How to Protect Your Christmas Tree From Your Cats

Christmas is a truly wonderful time, you can crack open a bottle of wine, light up the fire, turn on your Christmas lights and stick on a movie in your PJs. Then you hear a terrifying crash, followed by a yowl from the other room...

You guessed it, your cat has clambered halfway up your tree and, in seeming slow motion like a scene from a cartoon, it’s pulled the whole thing over. There are Christmas tree lights and baubles everywhere and your cat has sheepishly slunk away into a corner with something in its mouth.

This doesn’t have to be reality though! At Christmas Tree World we’ve spent more time than most around Christmas trees, and we’ve got a few pointers for you on protecting your tree from your cat. So pour yourself a hot chocolate, it’s time to learn how to cat-proof your tree.

How to cat-proof your Christmas tree

Consider buying an artificial tree

Now, this is less about cat-proofing and more about damage limitation. We all know that a real tree drops pine needles everywhere, but if your cat is constantly playing around with your branches, that’s going to get messy. Not only that, but to keep your cat safe, an artificial tree is less likely to be toxic. A real tree will also bring all kinds of interesting smells into your home, ones that your cat is going to want to investigate.

With artificial Christmas trees, you can buy something smaller too, which can minimise the risk of greater damage. A smaller tree doesn’t have so far to fall. Our small artificial Christmas trees are a great option and include everything from 60cm fibre optic trees to 3ft artificial Christmas trees.

Hold that bauble! Don’t put the decorations on it immediately

Decorating your tree is an exciting time. For many, in fact, it’s one of the highlights of the holiday season. We’re suggesting that you exercise restraint when it comes to decorating though.

If you set up your tree a little while before you add the decorations, it gives your cat a chance to get used to it, and maybe even bored, before you start loading it up with fun hanging objects.

Put your decorations up high

When you do then decorate your tree, we’d suggest putting anything particularly enticing high up and out of reach. Also consider keeping your baubles or dangling ornaments towards the centre of the tree, rather than precariously hanging off the end of lower branches.

Hang ornaments securely

Those decorations you do add to the tree need to be strongly secured. If they’re unlikely to fall off, then your cat may lose interest. Securing your decorations also means your cat can’t run off with them and either eat the decorations or simply stash them away for a rainy day.

Give your tree a strong base

Less of a deterrent, and more of a precaution, but stability is key to a cat-proof Christmas tree. Regardless of whether you’ve got a real tree or an artificial tree, adding weight to the base and making sure it’s stable can stop it from falling over if a cat leaps into it.

If you’ve got a cat that’s particularly mischievous, you could consider fixing it to the wall part way up.

Tree skirts are your best friend

Not only does a Christmas tree skirt make the bottom of your tree look super smart, but they keep your cat away from the lower branches of the tree.

Placing a wooden Christmas tree skirt around the base of your tree creates a distance between your cat and any decorations and lights on lower branches. Doing this prevents them from knocking baubles off or chewing LEDs and cables.

Deter, deter, deter!

Cats can be incredibly picky. There are a few things you can add to your tree to keep them away. While these aren’t a guarantee, deterrents like citrus, pine cones and foil can keep them away. Cats dislike the scent of citrus fruits like orange peels, lemons and limes which is why using dried fruits as ornaments or citrus spray on your tree can deter them. You can also wrap the trunk or Christmas tree stand in aluminium foil to stop them from trying to climb or claw it or lay pine cones around the base.

Isolate your tree! Keep it away from any potential launching zones

Cats often love nothing more than jumping off a sofa or sideboard into the waiting branches of your tree. Removing the risk of this is a simple way to avoid it. If you place your tree in a corner away from launching points, your cats simply won’t be able to jump into it from a height.

Be extra careful with your Christmas tree lights

Keep your lights as concealed as possible, well the cables anyway. You want to make sure there’s nothing to chew or for a cat to get caught on and pull the whole tree down. Place your lights towards the centre of your Christmas tree and make sure you unplug them when the tree is not attended. This is where a pre-lit Christmas tree could come in handy, as there aren’t any exposed wires running between branches.

We’d also recommend you avoid real candles. They’re a fire risk at the best of times, but with a cat you’re looking at even more of a potential problem.

Keep their presents away from the tree

You may have treated your favourite feline with a whole stack of Christmas gifts, but we’d recommend keeping them away from your tree. Many cat-friendly gifts include catnip or other enticing smells and a curious kitty would have a field day destroying all the gifts or clambering over the tree to get to them. We’d recommend keeping them elsewhere until the big day.

The same could be said for your other gifts too. Just because it’s not for your cat, it doesn’t mean it’s not going to be curious. If your cat decides to rip apart your wrapping, pull a stocking down or cause general chaos under your Christmas tree, it won’t end well.

Protecting your cat from your tree - it works the other way round too

It’s not just your tree you need to be concerned about. A tree can be a real danger to your cat, from toxic branches to bacteria in your tree water or broken ornaments. Here are a few things cat owners can do to keep their kitty safe this Christmas:

Switch to an artificial tree - pine needles and branches can be toxic to cats if they try to chew on them and you won’t have this problem with artificial trees.
Opt for a small or slim tree - you don’t want a giant 10ft pine tree falling on your cat! Small and slim Christmas trees are a great alternative as they are lighter and take up less space. Half Christmas trees are another option as they stick out less and will be less enticing.
Buy a solid tree stand - the more solid the base, the less likely it is to fall over
Cover the tree’s water bowl - if you really do want a real Christmas tree, make sure you get a tree skirt. You need to cover the water bowl to stop them from drinking from it. The water could have bacteria or be toxic to your cat.
Avoid tinsel and lametta - sure, it looks wonderful and festive, but it’ll look very tempting to your cat, and eating it could cause serious harm.
Clean up any broken ornaments - if something delicate falls off your tree it could smash or break. Watch out for broken glass, or sharp bits of plastic or metal.

Grab an artificial Christmas tree and cat-proof your Christmas

Keeping your tree safe doesn’t have to be difficult. Many cats simply ignore Christmas trees, but if you’re not too sure, one of the best things you can do is grab an artificial Christmas tree or a fibre optic Christmas tree. At Christmas Tree World we stock artificial trees in all shapes, sizes, colours and styles. You can choose from realistic Christmas trees, snowy Christmas trees for a wintery twist or a mini Christmas tree to deter your cat from pulling your decorations down.

Christmas Tree World can help keep your festive season magical and your cat content.