They raced out of their room like they always do, and once they spied the giant green monster in the corner, they dashed right over to examine it closely.
With their necks stretched, they carefully sniffed the branches. They cautiously pawed at the tree and once they figured out it was nothing to fear, they parked themselves in front of it and batted away at the branches.
Boing. Boing. Boing. Boing. Boing.
Once the thrill of the bouncing branches passed, they discovered that wresting under the tree was really fun too.
After a few matches, I tucked them back in their room so I could start decorating the tree.
Tomorrow I'll share with you some footage of the kittens exploring the decorated tree. If we make it through the season without a broken ornament, it truly will be a Christmas miracle.
OH, boy.
They're so cute, I miss my cats being tiny and appreciating things like this! Love that grey one xx
ReplyDeleteAww! My parents used to get so mad at the cats for climbing the Christmas tree. Now they intentionally put cheap, sturdy ornaments on the lower branches for the cats to play with. They've gotten soft!
ReplyDeleteI love that!
DeleteI grew up with cats and every year we put the cheap unbreakable ornaments on the lower branches of the tree... My parents just assumed at least one cat would play with them. They also wired the tree to the ceiling so it wouldn't fall when it was climbed. LOL
DeleteSmart!
DeleteWhy put cheap ornaments on your tree? Laurie makes beautiful paper ornaments; they would look so much better!
DeleteWith our acrobatic kitties we a) use a super-heavy stand, b) wire to anchor the tree to the ceiling, c) unbreakable paper & cloth ornaments on the lower branches, and d) NEVER use that tinsel icicle stuff.
Also be aware, you might think those are gifts under the tree, but kitties think of them as launchpads...
Happy Holidays!
Too cute! I hope the number of broken ornaments is minimal.
ReplyDeleteThese little Loudermilks are a curious bunch! So darn cute! :)
ReplyDeleteI suspect VERY careful ornament placement is in your future. Not to mention leaving anything breakable or heirloom packed away for another year. Especially when the Loudermilks discover the delights of climbing the trunk -- I cannot wait for photos of teeny tiny kitten faces peeking out from between the branches! :)
ReplyDeleteOh my!! I definitely needed that big dash of omg cuteness this Monday afternoon! I would opt for just tinsil on the bottom unless they would eat it?!?! so you don't lose any ornaments... =)
ReplyDeleteI have to watch the videos again because they are too cute swatting those branches!! =)
Ergo - Blog
Tinsel is indeed a bad thing for kitties and dogs. You can get plastic 'icicles' and wonderful wicker balls to put on the bottom 6-12 inches of the tree.
DeleteAnd the curly ribbon -- my guys love to chew that, and it always ends up coming back up.
DeleteI hope no kitties get hurt! Christmas trees can be very dangerous. I once had a cat who scratched his cornea on one of the branches. It was very scary! Be safe Loudermilks!
ReplyDeleteJust use cat toys as ornaments! They're going to play with them anyway.
ReplyDeleteLove this idea. :)
DeleteSo far, no Christmas miracle in my home ever! When I was a kid, we had a cat that would climb the tree daily. After having to upright the tree for the xth time in one day, we got smart. We wired the tree to the curtain rod with picture hanging wire. We also had a specific large box that we wrapped every year with a very large brick in the bottom. It was always parked right next to the wall under the picture window. This saved the other packages from getting ripped and damaged. Of course it never had a nametag on it. We loved torturing the grandkids with "who's package is it". The year that the oldest figured it out, was sad year.
ReplyDeleteyou are very brave to have a decorated tree with 4 kittens in the house!
ReplyDeleteLaurie, I think you could sell tickets for stressed-out holiday folks to sit quietly on your floor (bring your own tea) and watch the boys. I suppose the videos will do...
ReplyDeleteMy current cat, Marley, loves climbing, sparkly things and things that dangle... my current tree is about a foot tall and kept out of reach. I've found mini ornaments, tinsel and this year I've found a little angel for the top so its looking pretty festive :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that beautiful tree is going to survive four little Loudermilks!
We put hooks on two adjacent walls, and tied the tree to them. And used only plastic ornaments. Pretty tree and it was safe.
ReplyDeleteI love those little mischief filled kittens batting at the tree-toy.
ReplyDeleteThat's adorable! You got the kitties a large special toy just for them, how nice!! Our kitties love playing with the tree and all that dangles, so we go with break-proof ornaments now that can double as cat toys when they get knocked off! It makes everyone happy!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Clive's little butt wiggle at the beginning. That was very cute.
ReplyDeleteOh such fun.. I had 2 kittens in the house 3 years ago, and they constantly climbed the tree. Now they're too big to fit, and the branches bend under their weight. They still sit under it about 2.13 seconds after it's standing though. Cats and trees..
ReplyDeleteLaurie,
ReplyDeleteI put my breakable ornaments in large clear vases so I can display them without the Feline Americans getting into them. I think it looks beautiful, and now the only one who smashes any of them is me!
Good luck with the tree!
m
Great idea!
DeleteMartha Steward also has instructions for wiring them into a door wreath.
btw I use silk balls and other unbreakables on the tree. This year I'm experimenting with using hair spray on them to cut down on fraying.
ReplyDeleteone year my sister and I had two young cats, not quite kittens, we put the tree up and left the apartment for maybe 2 hours. We came home and the lower half (of a six foot tree) was naked. All the ornaments were glass, none were broken but they had just pulled them off and we had to find the hooks and the necks for each one. The only ornament that was broken that year was when my sister stepped on a liberated ornament one night on her way to the bathroom in the dark... Thanks for the memory!!
ReplyDeleteSomething tells me Ms Bean is going to have to keep an extra sharp eye on these young Loudermilks ;)
ReplyDeleteFunniest Christmas kitty memory ever. . . the sight of my Balinese, Beauregard, on his back under the tree, lazily reaching up to an ornament with one paw, tapping it just enough to keep it going. . . boing, boing, boing. . . the least little bit of effort. . .
ReplyDelete♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
ReplyDelete