I assumed that cats wouldn’t be interested in artificial trees (our cats certainly aren’t interested in ours), but I guess tastes vary.
If the cat is climbing up the trunk of the tree try wrapping the bottom couple of feet of trunk in tinfoil. Cats will play will tin foil balls, but they won’t want to walk or climb on it. It’s how I kept a kitten I had off the top of cabinets, where she would cry and cry! I just put a piece of tinfoil on the spot she used to launch herself and that was it.
However, it the thing is climbing the branches, I realize this won’t really work for you.
I had a cat that loved to eat tree tinsel. One day after pooping she was walking around with a second sort of tail, pretty funny!
You don’t need to qualify Siamese with stubborn. Stubbornness is a Siamese trait, just like blue eyes and points. In fact, stubbornness might be THE most defining Siamese trait. The only way we can make meezers do anything is by being bigger, stronger, and having thumbs. I shudder to think what would happen if meezers developed thumbs.
I had a buddy in college who had a Siamese kitten. One day, while attempting to coax the cat out from under his bed, the kitty took a swipe at him and managed to scratch his cornea. It screwed his eye up pretty good for several days. He ended up naming the cat Scratch.
Any way to raise the tree so its base is at the same height as the sill?
a good solid wooden table or end table, preferably with wide set legs (the legs set on the outside of the table, not in the middle). I would avoid anything with glass top or thin table top (fiberboard).
I would strap or tie down the tree base down to the table, then throw the tree skirt over the straps and base, draped over the table.
I found that a treeskirt of layered aluminum foil did the trick for my cats. They hated the noise so much that they’d hardly be in the same ROOM as it. Once the cats were well and truly horrified by the awful foil treeskirt, I covered it up with a regular one. The third year or so I didn’t even have to bother with it, they just stay away.
The problem with the squirt bottle solution is the cat learns to avoid the tree when you’re there. What about when you’re not there?
I like Sarabellum1976’s idea, and I had a similar method when I was owned by a cat.
I put clear packing tape sticky side up under the tree. The cat learned to stay away rather quickly. (This trick also works with counters and tables.)
my koritza the klimber would take one flying leap at that, and have quite the merry holiday.
Not funny actually, you’re lucky it passed with no incident. Tinsel is sharp enough to cause internal injuries and long and strong enough to cause intestinal issues. If your pet is the type to eat tinsel you shouldn’t have it.
I miss tinsel. And poinsettias. Damn dogs.
In my house the tree is put up purely for the cats’ entertainment. OK, so I get some giggles too … they’re hilarious leaping in it and every evening I get to come home from work and re-dress the tree with the baubles they’ve pulled off during the day.
Holiday Fun!
I think it is about the same as putting meat on the kitchen bench and walking out of the room - not much you can do.