Poor little baby goats!

*grin*

I'm not sure where internet trolls go when they're not, um, trolling.  

Interestingly, Holly (my sighted cat) ignores my Christmas tree, but Duffy
(my blind cat) loves to climb and headed for it instantly.  I bought an
artificial tree this year, and it is so sturdy -- with a really "hefty"
center support -- that Duffy can climb up and down with no danger of the
tree toppling.  Here's a picture of Duffy in the tree before I had even
separated the branches.  He didn't bother it much after I got the branches
properly positioned because he prefers his cat tree.  However, even if he
did, I consider it to be normal cat behavior for a cat to want to climb and
play.  My primary concern in the past had been that a tree might fall, so
your idea of fastening the tree to the wall is a good one.  Others have
written about fastening the tree to a hook in the ceiling.  I was fully
prepared to remove the tree if it proved to be a danger, but this one is so
heavy that that is no longer a problem, either.
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL320/476350/1916528/76258004.jpg

MaryL

A little-known secret.

You'd find out who is boss when you eventually let them
out and slip your foot into a shoe through cold, slimy cat poop.
Oh, that's right. You don't have any cats. Dickhead twolly boy.

Aw, heck, what's the point of posting anymore? I got your tips, along the
lines of

*orange peels
*aluminum foil (and make noisy display with it beforehand)
*citrus spray
*holly stickers
*Boundary spray
*Cat Repellent Spray
*Clear Carpet Runner
*Double-Sided Tape (or Sticky Paws)

So I have my answers. The more I try & answer silly comments like "it's the
cat's house too" or "there's nothing you can do about it," the sillier MY
answers get. No good use comes from that, except for the entertainment of
those who scream "troll" at everyone whose opinions they don't agree with.
Is there the saying "takes one to know one" comes into play? Who knows.

Anyway, thanks for the tips those of you without those reactions provided,
and I'll try them. I love my darlings, they are my darlings, but they just
need to learn some boundaries. I have very few, this is not a lot to ask,
and it IS achievable judging by SOME of the replies I got, so I'm a gonna do
it.

if that's what you parents did to you when you were growing up, then
it explains a lot.  i am sorry, i didn't mean to mock your condition.
those therapy bills must be endless... just like your stupidity.

-L

They found out REALLY quick who the boss

<snipped abusive garbage>

Are you one of those men who has such low self esteem that you have to beat
up on animals to show them "who's boss"... and by doing this you make
yourself feel so much better about yourself because really inside you're an
insecure loser???  That's what I thought.  Seek some counselling man.

Kelly

I'd like to treat you to a day at Gleason's Gym as my guest!  No charges
whatsoever. I'll even cover your cab fare and rental fee for equipment.
I'll even throw in a case of straws every month for the rest of your life!
We'll have a great time!  Whaddaya say, Sport?  I'm dead serious.

Your pal,

Phil

Might makes something not necessarily right. In a nutshell, might
makes right unless the subject is confined. In the wild (or the not
so great outdoors), the cat can run away. In your home, the cat is
stuck with you. Beating a cat will discourage it but, being
confined, beating a cat will also make the cat nervous.
Nerves/tension can lead to unwanted side effects.

Used responsibly, packaging tape placed upside down is a great area
deterrent (high quality, thick tape is easier to handle and remove).
At least that way the cat does not think of you as a threat. So you
don't have to wonder why your cat is always so aloof.

Use force but use your head too.

Goldfish would be nice, as long as he doesn't expect to "train" them.  I can
guarantee they wouldn't bother his Christmas tree!

MaryL

maybe she can develop a 12-step program for cats who do cat things.  

-L

One of the cats I used to have, when he was a kitten, he would climb up
into the tree and sleep on the branches.
Problem solved, not by taking down the tree, not by using "keep-away"
devices, but rather by putting a couple ropes from the tree to the
walls/beams/railings/anything with support.
After all, we all knew who owned the place :)

It should work... but then again, cats are the most unpredictible animals on
the face of the earth. I was thinking too... something that is festive *and*
anti cat would be oranges with cloves stuck in them. When I was trying to
get our two to stop scratching, the spray I tried had cloves in it. Stick
the cloves in an oranges (or a few oranges) in little patterns... I think
it's a victorian thing... and spread them around the base of the tree. It
smells quite nice to us but they shouldn't like it.

I'm sick of those around here who

Even when you're wrong?

You don't seem to understand, with cats, you're dealing with *instinct* -
not intellect (although your cats are probably smarter than you) - that's
been hardwired into their neurocircuits for millennia.  You can't expect
cats to suppress thousands of years of instinct overnight just because you
want them to.

Your cats aren't "challenging" your supreme authority or trying to bruise
your fragile ego.  Dangling ornaments are *precisely* the type of objects
cats are attracted to.  Look at some popular cat toys - "Cat Charmer" - a
piece of cardboard *dangling* from a wire; feather lures - *dangling* from a
string attached to a pole.

*You're* creating a situation that will tempt their *natural instincts*
beyond their control and then you expect them to "behave" as you demand?
Perhaps you chose the wrong pet.  A submissive dog might suit you better.
Cats are not the right choice for control freaks.

yup, troll AND moron.

Understand--I'd NEVER take its life, no way. That would be totally inhumane,
I've never done such a thing EVER & I'd imagine none of us could even
IMAGINE any of us doing it. Same here. (Besides, who needs talk that sounds
like a troll or something?) The point is simply that humans are the ones in
charge--they are to do this RESPONSIBLY, of course, and with kindness, but
they are the ones in charge.

But at any rate, some of the helpful ones here have mentioned old orange
peels, others have said citrus spray, one suggested lining the base with
aluminum foil. If those work, that's fine, I have no problem with that.

Lastly--some sites mentioned bringing the tree in 3 days or so in advance
without decorating it, but the thing is we had company over Sunday and had
just gotten the tree Saturday night, this was not an option thereby.

And as for leaving the bottom 1/3rd undecorated--why have a tree if you're
going to shortchange it like that? And as for glass ornaments vs plastic
ones--glass-ones were the ones I ended up with at a cheap yard sale. And as
for fastening the ornaments down hard-core with more fastening, then it
would take even longer to do the tree--and it took long enough as it is.
Then again, skipping tinsel was just fine with me, it would've been too much
of a pain later on, ditto mistletoe.

ahm, have you ever tried to seek therapy for your condition?  you
really should not be anywhere near cats, or any other living things
for that matter.

-L

Careful, your little pecker complex is really showing now.

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Yep. Your name is really Larry.

If the foo sh.ts, wear it......

eq

That's the scary part.

That would probably work (or there's commercially available 'sticky
paws' which is double-sided tape at 18.7 times the price of normal
double sided tape). Any unpleasant to cross substance would do - spiky
matting, chicken wire, carpet protector, cream cheese,...

Or, you might:

Build a 6-foot high, slightly overhanging brick wall around the tree.
Actually, maybe you could surround the tree with tasteful, wrought-iron
fencing.

Build a moat.

Tie a large and vicious dog to the base of the tree.

Surround the tree with IR sensors that trigger loudspeakers to shout
'f.ck OFF CAT' whenever it approaches the tree.

Build a circular 'apron' around the tree, a bit like an elizabethan
collar.

Mr Useful.

I've never used it, but they probably wouldn't like it.  Otoh, wouldn't you
need an awful lot of the stuff, so that they wouldn't merely hop over it?

Cathy

i think if i spread out a huge sheet of aluminum foil, Shaina will
absolutely love it.

-L