Paws Off! Pet-Proofing Your Christmas Tree for Mischievous Pets

VISIONS OF SUGARPLUMS......

I don't know if cats dream of Sugarplums, but when they see a holiday tree, they are thinking of something!

When I moved back to Minnesota, it had been a while since I had owned a cat. I grew up with cats all around me on the farm, and once I had an apartment for myself and my boys, we went to TCHS and took home Mr. Bean. He was about 7 years old at the time.

Mr. Bean is still with us, and we added to our family Pneuma, a female with a beautiful long hair about 4 years ago.

Now for the first time in many years, I have a kitten in the house! Jeremiah Johnson is his official name, but we call him JerBear. (Pictured above.)

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TINY TERROR

JerBear is a little over 4 months old. He's a very happy little kitty, with lots of curiosity and he's been getting into the garbage and he's having lot of fun climbing all over everything and everyone.

This leads me to the holidays. I'm not sure what to do this year. I've been putting up a Christmas tree for as long as I can remember.

5 TIPS TO PET PROOF YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE

My older cats are pretty mellow, but I've always tied the tree to the wall, just in case they get a little too frisky with the decorations. Now, with this new kitten, I'm not sure having a Christmas tree is a good idea; however, I did find some great tips for pet-proofing your Christmas Tree. They aren't guaranteed, but it might help.

1. Get an artificial tree instead of a real one. Fake ones don't smell as good as the real ones, and they don't shed pine needles; which for some reason, some cats want to play with and sometimes ingest. Pine needles can cause an upset tummy and thus; you might have a very poopy Christmas. Go artificial.

2. Regarding ornaments. If you have extra special family heirloom ornaments, put them up higher on the tree so pets can't knock them off the bottom of the tree.

3. Cover electrical wires. Some cats and dogs love to chew on cables. Pets can also get wrapped up in cables and knock the tree over. Remember to keep the tree lights OFF if you are not home.

4. If you have a real tree, make sure you cover up the water dish for the tree. You might think you're watering your real tree enough, but find out later that your pets were drinking all the water.

5. Tie your tree to the wall. It might seem odd, but if your tree is in a corner, you can wrap string or yarn around a center point in the tree, and tie it to something sturdy. I put a nail in my wall directly behind my tree where no one can see it, and it has saved me from the tree tipping over just about every year.