How To Keep Your Cat Away From The Christmas Tree

Photo: bigstock.com/Natalia Sharygina

Christmas Tree Repellent: How to Keep Your Cat Away From Your Christmas Tree

Cats hate oranges (and all other citrus fruits). To keep your cat away from the tree, try placing orange peels below the tree and/or in the branches. You could also buy orange scented sticks to hang from the tree if your don’t like the idea of using actual orange peel.

Spraying the tree with Citronella Oil mixed with water (be sure to always mix with water. VetInfo recommendations using a solution made of one part Citronella to four parts water or about 20 drops of Citronella diluted in 200ml of water) is another good option; your cat will hate the citrus smell, keeping him away from the tree, and your home and tree will smell fresh and citrusy. Spraying the tree with apple cider vinegar will have the same effect on your cat or you can spray some pine cones with ACV and place within the tree.

Add to the cat proofing of your Christmas tree with a Christmas Tree Defender. This easy to install barrier will keep your cat from climbing the tree and destroying ornaments – genius!

Cat Watch! Make Sure Your Cat and Your Christmas Tree are Supervised. Here’s how:

It’s always a good idea to keep an eye on your cat while the tree is in your home. If possible, make sure the door to the room with the tree is closed at night, when you are out of the house, and at any other time your cats can sneak around without you noticing them. This will help reduce the chances of you coming home to a destroyed tree, or worse, a cat that has choked on an ornament or cut themselves on broken glass, etc.

Placing jingle bell decorations on the lower branches can also help in alerting you to when your cat is around your tree. You can then come and remove them from the room or know to keep an eye on them.

And for some bonus tips to keep both your cat and your Christmas tree safe, PETA recommends:

+ Choosing a smaller tree to keep curious climbing kitties safe from the tree falling over.

+ Making sure your tree has a solid base so that it won’t topple over.

+ Keep the tree away from launching zones (ie. furniture) your cat may use to pounce onto the tree.

+ If you have a real tree, cover the water with the tree skirt and presents to ensure your cat isn’t tempted to drink the tree water, which could make them sick.

+ Focus on decorating the top half of the tree.

+ Skip the tinsel as it is a choking and blockage hazard for cats who love string.

Cat-Safe Ornament Placement and Decoration

Cats just love batting at and playing with decorations. Decorations are generally the size ofprey so this behaviour comes from a natural instinct to hunt rather than to just annoy you! To protect your ornaments, hang easily breakable and sentimental ornaments close to the top of the tree and hang cat-safe plastic and fabric ornaments on the lower branches. Or don’t hang ornaments at all on the lower branches.

If your cat tends to climb/get into the tree to play with the decorations, consider using all plastic or fabric decorations, or not placing ornaments at all. Be cautious of ornaments with small parts as that your cat could choke on. Again, it’s best to leave these out of reach of your cat.

For ornaments you do hang, try replacing all string hangers with wire ornament hangers. Simply place on the ornament and clamp the hook around the branch to make it much harder or even impossible for your cat to pull ornaments from the tree.

When decorating your tree and the rest of your home, it’s best to avoid tinsel. Tinsel is very easy for your cat to pull down (and if they are pulling it from the tree, could mean pulling the whole tree down) and is a choking hazard for cats. Try replacing tinsel with paper garland. It’s still pretty and festive but isn’t a hazard to your cat.

Do you have any top tips for keeping your cat away from the tree and decorations? Let us know in the comments!