My younger cat, Millie is energetic and a little more mischievous than my older cat Mollie. Yesterday, while I was writing my blog article, I noticed that the ornaments on my tree began to gently shake. I looked under the tree to see if any of my two cats was lying there. No cats, tree still shaking. Then I looked up and noticed a cat tail sticking out of the tree. It was my younger cat, Millie who was trying desperately to keep me from noticing her! She does this at least once a year. When this happens, I don’t try to pull her out. I don’t scream and yell at her but rather I gently tell her to “get down.” She usually obeys and meticulously, climbs out of the tree without knocking anything over.

This is not a good thing. Cats could do lots of damage to your beautifully decorated tree. It is worse if you have a real tree. Cats love the smell and bark.  Here are some tips that may help.

1. Let the tree sit undecorated for awhile. This will give your cat the chance to get used to it being there.

2. Place foil around the trunk. Cats usually don’t like walking on foil.

3. If your cat insists on going around the tree or swatting the ornaments, try squirting her with a bottle of water or water mixed with white vinegar. There are some scents on the market that can discourage your cat from going near certain things.

4. Try placing orange peels in and around the tree. Cats don’t like the smell of oranges.

5. Try playing with her more frequently. Get her tired by having her chase her fishing pole cat toy!

6. If all else fails, you’ll have to keep your cat out of the room during the holidays. This would be the last resort.