The Cat Behavior Answer Book - Arden Moore [41]
Put a hook in your ceiling or at the top of the window nearest the tree and use high-strength fishing line to anchor the tree in place. Two hooks are even better!
Position your most-prized ornaments and any breakable ones on the upper branches or consider displaying them somewhere other than the tree, like on a mantelpiece or bookcase. Use nonbreakable ornaments whenever possible on the tree.
Place nonbreakable cat toys on the floor near the tree to distract your curious kitty.
Put orange or grapefruit peels under the tree. Cats dislike the scent of citrus.
Consider keeping Leo in a different room that features plenty of feline amenities to prevent any holiday mischief when you are out of the house or asleep.
Cats love to play with and chew on shiny, rustling tinsel and glitter, but they can become quite ill if they swallow it. Either forego it altogether or hang it only on the highest branches.
Cover your tree stand with a tree skirt or a colorful tablecloth so that your cat can’t sip from the water reservoir. The water could make him sick.
A Feline Curtain Call
Q We live in an old house we inherited from my grandmother. We love our antique furniture and the wonderful curtains adorning the big picture window in our living room. But my cat, Reggie, insists on climbing the curtains. When I yell at him to get off, he does, but I can’t watch him all the time. Unfortunately, the curtains are showing some claw marks. What can we do to save our curtains?
A Cats are born climbers with a need to be in high places. Your beloved antique curtains are a feline version of those rock-climbing walls that attract weekend athletes.
Here are some options for consideration. You can booby-trap the curtains by balancing a few aluminum soda cans on the curtain rods. Tape a few coins into each one to increase the shock value. The sound of these cans crashing to the floor should startle your curtain climber and convince him that they are too scary for further adventures.
Or, you can temporarily hang a curtain or light blanket on the rods. When Reggie tries to scale the curtains, he won’t be able to grip and climb. The curtain or blanket will fall to the ground, discouraging your explorer. Or try temporarily folding the curtains in half over the rods. You can also spray a citrus scent or other aversive odor at the bottom third of the curtains as a deterrent.
These temporary tactics are designed to communicate to Reggie that the curtains are anything but appealing or safe. Once this happens, you can restore your desired decorative look.
Clearly, Reggie needs a suitable outlet to show off his climbing talents. In addition to discouraging him from climbing the curtains, provide him with a carpeted cat tree. If you have floor to ceiling posts, consider wrapping one in sisal rope. Then applaud as Reggie performs amazing feline gymnastic maneuvers. If you have the room, you might lean a large branch or log in one corner for him to clamber on. You could also hang a rope hammock with one end attached high on a wall and the other end to the floor. If it’s the view that is attracting him, try a window platform for him to perch on.
As a last resort, you may wish to replace those curtains with window blinds. In cat households, vertical blinds are a better choice than horizontal ones. They are far more difficult to climb, even for the most agile of felines.
Holy Tissue Terror
Q It’s a good thing that toilet paper and tissues are inexpensive. Our Abyssinian cat, Abigail, seems to get a big kick out of rolling all the paper off the toilet roll and stealing tissues from the box and shredding them into tiny pieces. We try to remember to close the bathroom door when we leave, but Abigail seizes any opportunities to destroy our paper products. Any explanations and suggestions?
A Abyssinians embody the word active. They hate being bored and will make their own fun if they need to. Clearly, Abigail needs more playtime and more stimulating games to focus her attention and energy on. Let