Christmas tree or no tree,with three six month old kittens and the mama?

Make sure that your cat or cats, are locked in a safe room large enough to hold it/them when everyone is either asleep or out of the house. This will keep your kitties from knocking the tree on the floor.

Use a piece of high test fishing line to connect the top of the tree to the ceiling. This will prevent the tree from tipping.

Put any valuable ornaments somewhere in the top two-thirds of the tree. That way the cats can't reach them.

Hang ornaments by using wire ornament hangers. Use a pair of pliers to clamp the hook part around the branch.

Use duct tape. If the tree is shorter than 6', use duct tape to tape the legs of the holder to a piece of wide ply-wood and put the whole thing on a short, sturdy table. This keeps the tree above their level and the cats won't be as interested.

Plug the tree lights into a short indoor extension cord and tape the plug into the socket with electrical tape. Simply unplug the lights from the extension cord to turn off.

Products & Advice that Really Work Get them at TipsKeep a small spray bottle full of water near the tree. If your cats still go after the tree, a light spritz of water on their back and a stern "NO!" will get the point across.

Purchase several ornaments that are bells and hang them on the lower branches. If your cat tries to pull on the tree or hide underneath it, you will hear it.

Cats naturally hate the scent of oranges, so keep orange peels under the tree to repel your cat.

If its a plastic tree, a small amount of Citronella oil shaken into a bottle of water and misted on to the tree makes it smell unpleasant to the cat but fresh and citrus-like to you.

Consider getting a Scotch Pine. They have extremely sharp needles. Also works for curious small children.

For small kittens wrap tinfoil around the trunk. They don't like putting their nails into it and it will keep them from climbing the tree.

Spray some pine cones with citronella and pile them around the base of the tree. Cats do not walk on pine cones! (also works great to put pine cones in the base of your houseplants).

Spray the bottom limbs with tabasco sauce to keep them from chewing the bottom branches. They wince and run away!

Decide to make it your cat's Christmas, too. Decide you are not going to get frustrated trying to outsmart your cat this year. Secure the tree to the wall or ceiling to keep it from toppling. Clamp ornaments to the branches with the metal hooks using pliers. Take pictures of your cat sleeping in the Christmas tree branches, and SMILE! >"<

WarningsDon't use tinsel around cats! Ever! They will pull it down and spread it over the house and possibly chew on it and choke. Tinsel will cause the cat serious injury if injested - contact your vet right away if you think your cat has chewed, eaten or swallowed any tinsel.

When you lock the cats up for the night, make sure they have plenty of food, water and a clean litter box.

I went thought the same dilemma recently and couldn't bare to give up a tree, so this is what I did:

A real tree can be dangerous, the needles can be bad if ingested so I went for a fake tree.

Then I didn't put breakable or keepsake ornaments on the tree, just plastic or soft ones.

Then I found a motion alarm from a pet store (to keep pets off couches, etc..) and hung it like an ornament. [See link]

And then I always had a squirt bottle with plain water nearby to squirt the attackers.

If you're afraid they'll tip it over you can anchor it to the ceiling.

Can't say it was a completely problem free Christmas but it was livable.

I'll be using the same techniques for my 1 year old son this Christmas (except for the squirt bottle ;)

i've always had a christmas tree, with kittens. for about a year we would help take in pregnant strays, let them have the babies, spay them, put them back, tame the kittens, and find a home for them. so we would have around 10 kittens in our house at any given time! it was really fun though.... anyways, we had all those kittens and we always had a tree. yeah, they will probably climb the tree a couple times but they're fine. as long as you get a stable tree it will be and watch them you'll be fine. they can climb, that's part of their personality. oh, if you do decide to get one, i'd put up nonbreakable ornaments though, or at least not near the bottom. they'll also lay on their backs and play with the branches and ornaments that are near the bottom. lol it's a lot of fun having kittens around christmas time!

Well, get the tree if you don't mind cleaning up the mess! :-)

Just don't use tinsel or breakable ornaments! And you may want to stay away from lights, too :-(

I always have a tree and my cats love it. I put ornaments on the bottom branches that are safe for them to play with. My cats, however, are adults and do not climb into the tree nor try to chew on the lights, but kittens might be tempted to do both.

For the first twelve years of my life we had this problem in my house. From toddlers to puppies to kittens. You can put up a tree but don't use any tensil the kittens will do whatever they can to get and eat it. Don't put any decorations on the bottom two feet or they will just attack them. Be cautious with the light wiring so they don't chew on it. Good luck, and remember that claws love shiny wrapping paper.

Cats like to try to eat Christmas trees and they would probably knock down all the ornaments. Either put one where they can't get it, or you can always take a picture of one and put it on the fridge. :)

NO NO NO NO NO!!!

DO NOT GET A TREE!!!

They will destroy it!!! My cats do it every year!! they climb up it and sit in the branches and they get ruined and they knock off ornaments and play with them..it's just a pain.

Good Luck!!

wow that's a tuff one something your gonna have to experience to find out what happens...get ornaments that are unbrakeable that away if they fall off they won't break....just cat proof it...