Diabetes Talking

Question:

I have found that a water squirt bottle always at hand is an invaluable training tool for kittens/cats.  I too have a 4 month old kitten who began to play with the Christmas tree branches the minute I took them out of the box.  SQUIRT!  I also put my tree (4ft) on a coffe table.  The minute any one of my 4 cats even looked at it cross-eyed, SQUIRT!  Amazingly, I have not had a single problem since, and the tree is still standing after 2 weeks.  This is even deterring them while I am at work and they are in the house alone all day.  No cotastrophes.  Hope this helps.

Not a spelling flame, honestly – it’s just that it seems to me very logical indeed that the first letters of catastrophe should be C-A-T  :-) Happy Christmas everyone.  We will finally be able to collect our two long-overdue kittens on Thursday morning! — Molly

Response:

LOL, thank you for the correction any way Molly, guess I should turn my spellchecker on.  Loved the logic, it is OHHH so true. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – .  This is even deterring them while I am at work and they are in the house alone all day.  No cotastrophes.  Hope this helps. Not a spelling flame, honestly – it’s just that it seems to me very logical indeed that the first letters of catastrophe should be C-A-T  :-) Happy Christmas everyone.  We will finally be able to collect our two long-overdue kittens on Thursday morning! — Molly

Response:

The bitter apple spray seems to work at my house.  I put the (artificial) tree up and sprayed the bitter apple liberally around the lower branches and under the tree, left if for a day before decorating.  The puddies kind of got used to this strange thing in the living room while deciding it was’nt fun to nibble on nor sniff around.  I kept the lights and decorations to the top 3/4 of the tree.  No trouble so far.  I am expecting to re-spray soon.  I am really surprised they have been so good. I wonder if it was my resounding NOOOOOOOO when the first one went near it.  They don’t hear that word too often around here.  After all, its their house isn’t it?  Good luck, Jan and her resident puddies:  Chloe, Charlotte, Tristan & Iseult

: Yikes! : Anyone have any hints on how to keep a cat OUT of the Xmas tree?  Ours : climbs up the middle pole (its a fake tree) and hangs out on the upper : branches, wreaking serious havoc with the lights and ornaments, and the : holds on like there’s no tomorrow when we try to "extract" him.  We tried : putting tin-foil under the tree so he’d keep away, but he made short work of : THAT idea.  Any tips? : Thanks, : kannon — Jan  

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – x-no-archive: yes Hello <sigh,  Dumb me!  Never having a young kitten before, I have learned the _hard way.  With *hindsight being 20/20,* I regret that I put up our regular artificial tree <moan.  Although our tree is artificial, and stands approximately 4′ tall; I put it up but didn’t decorate it as I usually would. Emma, who has beaten the *Energizer Bunny,* has not only climbed up inside of the tree, she has done everything possible to it <groan.  Well, after short deliberation with the *Fam,* it’s been voted on that the Christmas Tree comes down the day after Christmas.  Although Emma is 3 1/2 months old now, we have to do this for OUR sanity!  Actually, since it’s just the 3 of us adults, no big deal.  Here’s where the *hindsight comes in:*  I should have purchased a tiny tree for _just this Christmas, wouldn’t have had the troubles we’ve had! Happy Holidays from Samantha, Jingles, and Emma who seems to be on speed! Regards, Bjp

No, tiny trees aren’t any safer. They are just easier to knock over. The ornaments are *funsized* and much easier to hide under sofas.  We gave up on trees years ago.  Now, we decorate a tree outside. Well, this year my husband had put in new bay windows (one in the dining room, one in the tv room and one in our bedroom, which faces the street) just for the cats.  We got a little animated Mickey and Minnie at Disneyland last year (cost $110 and in January, we got a *steamed person here* catalog from Disney, same thing on sale for $56) and a little fiber optic tree at Michael’s craft store ($49.95 and the next week there was a coupon in the paper for 40% off, we just have incredibly bad timing *grins) which I put tiny decorations on.  We put them in the bedroom window and Brian got a sheet of heavy plastic, heated it so it would bend and put it around the tree and the Mickey/Minnie thing in the window, to save them from the cats. Cats aren’t really happy, but we finally got some decorations up. There’s a picture of it at the top of this page: <http://www.lisaviolet.com/cathouse/december8.html happy hollydays… lisaviolet — go to my website to get my real email address visit the best little cathouse in cyberspace <http://www.lisaviolet.com

Response:

I hung a mothball cake under the tree. Definitley has cut down on the climbing Yikes! Anyone have any hints on how to keep a cat OUT of the Xmas tree?  Ours climbs up the middle pole (its a fake tree) and hangs out on the upper branches, wreaking serious havoc with the lights and ornaments, and the holds on like there’s no tomorrow when we try to "extract" him.  We tried putting tin-foil under the tree so he’d keep away, but he made short work of THAT idea.  Any tips? Thanks, kannon

– Bruce Musgrove

Response:

Wish I could lend some insight to this problem; it seems like an easy thing but we are finding it is NOT… We recently adopted two older kittens from the SPCA…they have been making us MISERABLE with the tree antics. I’ve never had naughtier kitties around a tree as these two clowns. Climb, bat, break, chew, sky’s the limit…it’s worth getting squirted and hollered at over, apparently. Think I’ll try the mothballs. If that doesn’t work, suicide sounds attractive…

Response:

when the little rats are in the tree – pop a balloon!

Response:

My cats did not respond to water to get them out of the tree.  But when I give them a shrill whistle, it  works wonders and I always have my mouth to whistle with.  I can’t always find the water bottle. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -when the little rats are in the tree – pop a balloon!

Response:

I have found that a water squirt bottle always at hand is an invaluable training tool for kittens/cats.  I too have a 4 month old kitten who began to play with the Christmas tree branches the minute I took them out of the box.  SQUIRT!  I also put my tree (4ft) on a coffe table.  The minute any one of my 4 cats even looked at it cross-eyed, SQUIRT!  Amazingly, I have not had a single problem since, and the tree is still standing after 2 weeks.  This is even deterring them while I am at work and they are in the house alone all day.  No cotastrophes.  Hope this helps.

.  Well, after short deliberation with the *Fam,* it’s been voted on that the Christmas Tree comes down the day after ChristmasHappy Holidays from Samantha, Jingles, and

Emma who seems to be on speed! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Regards, Bjp To reply: Change *sunshine to inferno* *- http://inferno.cshore.com/bpfrommer <–[Click] Feline Diabetes Info, Links and Fun pages! "Hugging Has No Harmful Side Effects"      ~Diana, Princess of Wales~

Response:

lights? There is a "bitter apple" (or was it sour apple?) spray cats don’t like. The scent of vanilla is also deterrent, as is the scent of any citrus. These may be applied to lower branches, but not directly on lights, unless you unplug them & let the spray dry thoroughly first. When I had this problem in the past, I’ve had to tie fishing line near the top of the trunk and fasten it to the ceiling to prevent it from falling over.  What the

I agree with this opinion- so long as they’re not breaking anything, let them climb the tree. But you can also try a Scat Mat (they have a web page, I think it’s www.scatmat.com), which will keep him away from the tree. But try the other approaches listed above first, they’re much cheaper. Catherine, Loki and Freya — Generic Lame-O Signature Follows: Matos, Catherine Anne Moseley http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~cm85 Yes, I love being a graduate student! Really! I mean it!

Response:

I’ve been hearing SOOO many stories like this. There seems little you can do to keep them out. Some say let kitty explore it on her own. Does she chew on lights? There is a "bitter apple" (or was it sour apple?) spray cats don’t like. The scent of vanilla is also deterrent, as is the scent of any citrus. These may be applied to lower branches, but not directly on lights, unless you unplug them & let the spray dry thoroughly first. When I had this problem in the past, I’ve had to tie fishing line near the top of the trunk and fasten it to the ceiling to prevent it from falling over.  What the heck, I figure, they’re so darn cute, but I’ll tolerate it only to the point of becoming unsafe.

Well, I can tell you that wrapping the lights and cord with tin foil doesn’t necessarily work. I tried this last night, after unplugging the lights, to keep our younger cat (we didn’t have her last Christmas, as she was only 7 weeks old then) from chewing on the cord and lights. She just pulled the tin foil off and then started chewing on it. This is the technique I’ve used in the past with other cats but it sure doesn’t work with her. Fortunately neither of my cats is interested in climbing the tree. Guess I’ll try the bitter apple. Right now I just strung the lights up higher so she can’t reach them. -yngver (to reply, change initial "i" to "y")

Response:

Yikes! Anyone have any hints on how to keep a cat OUT of the Xmas tree?  Ours climbs up the middle pole (its a fake tree) and hangs out on the upper branches, wreaking serious havoc with the lights and ornaments, and the holds on like there’s no tomorrow when we try to "extract" him.  We tried putting tin-foil under the tree so he’d keep away, but he made short work of THAT idea.  Any tips? Thanks, kannon

Response:

I’ve been hearing SOOO many stories like this. There seems little you can do to keep them out. Some say let kitty explore it on her own. Does she chew on lights? There is a "bitter apple" (or was it sour apple?) spray cats don’t like. The scent of vanilla is also deterrent, as is the scent of any citrus. These may be applied to lower branches, but not directly on lights, unless you unplug them & let the spray dry thoroughly first. When I had this problem in the past, I’ve had to tie fishing line near the top of the trunk and fasten it to the ceiling to prevent it from falling over.  What the heck, I figure, they’re so darn cute, but I’ll tolerate it only to the point of becoming unsafe.

Response:

I have found that a water squirt bottle always at hand is an invaluable training tool for kittens/cats.  I too have a 4 month old kitten who began to play with the Christmas tree branches the minute I took them out of the box.  SQUIRT!  I also put my tree (4ft) on a coffe table.  The minute any one of my 4 cats even looked at it cross-eyed, SQUIRT!  Amazingly, I have not had a single problem since, and the tree is still standing after 2 weeks.  This is even deterring them while I am at work and they are in the house alone all day.  No cotastrophes.  Hope this helps.

Not a spelling flame, honestly – it’s just that it seems to me very logical indeed that the first letters of catastrophe should be C-A-T  :-) Happy Christmas everyone.  We will finally be able to collect our two long-overdue kittens on Thursday morning! — Molly

Response:

LOL, thank you for the correction any way Molly, guess I should turn my spellchecker on.  Loved the logic, it is OHHH so true. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – .  This is even deterring them while I am at work and they are in the house alone all day.  No cotastrophes.  Hope this helps. Not a spelling flame, honestly – it’s just that it seems to me very logical indeed that the first letters of catastrophe should be C-A-T  :-) Happy Christmas everyone.  We will finally be able to collect our two long-overdue kittens on Thursday morning! — Molly

Response:

The bitter apple spray seems to work at my house.  I put the (artificial) tree up and sprayed the bitter apple liberally around the lower branches and under the tree, left if for a day before decorating.  The puddies kind of got used to this strange thing in the living room while deciding it was’nt fun to nibble on nor sniff around.  I kept the lights and decorations to the top 3/4 of the tree.  No trouble so far.  I am expecting to re-spray soon.  I am really surprised they have been so good. I wonder if it was my resounding NOOOOOOOO when the first one went near it.  They don’t hear that word too often around here.  After all, its their house isn’t it?  Good luck, Jan and her resident puddies:  Chloe, Charlotte, Tristan & Iseult

: Yikes! : Anyone have any hints on how to keep a cat OUT of the Xmas tree?  Ours : climbs up the middle pole (its a fake tree) and hangs out on the upper : branches, wreaking serious havoc with the lights and ornaments, and the : holds on like there’s no tomorrow when we try to "extract" him.  We tried : putting tin-foil under the tree so he’d keep away, but he made short work of : THAT idea.  Any tips? : Thanks, : kannon — Jan  

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – x-no-archive: yes Hello <sigh,  Dumb me!  Never having a young kitten before, I have learned the _hard way.  With *hindsight being 20/20,* I regret that I put up our regular artificial tree <moan.  Although our tree is artificial, and stands approximately 4′ tall; I put it up but didn’t decorate it as I usually would. Emma, who has beaten the *Energizer Bunny,* has not only climbed up inside of the tree, she has done everything possible to it <groan.  Well, after short deliberation with the *Fam,* it’s been voted on that the Christmas Tree comes down the day after Christmas.  Although Emma is 3 1/2 months old now, we have to do this for OUR sanity!  Actually, since it’s just the 3 of us adults, no big deal.  Here’s where the *hindsight comes in:*  I should have purchased a tiny tree for _just this Christmas, wouldn’t have had the troubles we’ve had! Happy Holidays from Samantha, Jingles, and Emma who seems to be on speed! Regards, Bjp

No, tiny trees aren’t any safer. They are just easier to knock over. The ornaments are *funsized* and much easier to hide under sofas.  We gave up on trees years ago.  Now, we decorate a tree outside. Well, this year my husband had put in new bay windows (one in the dining room, one in the tv room and one in our bedroom, which faces the street) just for the cats.  We got a little animated Mickey and Minnie at Disneyland last year (cost $110 and in January, we got a *steamed person here* catalog from Disney, same thing on sale for $56) and a little fiber optic tree at Michael’s craft store ($49.95 and the next week there was a coupon in the paper for 40% off, we just have incredibly bad timing *grins) which I put tiny decorations on.  We put them in the bedroom window and Brian got a sheet of heavy plastic, heated it so it would bend and put it around the tree and the Mickey/Minnie thing in the window, to save them from the cats. Cats aren’t really happy, but we finally got some decorations up. There’s a picture of it at the top of this page: <http://www.lisaviolet.com/cathouse/december8.html happy hollydays… lisaviolet — go to my website to get my real email address visit the best little cathouse in cyberspace <http://www.lisaviolet.com

Response:

I hung a mothball cake under the tree. Definitley has cut down on the climbing Yikes! Anyone have any hints on how to keep a cat OUT of the Xmas tree?  Ours climbs up the middle pole (its a fake tree) and hangs out on the upper branches, wreaking serious havoc with the lights and ornaments, and the holds on like there’s no tomorrow when we try to "extract" him.  We tried putting tin-foil under the tree so he’d keep away, but he made short work of THAT idea.  Any tips? Thanks, kannon

– Bruce Musgrove

Response:

Wish I could lend some insight to this problem; it seems like an easy thing but we are finding it is NOT… We recently adopted two older kittens from the SPCA…they have been making us MISERABLE with the tree antics. I’ve never had naughtier kitties around a tree as these two clowns. Climb, bat, break, chew, sky’s the limit…it’s worth getting squirted and hollered at over, apparently. Think I’ll try the mothballs. If that doesn’t work, suicide sounds attractive…

Response:

when the little rats are in the tree – pop a balloon!

Response:

My cats did not respond to water to get them out of the tree.  But when I give them a shrill whistle, it  works wonders and I always have my mouth to whistle with.  I can’t always find the water bottle. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -when the little rats are in the tree – pop a balloon!

Response:

I have found that a water squirt bottle always at hand is an invaluable training tool for kittens/cats.  I too have a 4 month old kitten who began to play with the Christmas tree branches the minute I took them out of the box.  SQUIRT!  I also put my tree (4ft) on a coffe table.  The minute any one of my 4 cats even looked at it cross-eyed, SQUIRT!  Amazingly, I have not had a single problem since, and the tree is still standing after 2 weeks.  This is even deterring them while I am at work and they are in the house alone all day.  No cotastrophes.  Hope this helps.

.  Well, after short deliberation with the *Fam,* it’s been voted on that the Christmas Tree comes down the day after ChristmasHappy Holidays from Samantha, Jingles, and

Emma who seems to be on speed! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Regards, Bjp To reply: Change *sunshine to inferno* *- http://inferno.cshore.com/bpfrommer <–[Click] Feline Diabetes Info, Links and Fun pages! "Hugging Has No Harmful Side Effects"      ~Diana, Princess of Wales~

Response:

lights? There is a "bitter apple" (or was it sour apple?) spray cats don’t like. The scent of vanilla is also deterrent, as is the scent of any citrus. These may be applied to lower branches, but not directly on lights, unless you unplug them & let the spray dry thoroughly first. When I had this problem in the past, I’ve had to tie fishing line near the top of the trunk and fasten it to the ceiling to prevent it from falling over.  What the

I agree with this opinion- so long as they’re not breaking anything, let them climb the tree. But you can also try a Scat Mat (they have a web page, I think it’s www.scatmat.com), which will keep him away from the tree. But try the other approaches listed above first, they’re much cheaper. Catherine, Loki and Freya — Generic Lame-O Signature Follows: Matos, Catherine Anne Moseley http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~cm85 Yes, I love being a graduate student! Really! I mean it!

Response:

I’ve been hearing SOOO many stories like this. There seems little you can do to keep them out. Some say let kitty explore it on her own. Does she chew on lights? There is a "bitter apple" (or was it sour apple?) spray cats don’t like. The scent of vanilla is also deterrent, as is the scent of any citrus. These may be applied to lower branches, but not directly on lights, unless you unplug them & let the spray dry thoroughly first. When I had this problem in the past, I’ve had to tie fishing line near the top of the trunk and fasten it to the ceiling to prevent it from falling over.  What the heck, I figure, they’re so darn cute, but I’ll tolerate it only to the point of becoming unsafe.

Well, I can tell you that wrapping the lights and cord with tin foil doesn’t necessarily work. I tried this last night, after unplugging the lights, to keep our younger cat (we didn’t have her last Christmas, as she was only 7 weeks old then) from chewing on the cord and lights. She just pulled the tin foil off and then started chewing on it. This is the technique I’ve used in the past with other cats but it sure doesn’t work with her. Fortunately neither of my cats is interested in climbing the tree. Guess I’ll try the bitter apple. Right now I just strung the lights up higher so she can’t reach them. -yngver (to reply, change initial "i" to "y")

Response:

Yikes! Anyone have any hints on how to keep a cat OUT of the Xmas tree?  Ours climbs up the middle pole (its a fake tree) and hangs out on the upper branches, wreaking serious havoc with the lights and ornaments, and the holds on like there’s no tomorrow when we try to "extract" him.  We tried putting tin-foil under the tree so he’d keep away, but he made short work of THAT idea.  Any tips? Thanks, kannon

Response:

I’ve been hearing SOOO many stories like this. There seems little you can do to keep them out. Some say let kitty explore it on her own. Does she chew on lights? There is a "bitter apple" (or was it sour apple?) spray cats don’t like. The scent of vanilla is also deterrent, as is the scent of any citrus. These may be applied to lower branches, but not directly on lights, unless you unplug them & let the spray dry thoroughly first. When I had this problem in the past, I’ve had to tie fishing line near the top of the trunk and fasten it to the ceiling to prevent it from falling over.  What the heck, I figure, they’re so darn cute, but I’ll tolerate it only to the point of becoming unsafe.

Response:

I have found that a water squirt bottle always at hand is an invaluable training tool for kittens/cats.  I too have a 4 month old kitten who began to play with the Christmas tree branches the minute I took them out of the box.  SQUIRT!  I also put my tree (4ft) on a coffe table.  The minute any one of my 4 cats even looked at it cross-eyed, SQUIRT!  Amazingly, I have not had a single problem since, and the tree is still standing after 2 weeks.  This is even deterring them while I am at work and they are in the house alone all day.  No cotastrophes.  Hope this helps.

Not a spelling flame, honestly – it’s just that it seems to me very logical indeed that the first letters of catastrophe should be C-A-T  :-) Happy Christmas everyone.  We will finally be able to collect our two long-overdue kittens on Thursday morning! — Molly

Response:

LOL, thank you for the correction any way Molly, guess I should turn my spellchecker on.  Loved the logic, it is OHHH so true. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – .  This is even deterring them while I am at work and they are in the house alone all day.  No cotastrophes.  Hope this helps. Not a spelling flame, honestly – it’s just that it seems to me very logical indeed that the first letters of catastrophe should be C-A-T  :-) Happy Christmas everyone.  We will finally be able to collect our two long-overdue kittens on Thursday morning! — Molly

Response:

The bitter apple spray seems to work at my house.  I put the (artificial) tree up and sprayed the bitter apple liberally around the lower branches and under the tree, left if for a day before decorating.  The puddies kind of got used to this strange thing in the living room while deciding it was’nt fun to nibble on nor sniff around.  I kept the lights and decorations to the top 3/4 of the tree.  No trouble so far.  I am expecting to re-spray soon.  I am really surprised they have been so good. I wonder if it was my resounding NOOOOOOOO when the first one went near it.  They don’t hear that word too often around here.  After all, its their house isn’t it?  Good luck, Jan and her resident puddies:  Chloe, Charlotte, Tristan & Iseult

: Yikes! : Anyone have any hints on how to keep a cat OUT of the Xmas tree?  Ours : climbs up the middle pole (its a fake tree) and hangs out on the upper : branches, wreaking serious havoc with the lights and ornaments, and the : holds on like there’s no tomorrow when we try to "extract" him.  We tried : putting tin-foil under the tree so he’d keep away, but he made short work of : THAT idea.  Any tips? : Thanks, : kannon — Jan  

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – x-no-archive: yes Hello <sigh,  Dumb me!  Never having a young kitten before, I have learned the _hard way.  With *hindsight being 20/20,* I regret that I put up our regular artificial tree <moan.  Although our tree is artificial, and stands approximately 4′ tall; I put it up but didn’t decorate it as I usually would. Emma, who has beaten the *Energizer Bunny,* has not only climbed up inside of the tree, she has done everything possible to it <groan.  Well, after short deliberation with the *Fam,* it’s been voted on that the Christmas Tree comes down the day after Christmas.  Although Emma is 3 1/2 months old now, we have to do this for OUR sanity!  Actually, since it’s just the 3 of us adults, no big deal.  Here’s where the *hindsight comes in:*  I should have purchased a tiny tree for _just this Christmas, wouldn’t have had the troubles we’ve had! Happy Holidays from Samantha, Jingles, and Emma who seems to be on speed! Regards, Bjp

No, tiny trees aren’t any safer. They are just easier to knock over. The ornaments are *funsized* and much easier to hide under sofas.  We gave up on trees years ago.  Now, we decorate a tree outside. Well, this year my husband had put in new bay windows (one in the dining room, one in the tv room and one in our bedroom, which faces the street) just for the cats.  We got a little animated Mickey and Minnie at Disneyland last year (cost $110 and in January, we got a *steamed person here* catalog from Disney, same thing on sale for $56) and a little fiber optic tree at Michael’s craft store ($49.95 and the next week there was a coupon in the paper for 40% off, we just have incredibly bad timing *grins) which I put tiny decorations on.  We put them in the bedroom window and Brian got a sheet of heavy plastic, heated it so it would bend and put it around the tree and the Mickey/Minnie thing in the window, to save them from the cats. Cats aren’t really happy, but we finally got some decorations up. There’s a picture of it at the top of this page: <http://www.lisaviolet.com/cathouse/december8.html happy hollydays… lisaviolet — go to my website to get my real email address visit the best little cathouse in cyberspace <http://www.lisaviolet.com

Response:

I hung a mothball cake under the tree. Definitley has cut down on the climbing Yikes! Anyone have any hints on how to keep a cat OUT of the Xmas tree?  Ours climbs up the middle pole (its a fake tree) and hangs out on the upper branches, wreaking serious havoc with the lights and ornaments, and the holds on like there’s no tomorrow when we try to "extract" him.  We tried putting tin-foil under the tree so he’d keep away, but he made short work of THAT idea.  Any tips? Thanks, kannon

– Bruce Musgrove

Response:

Wish I could lend some insight to this problem; it seems like an easy thing but we are finding it is NOT… We recently adopted two older kittens from the SPCA…they have been making us MISERABLE with the tree antics. I’ve never had naughtier kitties around a tree as these two clowns. Climb, bat, break, chew, sky’s the limit…it’s worth getting squirted and hollered at over, apparently. Think I’ll try the mothballs. If that doesn’t work, suicide sounds attractive…

Response:

when the little rats are in the tree – pop a balloon!

Response:

My cats did not respond to water to get them out of the tree.  But when I give them a shrill whistle, it  works wonders and I always have my mouth to whistle with.  I can’t always find the water bottle. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -when the little rats are in the tree – pop a balloon!

Response:

I have found that a water squirt bottle always at hand is an invaluable training tool for kittens/cats.  I too have a 4 month old kitten who began to play with the Christmas tree branches the minute I took them out of the box.  SQUIRT!  I also put my tree (4ft) on a coffe table.  The minute any one of my 4 cats even looked at it cross-eyed, SQUIRT!  Amazingly, I have not had a single problem since, and the tree is still standing after 2 weeks.  This is even deterring them while I am at work and they are in the house alone all day.  No cotastrophes.  Hope this helps.

.  Well, after short deliberation with the *Fam,* it’s been voted on that the Christmas Tree comes down the day after ChristmasHappy Holidays from Samantha, Jingles, and

Emma who seems to be on speed! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Regards, Bjp To reply: Change *sunshine to inferno* *- http://inferno.cshore.com/bpfrommer <–[Click] Feline Diabetes Info, Links and Fun pages! "Hugging Has No Harmful Side Effects"      ~Diana, Princess of Wales~

Response:

lights? There is a "bitter apple" (or was it sour apple?) spray cats don’t like. The scent of vanilla is also deterrent, as is the scent of any citrus. These may be applied to lower branches, but not directly on lights, unless you unplug them & let the spray dry thoroughly first. When I had this problem in the past, I’ve had to tie fishing line near the top of the trunk and fasten it to the ceiling to prevent it from falling over.  What the

I agree with this opinion- so long as they’re not breaking anything, let them climb the tree. But you can also try a Scat Mat (they have a web page, I think it’s www.scatmat.com), which will keep him away from the tree. But try the other approaches listed above first, they’re much cheaper. Catherine, Loki and Freya — Generic Lame-O Signature Follows: Matos, Catherine Anne Moseley http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~cm85 Yes, I love being a graduate student! Really! I mean it!

Response:

I’ve been hearing SOOO many stories like this. There seems little you can do to keep them out. Some say let kitty explore it on her own. Does she chew on lights? There is a "bitter apple" (or was it sour apple?) spray cats don’t like. The scent of vanilla is also deterrent, as is the scent of any citrus. These may be applied to lower branches, but not directly on lights, unless you unplug them & let the spray dry thoroughly first. When I had this problem in the past, I’ve had to tie fishing line near the top of the trunk and fasten it to the ceiling to prevent it from falling over.  What the heck, I figure, they’re so darn cute, but I’ll tolerate it only to the point of becoming unsafe.

Well, I can tell you that wrapping the lights and cord with tin foil doesn’t necessarily work. I tried this last night, after unplugging the lights, to keep our younger cat (we didn’t have her last Christmas, as she was only 7 weeks old then) from chewing on the cord and lights. She just pulled the tin foil off and then started chewing on it. This is the technique I’ve used in the past with other cats but it sure doesn’t work with her. Fortunately neither of my cats is interested in climbing the tree. Guess I’ll try the bitter apple. Right now I just strung the lights up higher so she can’t reach them. -yngver (to reply, change initial "i" to "y")

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Yikes! Anyone have any hints on how to keep a cat OUT of the Xmas tree?  Ours climbs up the middle pole (its a fake tree) and hangs out on the upper branches, wreaking serious havoc with the lights and ornaments, and the holds on like there’s no tomorrow when we try to "extract" him.  We tried putting tin-foil under the tree so he’d keep away, but he made short work of THAT idea.  Any tips? Thanks, kannon

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I’ve been hearing SOOO many stories like this. There seems little you can do to keep them out. Some say let kitty explore it on her own. Does she chew on lights? There is a "bitter apple" (or was it sour apple?) spray cats don’t like. The scent of vanilla is also deterrent, as is the scent of any citrus. These may be applied to lower branches, but not directly on lights, unless you unplug them & let the spray dry thoroughly first. When I had this problem in the past, I’ve had to tie fishing line near the top of the trunk and fasten it to the ceiling to prevent it from falling over.  What the heck, I figure, they’re so darn cute, but I’ll tolerate it only to the point of becoming unsafe.

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