Mum shares hack for cat-proofing Christmas tree that takes just seconds to make
One mum has shared her quick and easy hack to protect the precious Christmas tree from cats intent on destroying it for their own amusement.
Year after year Royalle Wood's cats would take great delight in destroying her tree, smashing ornaments and breaking branches as they clawed their way up it.
At first she tried using a citrus spray to keep her pets from putting their paws and claws all over her tree, but that didn't work.
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Then she switched tactics, anchoring the tree to the wall in an effort to stop adventurous animals Moana and Mulan from tipping it over as they clawed their way up, but that didn't work either.
Then she tried the classic method of just hanging the baubles higher up the tree, but as any cat owner knows they are persistent little blighters who will find a way to make a mess.
Eventually she got so sick of the annual Christmas catastrophe that she came up with a cheap and easy hack to keep her cats away from the tree.
In the end it was as simple as cutting out a piece of cardboard and wedging it into the tree, creating a barrier to block her cats from climbing up the branches where they could smash ornaments and tip the whole thing over.
It took her less than 15 minutes to make and now each Christmas she only has to spend a few seconds sliding the cardboard shield into place.
The simple truth is that many cats are absolute b******s and if given half the chance to wreck your perfectly decorated Christmas tree they will.
A giant tree covered in lights and baubles suddenly plonked in the middle of the living room is going to be an object of fascination for your pets, and sometimes they can cause a bit of disaster.
While our furry little feline friends might enjoy playing with some spare decorations while you're trying to set up the tree, once the thing is up they'll want to take a swipe at the big shiny monument to Christmas.
Whether it be tinsel, lights or baubles, they are going to want to play with it and will be fully willing to tear down your tree just to have a bit of fun.
If you don't want to use the hack and stick a chunk of cardboard through your Christmas tree then you could go for a half-tree, where the branches on the bottom half are all gone to avoid anything dangling within the reach of cats.
You could also pick up a pet-proof tree which is supposed to be impervious to the persistent clawing cats are likely to give any inanimate object in their immediate vicinity.
Then again, if you don't mind your pet making a bit of a mess it can be pretty funny to see their attempts to deal with your Christmas tree.
Joe Harker