the 
    tree but the boys occasionally bat at the ornaments on the lower branches. 
    Peanut and Toby like to curl up on the tree skirt and nap. Misty has
    no interest in it whatsoever. Tweetie has had a bug and did not feel
    well enough to check it out until this morning, but I don't think 
    she will bother it either.

    I like Denise's idea of lacy sachets and Jo's jingle bells. Peanut 
    would have fun playing with the bells, though, probably after the humans 
    retired for the night.

    To cut down on kitty hazards, we don't use icicles, garlands, or 
    additives to the tree water. 

    Linda, Misty, Cubby, Tweetie, Toby, and Peanut

first, get a sturdy towel, wrap a cat, mummy-style in the towel and then
get to each foot, in sequence, and TRIM the claws so there won't be so much
need to scratch.  Repeat for each cat.  Then, until the tree becomes a 
"normal" thing....a four or five day period, keep your cats in your bedroom
or even in the bathroom with a cat box, water, and food if you free-feed.
Once the tree becomes part of the scenery, it won't be so tempting...

    What has worked for me for the past 2 years is the type of tree I get.
    Ever since I started getting Scotch Pines my 2 kids don't bother with
    it.  I assume it's because the pine needles are *so* prickly.  
    
    I do have to keep the tree stand covered with a treeskirt to keep them from
    drinking the water and also don't put the tinsel on the tree.  This has
    been working for me.
    
    Good Luck!
    
    Nancy, Ralph, & Alice