DON’T TRAUMATIZE YOUR CAT AWAY FROM THE CHRISTMAS TREE

There are TikTok videos going around where people are traumatizing their cat with their Christmas tree – chasing them around the house with it, or putting them next to the tree and scaring them – in order to keep them from climbing the tree and batting the balls around. Yeah, don’t do that. Veterinarian Sarah Wooten says doing this will create conflict in your relationship with your cat, which can lead to additional behavioral or bonding problems down the road. It can create fear and anxiety that can result in behavioral or medical problems, such as redirected aggression toward other people or pets, stress diarrhea, inappropriate elimination, or urinating or defecating anywhere in the house other than the litter box.
* She means just like virtually every other thing you inadvertently do around your cat.
* Please take this seriously. Stress diarrhea is no fun, I can tell ya.
* So what do vets recommend? Just shout “No” about ten thousand times during the holidays every time your cat jumps into the tree. It’s worked for centuries.
* Coat one of the electrical light wires in catnip paste, and wait for them to start chewing. That usually does the trick.
* Or if you’re handy, cut a ring of plywood to lay around the tree stand, and glue a couple hundred thumbtacks to it, pointing up.