If you’re a cat owner, you’ll know that Christmas is stressful for two reasons: One, because you have to leave the warmth of your house to face the business of the festive season to buy your loved ones presents, and two, because you’re going to spend at least 25 days picking up baubles and branches that your cats have knocked off the Christmas tree while attempting to climb it.
But it’s not just the odd bauble rolling around that you need to be concerned about – you also need to be mindful of the type of Christmas tree you buy, and how dangerous some decorations can be to your feline pals.
For example, if you’ve bought a real Christmas tree and your cat likes to have a nibble, you’ll need to be cautious of your cat ingesting part of it, as some oils produced by these trees can be toxic and can make your cat poorly.
Fertilisers and plant food can also be harmful to cats. You’ll need to make sure you pick up any fallen needles to save them injuring delicate cat paws.
Decorations can also be an issue. While baubles can be fun for your cats to chase, glass ones can shatter easily and cause them to wound themselves, while tinsel can cause serious illness if ingested due to the blockages it can cause.
According to Cats Protection, in some cases, this can even be fatal.
But don’t panic – all of this doesn’t mean you can’t put a tree up – it just means you need to be a bit more proactive about making your tree cat-safe.
Cats Protection has lots of ideas on how to make your Christmas tree cat-safe.
This includes covering any wires leading to the tree by using plastic cardboard tubes and making sure you switch your Christmas lights off at the mains when you’re not home.
You should also make sure your Christmas tree has a sturdy base or secure it with weights to stop it from falling over.
Any hanging decorations should be hung closer to the top of the tree, out of reach of your cat’s paws, and avoid using glass baubles or any decorations that could break easily and cause harm to your cat.
To be super safe, you could ditch the tinsel and swap it for ribbons. But if you want to keep tinsel, just make sure you keep it out of your cat’s reach and don’t let them ingest it.
Cats Protection adds that you shouldn’t place any presents for your cat under the tree – especially if they contain catnip, because this will just make your cat manic.
It’s important that you take safety precautions to look after your cat this Christmas.
It doesn’t mean you can’t have fun or make your living room look festive, but remember Christmas is a stressful time for cats and so they may be over-active as it is.
There’s nothing worse than a poorly cat and a huge vet’s bill at Christmas.
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