How do I keep my cat from climbing on my artificial Christmas tree?
Monday, December 21st, 2009 at
12:27 pm
I use the aerosol spray for training purposes, but the odor of it is offensive to my family. Is there any way to keep the cat from wanting to climb up my tree? I want to be humane so whatever works that way, I will try. She knocks the tree down every time thus breaking ornaments, etc. I want to keep both my cat and the artificial tree in the house. Please give me "humane" suggestions.
Filed under: Cat Trees
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put bells and unbreakable ornaments on your tree, put the bells around the bottom. also the water bottle idea works very well.
I agree with the previous posters who said the water bottle. It does work. Temporarily at least
Vicks Vapo rub at the base of the tree….works like a charm cats cant stand it and besides since its usually cold and flu season it will keep your families sinuses clear too!
Seriously it does work
use double sided tape
No, no, no! Use a water spray bottle! This is the no.1 way to discipline cats, and it’s very humane I have two cats of my own, and I’ve got them trained great. I’ve got them trained where all I have to do is say, "Spray bottle!" and they stop doing what they’re doing. If they don’t stop, then I squirt them with it, and they stop real fast. You can get them at Wal-mart for 97 cents.
i suggest a scat mat. it make a loud noise when an animal steps on it. put a few around the tree (it also works well on counters).
p.s. water bottle is good, but some cats enjoy it and they learn not to do it when you are around.
I have 2 cats. one is 3 and the other is a 6month old kitten, who climbs the tree; where the older one doesn’t. i use the spray bottleon the kitten without hesitanian. the spray bottle alse works on the older cat when she whines when she wants to go out.
i had this problem with my white cat last year we had a white tree she couldnt resist playing with the ornaments and hiding in it i thought it was the cutest thing until she knocked it down try cat toys or yarn whatever similar you had in the tree that the cat like
They have these little electric boxes that plug in to outlets let out a sound cats don’t like and it works on motion. It works for areas they pee in too. They hate it and will avoid the area that causes the noise like the plague. Look on the internet for training aids that is how we found one. I can’t remember the name brand and am not at home.
The tree is a great big toy in the cat’s eyes. Climbing is a natural instinct in cats. They like to be up high. Local pet stores have "cat trees" for this purpose. They have several levels, some of them have little cubbies for cats to "hide" in. If you could get one of these and really douse it with catnip spray every day or two, I’d bet your cat would find that a lot more attractive than you tree, where he gets dumped over when he climbs.
An assortment of cat toys are good too. Those things that dangle from the tree are just irresistable to the cat. Be careful about using a water spray on the cat when it is near the tree. You wouldn’t want to get any of those electrical wires wet, and the water could damage your ornaments, depending on the kind of ornaments you might be displaying.
I have a similar question posted. Some of the answers I’ve gotten makes my blood boil!! Such as hitting him or throwing him outside. I’d like to find those people and do that to them! My issue is I want something effective not for just when I am home, such as the spray bottle of water, but for when I am away too. The vicks vapor rub at the base sounds like a good idea, but I don’t know if that would work for the ornaments,which they really like to swat at….that smell only works for so far, depending on how far out your bottom branches extend.
My best answer I was gievn so far was to buy something called bitter apple and spray my entire tree. It’s not offensive to people but is to a cat (supposedly the smell and taste). That’s the answer I’ve liked best so far because it’s humane and non toxic as well. I also know my friend bought it from her vet to stop her dog from chewing, however when I posted my question I didn’t know it worked for cats, too. But I was told it does. So that is what I am going to try.
Also if you don’t know already a safe alternative to declawing is a product called soft paws, it goes over your cats claws and is vinyl with dull ends, and allows your cat to extend and retract his claws, but the ends are dull where he can’t scratch your stuff to shreds. You can get about a 6 mo. supply online at http://www.softpaws.com and they come in tons of colors too!
Back to the tree, the cat connection online has several different products to help with behavior modification for animlas. Maybe they have something that you and I can use for this common problem.
I’m going to watch your question to see if you get any useful answers compared to mine. Hopefully though, you can use something from the website below. If not ask the vet, I’m sure they get this question a lot from those of us who love our cats and want both cat and tree to get along without causing harm to them.
And again for those of you who suggest hitting the cat or throwing the cat out, I’d love to know where you live so I can do it to you!!