Its Christmas time again and if you have your decorations up you might find yourself spending the next month trying to keep your cat from climbing the Christmas tree!

The advice here is not only effective for stopping your cat climbing up your Christmas tree but can also be put to use in stopping your cat from climbing other objects that you want to keep them away from.

For some reason, cats think that the Christmas tree is their place to lay and the orniments are their toys. This can be cute at first but be warned that is your cat tries to eat the toys, chew on the lighting wires or chew on tinsel (which can cut up a cats insides if swallowed) then you might require some cat first aid, so its best to stop your cat from climbing the tree altogether.


Try distracting your cat
It sounds obvious but it might work. Try enticing your cat with new toys to bring attention away from the Christmas tree.

Behaviour Modification
First of all avoid spraying your cat with water... Water and electrics dont mix so if you have lights on your Christmas tree, spraying your cat with water is not the best idea! Also, don't hit your cat, all that this will do is teach your cat not to like you and this may lead to more serious behavioural problems in the long run. Cats are pleasure driven animals so if something unpleasent happens they will avoid doing that in future.
 
Wrap foil around the base of your Christmas tree
Wrapping layers of foil around the base of the tree can act as a barrier to stop the cat from climbing since its difficult for them to get their claws into the foil. Many cats also dont like the feeling and noise that the foil makes, so this can be a very effective solution to stopping your cat from clibing not only the Christmas tree but other objects as well.

Spray something on the base
You can buy sprays that repel cats. Try purchasing sopme of that and spraying around the base. It is best to choose a more natural product as opposed to a chemical one.

Put something in the tree that cats dont like
You can hang mothballs or citrus in the tree. Cats don't like this so they can be an effective cat repllant. Hide the objects near the trunk where you wont see them and also near the bottom.

Shake something loud
Remember that if something unpleasent happens when your cat does something then your cat will avoid doing that behaviour... Try filling a metal tin with coins or something similar. Wait until your cat goes to climb the tree then shake the tin. Do this every time the cat goes to climb the tree to reinforce the behaviour.

Bribe your cat to do what you want
Reinforce positive behaviour. When your cat is in the tree get a treat and say "down". Praise your cat when he gets down and give him the treat. If he starts to climb the tree again afterwards then shake the can.

Do you have any other ideas about how to stop cats from climbing things? Let us know in the comments.