This is our first year having a cat at Christmas. I left the cat in the room when I was putting up the tree and she had done just fine. Now Butter likes to get under the tree and sit and she will eat the tinsel we have on the tree. I did not put more tinsel on the tree. It has the ones left from last year. How do I get her to not eat the tinsel?
By Jeanei B
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While changing a cat's behavior can sometimes be achieved, there is a definite health risk to your cat from the tinsel, and other things like ribbon, string, and rubber bands. Unfortunately, kitties can (intentionally or not) ingest these things while playing. Sadly, this can cause intestinal blockage...sometimes requiring life-saving surgery.
I don't wish to scare you, but thought you should be aware this is a serious risk.
Years ago our cat ate tinsel off the Christmas tree & a few days later, died of lead poisoning. The vet said it was a painful death for our cat. I don't know if they make tinsel with lead in it anymore, but PLEASE don't let your pets eat it!
You can try spraying some of the "no scratch" spray that they have for cats. It's the smell that they hate. Spray it on your tree. Or at least the bottom. If that doesn't work you're going to have to keep the cat blocked off from the tree. Put the cat in a different area of the house and shut a door until Christmas is over.
I learned long ago that there is no way to stop a cat from eating items like tinsel and, as MantisMary pointed out, it can be a health hazzard. As dreary of a job as it will be please remove any remaining tinsel and just don't use it again.
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