We all love our furry friends, except when they are ripping up our festive holiday decorations. After all, we’re not the only ones looking forward to ripping things open on Christmas Day. With all the endless colors of the season, they can also be massive hazards for curious cats. The various decorations can invite compulsive chewers to ingest many things that can damage their intestinal tract.
Not only that, paw parents of climbing kitties will have to make sure they don’t fall and injure themselves from their ascent. Or worse, cut themselves from broken ornaments. If you’re a fur parent looking for a way to protect your furry friend (and maybe even your decorations), look no more. Here are a few tips to keep everyone safe during the festive seasons althroughout the year!
Give Cats a Safe Place to Play Nearby
Cats will always select the most enticing option. To avoid them causing havoc on your holiday decorations, you have to give them a more exciting place to go nearby.
Cat trees, Scratchers, and Toys
If you haven’t yet invested in cat trees, scratching posts, and toys, you may want to give their gifts early this year. Bored cats are the most destructive kind of cats, so keeping them entertained will save you a whole lot of trouble.
Dedicate a spot where your furry friends can lie down, climb, and scratch without any negative consequences. Additionally, make sure that any elevated play spaces are near enough to distract them from your tree but far enough that they don’t use it to launch themselves.
Catnip and Cat Grass
If it’s the greenery that they’re into, give them different types of greens. Buy some cat grass to fulfill their need to chew, so they don’t take it out on your tree ribbons.
Sprinkle some catnip on their play area. Every time you catch your cats trying to chew on your wreathes, grab them, and put them in that dedicated cat zone where they can continue what they were doing without you making a scene.
Keep Cats Away with Scents
After securing an attractive spot for their unending Christmas leisure, it becomes time to encourage them to stay away from the areas they should avoid. One way that you can keep your feline friends off the tinsel is through the power of scent.
There are scents that cats love and those that they absolutely cannot stand. One trick to keep your cats off from unwanted surfaces is to put scents they dislike on them.Currently, there are many options for commercially available sprays in the market today. However, some natural scents can also do the same job.
Pine & Cedar
Mother nature knows best. We know this because she made sure that cats naturally hate the smell of the original Christmas trees – Pine. While it’s true that most of us love the convenience of a plastic tree that we can keep all year round, getting a real pine tree for Christmas may not be such a bad idea!
Citrus
Oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruit contain Citric acid. Just a whiff of these fruity smells will be enough to make your furry friend gag. Just grab a couple of citrus fruits from the supermarket, eat a few for lunch, and line their peels around your Christmas tree. Only the most daring of felines will even dare to come close.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Not only is Apple Cider Vinegar an all-around ingredient for both cleaning and cooking, but it is also a safe deterrent for the cats of our household! Give your decorations a quick spray. Not only will they be cleaner, but they will also be safer from chewing and clawing.
Cat-Proof Your Decorations
Unfortunately, not all types of deterrents work on our furry friends. Many determined cats will not let anything stand in between them and your Christmas ornaments. One thing that you can do for your cat is to make sure the decorations are safe.
Here are some ways to make sure that your cat doesn’t get hurt when they come too close to your decorations:
Skip the Tinsel, Ribbons, and Yarn
While it’s tempting to get all the shiny fabrics for your tree, eating these can wreak havoc in your furry friend’s internal organs. Go for paper alternatives or natural fibers to keep your cat’s tummy safe from accidental ingestions.
Build a Stable Tree
If there’s nothing you can do to keep your cat away from the climb, make sure your tree is tough enough to handle their extra weight. When given the option, choose the sturdier Christmas tree that is heavy enough to stay stable. Alternatively, you may also add heavy items on the bottom of the tree to keep it from toppling over, just in case someone decides to scale it for fun.
Say No to Glass Ornaments
While glass ornaments are beautiful, they can also be dangerous. If your furry friend has the habit of climbing everything, one of these days, a wreath might drop, and glass ornaments may break and injure them. You may opt to use plastic instead of glass. They last just as long and will not be much of a problem should they end up on the ground.
Invest in Cord Protectors
No Christmas tree will be perfect without the shiny, shimmering lights. However, if your cat is prone to chew everything, exposed cords put them at risk of electrocution. Besides checking for exposed wiring when taking your lights out of storage, you can also invest in cord protectors to prevent your cat from munching on them.
Keep Everyone Safe & Happy During Christmas
There’s nothing like waking up on Christmas morning to a house filled with beautiful holiday decorations. Just because you have a cat does not mean you don’t get to enjoy filling your home with the Christmas cheer.
When preparing for Christmas this year, don’t forget to keep your furry friend in mind. Make sure to keep them entertained and give them enough space to play. Buy decorations that aren’t as fragile, safe to be ingested, or altered to manage your cat’s peculiar habits.
As long as you make sure that your decorations can handle your furry friend’s antics or take precautions to discourage them from ripping it to shreds, you’re bound to have a fuss-free Christmas celebration with your cat.
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