How to Keep Your Cat Out of the Christmas Tree (Give Them Their Own Instead)

Your cat does not want to ruin Christmas. Your cat wants a tree. Give them one.

Every December, millions of cat owners put up a tall, glittering, branch-covered climbing structure in the middle of the living room, hang shiny things that dangle and swing from it, and then act surprised when the cat climbs it. Figuring out how to keep your cat out of the Christmas tree starts with admitting that, from the cat's point of view, you built it for them. The good news: you can cat-proof the real tree and give them a Christmas cat tree of their own.

Why Your Cat Climbs the Christmas Tree

A Christmas tree is everything a cat looks for in a piece of furniture: height, cover, something to sink claws into, and toys that move when you bat them. It also appears overnight in a room your cat thought it had fully mapped. New, tall and full of moving parts is close to irresistible.

Kittens and young cats are the usual climbers, because they have energy to burn and every branch looks like an invitation. Older cats are more likely to nap underneath, chew a low branch or bat an ornament off and watch it roll. If your cat is already short on places to climb, the tree is going to look like the best one in the house.

Feline Behavior Perspective Sarah's Feline Behavior Perspective

"You cannot talk a cat out of wanting to climb. You can only change what they climb. Deterrents tell a cat no, and a cat who only hears no keeps testing. What works is a better yes: their own tree, close to the real one, with a condo to hide in and something to bat. Put it up the same day as the real tree, toss a few treats in the condo, and play with them on it. Most cats would rather have a tree that is theirs than one that gets them chased off."

Feline Behavior Lead

How to Keep Your Cat Out of the Christmas Tree (and Keep It Standing)

Start with the tree itself, because a falling tree is the real danger. Veterinarians at Cornell's Feline Health Center recommend anchoring it, for example to a cup hook in the ceiling with wire or string, so a climbing cat cannot bring it down. Then decorate with the cat in mind: unbreakable ornaments on the lower branches, tied on with cloth loops instead of metal hooks.

Some decorations are not worth the risk at all. Tinsel and long ribbon are the big ones: if swallowed they can tangle in a cat's intestines and may need surgery, which is not how anyone wants to spend Christmas Eve. Keep cords tied up or covered, and if you have a live tree, keep the cat out of the water and leave out any additives.

Felt and wood on the low branches, cloth loops instead of hooks, and no tinsel anywhere a paw can reach.

Give Your Cat a Christmas Cat Tree of Their Own

Deterrents like a foil moat around the base or citrus on the lower branches can help, but they only work on the tree you are protecting. A Christmas cat tree works on the cat. It gives them the height, the hiding spot and the swinging toys they were after, in a version built to be climbed. Set it up beside the real tree so it competes for the same attention.

The best part is that the decorating is already done. Our holiday cat trees come shaped like Christmas trees, with condos, scratching posts and ornaments built in. On several of them the ornaments or toppers detach, so after New Year the same piece goes back to being a regular cat tree. Here is how to choose, depending on your cat and your space.

Quality Standards Audit Brian's Quality Standards Audit

"A real Christmas tree is a tall, top-heavy object standing in a bucket. It was never built to be climbed, and that is why it comes down. A cat tree is built the other way around: wide base, weight low, every level rated for a load. When you are choosing a holiday cat tree, look past the ornaments and check two things, the base and the weight rating per tier. Then use the anti-tip kit if it comes with one. Two trees in the living room is fine. Two trees that both stay standing is the goal."

Founder & Quality Lead

Two Trees, Zero Ornament Casualties

Picture Christmas morning: the real tree standing straight, every ornament where you hung it, and your cat asleep in a condo of their own two feet away, looking like they planned it this way. That is how to keep your cat out of the Christmas tree without spending December saying no. Browse all of our Christmas cat trees, or start with the snowflake tree you get to decorate yourself.