A Survival of Christmas Trees

In response to all the video being shared this year of cats disturbing and sometimes knocking over Christmas trees, I offer photos of Christmas trees I've had with my cats that were relatively undisturbed and survived intact.  I don't count pawing an ornament or rubbing whiskers on branches.

I had one cat with an odd habit.  I kept finding the bottom row of lights pulled off the tree.  Even so it wasn't very destructive just very puzzling.  I bided my time and waited to see what happened.  My cat Jenny pulled the wire with her paw to look at the lights more closely.  She might have been near-sighted and definitely an intelligent cat who wanted to know more than your average one.  Eventually I had to spoil her fun by attaching the bottom row on the tree with florist wire.

This is as close as we got to destruction:

Emily surprised me by admiring the ornaments at a distance.

Christmas 2003

Christmas 2004

I believe 2004 was the year where I added red and white twisted canes with bells on the bottom.  Midnight liked to pass underneath the tree brushing them to make them ring.

Somehow I never took a full photo of the tree in 2009.  Here are a couple close-ups instead. (Yes, I skipped some years.) I had discovered that real Christmas trees emit thousands of mold spores inside and I was allergic to mold.  I found a tree on sale for $37 on-line and ordered it.  I wanted a tree that looked real, and not like a prickly upside down cone. I didn't have much room either. It's sort of Charlie Brownish, but I like it.

Molly decided she liked to run into the living room and leap over the branches of the tree to go behind it.  That might be why that area is a little sparse.  I've always tried to put the more sturdy ornaments on the bottom.  I don't recall any major problems.  It was her tree diving act that was a little nerve wracking and disruptive.  She isn't a light-weight kitty.

Christmas 2010

I changed the theme drastically for 2010.  I had never done so completely.  I decided on a natural theme, no doubt helped by the beautiful fleece deer I bought locally.  I liked it so much I kept it up a long time.  The cats liked it too.