The cats who killed Christmas

Free to BAD home, three cats who killed our Christmas tree!

The crime:
tree1

Close-up of the victim:
closeup

The carnage:
tree3

Last gasp of pink Christmas lights:
tree2

Death of the flamingos-pulling-Santa's-sleigh ornament. My very favorite one, hand painted by my cousin Tina.
flamingo-orn

The suspects:
Dusty, the ringleader
Dusty

Stewie, the muscle
Stewie

Miss Kitty, the brains behind the operation
Kitty

Approach these felines carefully. They are considered clawed and dangerous!

Comments

Anonymous said…
At one time I had six cats and four dogs. The only way we had a Christmas tree that survived was to put the tree on top of a crate. I attached the tree stand to a board and wire tied the board to the top of the crate.
This has worked for many years. It even helped our tree to survive two kittens last year.

Julie C
7:58 PM
Karen Kirkpatrick said…
I'm thinking about hanging it from the ceiling. It's not a very big tree. But if that doesn't work, I may have to try your board and crate idea.

Thanks!
9:19 PM
min hus said…
This is exactly why I now have plastic ornaments. Pesky critters!! And never use angel hair. Bad things can happen, either just REALLY gross or actually health damaging.
10:14 PM
Santa Cat said…
bad kitties!
no mousies for thee!
9:36 AM
Becky Mushko said…
But—but—cats see a Christmas tree as a giant cat toy, a challenge to be climbed! It's not their fault that you, as a mere human, fail to grasp that trees are meant for feline entertainment.
9:52 AM
Joylene Nowell Butler said…
We have four cats that may be related. But they've been sentenced to their rooms, so I may have a chance to get the tree down before the same thing happens to us. Cats! Can't live with them, can't live without 'em!
11:52 AM
Unknown said…
I gave up on the tree idea with my cats..... just pointless to put one up. They just like helping far too much, and I can't cope with them dragging tinsel all over the house.
11:59 AM
Loretta Ross said…
I lived in a basement apartment briefly just after college. That Christmas I put up a tree and decorated it, then went to the store for something. I got home, there were ornaments from one end of the house to the other and my cat, George, was crouched at the bend in the staircase with the tree tied to his back with Christmas lights going, "it jumped me! I swear! I was just walking by . . . .
12:18 PM
Alissa Grosso said…
History has a way of repeating itself. I once went away for Christmas leaving my three cats and the tree home alone. When I got back the tree was on the ground, the cats were all acting as if nothing was amiss and one of my favorite flamingo ornaments was smashed beyond repair.
2:13 PM
Pamela DuMond, D.C. said…
You're slaying me, here. My kitten, Lola, is a little like owning one of those Playboy Bunnys in 'The Girls Next Door,'. Very very cute, but not a lot in the brains department. That's why I spent my Christmas with a head cold, cleaning up cat poop all over my bedroom and doing 10 loads of laundry. I get it.

xo,
6:11 PM
sammybourke said…
Great photos! Naughty cats! But ...

Expecting healthy, active cats not to do this is a little like expecting snow to fall up, rather than down.

I had friends who suspended their tree from a beam. It looked lovely; saved space; and was far away from any unwanted "helpers."

For bored house cats this approach would provide the added benefits of intellectual ("OK, Guys. We need a strategy to get to those ornaments.") and physical ("But I can't jump 8 feet high and open my mouth at the same time!") exercise.

Lots of time to plan your strategy for next year.

Sammy
10:10 AM
Lily Cate said…
Yep, we've been the victims of this type of crime. Now the strategy is to screw somw bolts into the wall behind the tree and strap the sucker down. Of course, the first year we did that was the year they suddenly stopped noticing the tree.

(also, a big, loud toy train rolling underneath seems to warn them off)
12:31 PM
Anonymous said…
A little past midnight on the 26th, I heard the Christmas tree ringing (I collect bell ornaments) and I ran to the living room just in time to stop the tree (containing two cats) from falling.

I yelled for my Dh and he performed a double cat-ectomy on the tree. Patient and cats survived the operation.

Sorry yours didn't fair as well
5:12 PM
Carol J. Garvin said…
This just confirms my belief that I'm much better off sticking with my dogs. To keep puppies away from our tree one year I set it up inside a 3' high wire exercise pen. Worked perfectly. Unfortunately that wouldn't even be considered an obstacle for cats.
6:17 PM
Alicia Gregoire said…
After trying a tree with two cats, I've now opted for doing Christmas decorations on the porch where they can't reach them. Thank you for reminding me why I do that.
12:12 PM
Karen Kirkpatrick said…
It's so nice to know we're not alone in this! I'll have to make new arrangements for next year for sure! Thanks for sharing all of the horror stories--and solutions.

Happy New Year!
12:24 PM
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