Finally a smidgen of good news

[taxguykarl]

If your pretty girl is at all athletic and decides she likes to go up the tree at a run, might I suggest a bag or two of small gravel (fits just about perfectly into a pillowcase) on the base to stabilize it? We've got 2 50-pound bags on ours, and Mister Kitteh still sometimes manages to rock the tree a little when he hits it two-thirds of the way up at 15 or 20 mph.

No kidding...at Christmas (kitty's first can be interesting) we learned to secure the base with cinder blocks for feline climbers (see also Simon's cat.)

[Kittish]

No kidding...at Christmas (kitty's first can be interesting) we learned to secure the base with cinder blocks for feline climbers (see also Simon's cat.)

I was talking about actual cat trees, but the same principle probably applies to Christmas trees as well. We don't do Christmas trees, though, so haven't had to figure out how to cat-resist one.

[taxguykarl]

Unbreakable ornaments for starters. Place cinder blocks on the tree stand; then leave the undecorated tree for a day to inure the cat to the new furniture. The cat will be interested (and probably want to "help") that's a given.

[Kittish]

The cat will be interested (and probably want to "help") that's a given.

Much the same way they want to help and be right in the middle of everything when you change the sheets on a bed, right? I've not yet met a cat who didn't insist on being right in the middle of it when I changed sheets on our bed.

Hey, why not decorate a Christmas tree with actual cat toys? Shiny, festive crinkle balls, jingly balls, those long teaser toys with wands (instead of garland). That way, you know they'll be ok when kitty inevitably decides to knock some off and play with them.

[taxguykarl]

Hey, why not decorate a Christmas tree with actual cat toys? Shiny, festive crinkle balls, jingly balls, those long teaser toys with wands (instead of garland). That way, you know they'll be ok when kitty inevitably decides to knock some off and play with them.

And I have no doubt you'll be able to shoot some great videos....especially if you include some catnip-scented toys.

[XCashier]

I'm sorry about Ash.

Glad that you got another kitty. What's her name? She's a pretty little tortie.

[Akasa]

Her name is Judith.

[Sakka]

No kidding...at Christmas (kitty's first can be interesting) we learned to secure the base with cinder blocks for feline climbers (see also Simon's cat.)

Parents learned early on with first cat to tie the tree to a nearby railing.
Hear a bunch of bells being rung in the middle of the night, then quiet. ... Then a thud as the artificial tree falls over and the scrabbling of claws on the floor as kitty runs for its life from the attacking tree.

We also put bells on low branches as a kitty alarm system/decoy. Unbreakable decorations on the rest of the tree.
One previous cat would love to knock random decorations off the tree, then make a hiding spot in the branches and if you attempted to put the decoration back on the tree, a paw would come out to knock it off again/bat at your hand. Which wouldn't be so bad except that there are surgical scalpels that weren't as sharp as her claws.