A question for all cat owners out there

We are the owners of two three month old moggies who are getting bigger and bolder by the day! At the moment they are mostly indoor and I am just wondering how do all you cat owners out there keep indoor moggies from destroying the Christmas tree? We haven't put ours up yet but I am having visions of our two furry little maggots thinking it is the biggest cat toy in the universe and wreaking havoc! Our downstairs is open plan, so other than booting them outside or locking them in the utility room 24/7, there is no way of isolating them from the tree. Any ideas?

Well our guy is a bit older, but still a kitten at heart, but he didn't really do any damage. Yes he played with the decorations, and knocked some off the tree, and he did a bit of pouncing etc but as long as the tree is secure and not about to fall over you should be fine.

I know where you're coming from, when we got our first cat he was delighted we put up a great big toy for him. The advise we were given at the time was to make climbing the tree a bad experience for them, as cats associate everything with being a good or bad experience. The water gun is a good tool, as it distances you from the effect. another thing we were told was to put balloons along the bottom of it, a couple if bangs and they'll decide they dont wanna climb the tree anyway. just let me add, we only did this because was sprinting to the top of the tree and sliding down it, it was funny but heartbreaker cuz he took every decoration and branch out on his way down!! if you kitten isnt climbing it and it only playing with decorations at the bottom, once the tree is secure you should be fine.

hi we have two cats and they were never bothered with the tree either they had a couple of swipes and that was it. a friend of mine who has a one year old child has gotten a piece of twine and put it round the middle of the tree and attached it to the skirting board so the tree wont fall you could try that just to be safe!! have fun with them good luck when you try to wrap your presents hours of fun with them jumping all over you!!!

Balloons, excellent idea! It's the climbing really that we are afraid of. I can just picture them getting tangled up in the fairy lights. Water and fairy lights might not be a good combination. Thanks ladies!

we put up the tree the weekend and my 5 month old puppy doesn't know what to make of it, she won't go near it all, doesn't like the lights, when they start flashing she starts barking like mad.

Audrey We have two kittens four and a half months and five months we put our xmas tree up last night and they didnt seem too bothered by it tess just sat under it for a few minutes trying to knock the balls off the bottom branches but oscar couldnt have cared less so hopefully thats how it will stay.

Mrs O Sull, I need to send mine to the same Kitty school as yours :lol: I'm convinced there's amphetimines in those Kitekat pouches, you should see the wrestling matches and the point to point racing in our house very day!

Our kitten had great fun with the Christmas tree last year. Most mornings in our house involved having to pick up the toppled tree and putting back on all the decorations! She's a little calmer now though so hopefully this year won't be as chaotic :D

Audrey - im with you on the racing my two are at it all the time whizzing around they would make you dizzy they move that fast. I am very surprised at them with the xmas tree i thought it would be demolished because they play tarzan and jane on the patio blinds in the kitchen maybe they are lulling me into a false sense of security and when i least expect it i will probably end up having to pick the tree up off the ground