Christmas is a merry holiday, and most people want to spend it with the family. Right before Christmas there is a lot of fuss - Christmas tree should be decorated, presents beautifully packed, candles prepared, in the kitchens festive dishes are cooked. Cats, too, participate in the preparations. Package ribbons fall, a cat reaches for them, another tasty dish arrives from the kitchen, and a cat is ready to try it. And of course a cat will certainly make sure we have not left anything in every opened box or bag.
Among all these pleasant preparations it is very easy to forget that many decorations in our homes are really dangerous for a cat. Bright and very fragile lamps of garlands, long electric wires and even the fact that a tree has appeared in the sitting room will attract a cat's attention, and it will certainly not deny itself the pleasure to explore the Christmas tree.
Yet, playing with these items is dangerous. Glass decorations are easy to break, fragments may hurt the paws or even get into the eyes, while a cat chewing an electric wire risks being shocked by electricity. A poorly fixed tree falls as soon as a cat tries to climb it and play with decorations.
For many years our family has worked out special "holiday" measures directed to ensure safety for our cats. We hope that our advice will help you to prevent your cats from trouble just like they help us.
Demands to the tree
We used to have cats that completely ignored the Christmas tree. We even had cats that with angelic patience blinked at the sparkling lights of garland showing that they are modestly waiting for their presents. Yet, most of our curious cats by all means climbed the decorated tree dropping carefully placed decorations and sometimes overturning the tree.
Now we can prevent such catastrophe. Every year before setting the tree near the window in the sitting room someone gets to the window-sill and fixes to the upper part of the window frame two small metal holders. We let a strong thin rope through the upper part of the tree trunk and fix it to the holders. When the tree is nicely decorated the holders and rope are not seen. If you like you can use a nylon rope instead of a metal wire.
There are different Christmas trees. When we have a small tree it is enough to regulate the rope so that the tree remains vertical even if there are several curious cats trying to climb it. It is not very difficult and is certainly worth doing, and neither the family members nor cats risk being covered with fragments of decorations that fell from a swaying tree.
After the tree is well fixed in the container at the bottom and to the holders at the top you can decorate it with garlands - they should be first neatly placed on the floor, burnt out bulbs should be replaced and bare wires should be insulated. We usually check also wires of all domestic electric appliances and devices that were kept in closets since summer.
Before putting the garlands to the tree I usually cover the part of the wire between the last bulb and the electric outlet with "Tabasco" sauce. I use this very sauce as a repellent only because we always have some at home. You can choose any other spicy sauce or a special cat chew deterrent or prepare a sort of paste by mixing red pepper with water. Neither of these products will be harmful for your cat but it won't like the spice taste and therefore the animal will not chew items that may be dangerous for it.
A spicy sauce is a very necessary thing during holidays, it won't stain objects made of non-absorbing materials. It can be even applied to flowers that are toxic for a cat, in particular, on such flowers' leaves. Nobody know why cats love leaves so much. There is something better than "Tabasco" sauce: remove toxic flowers so that the cat can't reach them.
After all the decoration have been placed and the tree container is filled with water wrap the bottom of the tree with a beautifully cloth so that it completely covers the lower part of the trunk and the container with water. To fix the cloth properly and to prevent a cat from having an access to the container with dirty water, fix the cloth with a thin wire letting it also around the tree trunk. Just a little more work, and a happy and untroubled Christmas is guaranteed for you.
To our cats' pleasure we do not remover the ladder for several days and they jump on it like the most gracious decorations.
Protective tips of ribbons
Holiday does not mean only a Christmas tree, it also means our cats. Excited and troubled by the fuss they get into boxes and drawers, hide in paper bags and play with any ribbon or rope they manage to get. Bearing in mind their curiosity and desire to play with anything never close a box or a bag without first counting the cats. If this happens the offended cat will pout for many hours or even days and will spoil your holiday.
Ropes, ribbons, thin string or rubber braid are wonderful toys but when chewed they may hurt a cat's digestive tract. Plastic braid and even special cat's toys often can't resist sharp claws and teeth. This does not mean that you should prohibit merry games with a new toy but you should keep the situation under control. Let a cat play with such decorations but you should keep an eye on it.
Many holiday collars for cats are decorated with bells, beads or artificial flowers. Check all the decorations and replace or fix those that may be torn apart during play. If you plan to make such a collar yourself use a "Velcro" click - it is easy to open if a cat got carried away with a game and by chance has suffocated. Check your cat's collar at least once a month, then you can be sure that the pet is comfortable and safe.
Decorative baskets with artificial flowers are always popular, they are beautiful, and cats feel like home in them. After all, what can be better than a light basket where cats and dogs love to settle? Unfortunately, the material they are made of is easily chewed - as a rule, it is bamboo or its synthetic imitations - therefore, the risk is high.
Yet, not everything is lost, and these beautiful things can be protected from chewing. To begin with, try the old good spicy sauce. If it helps there's nothing you can worry about but continue to apply it from time to time.
If, despite all the measures taken, a cat continues chewing the basket do the following: wash properly and dry several pairs of old nylon stockings, and if you only have pantyhose, cut their lower part. Fasten a stocking to the upper part of the basket, flatten the fabric and steadily wrap it around all the basket along the upper perimeter. When the first sticking is "over" fasten the next to it and continue wrapping the upper edge of the basket. This is the place most convenient to chew, the lower part of the basket is much more difficult to get to.
Nylon in general is a very useful material, it may be used for all kinds of cat's needs. For example, you can fill a cat's mat with nylon stockings. Nylon is a very safe material, flee don't like it, it is easily washed and dries two times faster than any other fabric. Nylon stockings are ideal for wrapping plastic or vinyl cribs for cats, and when toys are properly covered with nylon they will last much longer.