4 Tips for Choosing Cat-Friendly Holiday Decorations

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Have a Merry Little Cat-Friendly Holiday!

November 3, 2024

I don’t know about you, but I am starting to get excited thinking about decorating for the holidays! Pets and holidays can be harmonious with a little thoughtful, advance planning.

Live versus Fake Christmas Trees

One thing that never occurred to me was how deadly my live holiday tree potentially was to my cats and dogs. Once I realized this, the fake tree won hands down. While the pine fragrance of a live tree is lovely, pine needles are mildly toxic and downright dangerous if ingested. Real trees are also preserved with toxic chemicals that make their standing water dangerous to pets.

Avoid These Plants:

Other potentially risky décor items you should avoid in a pet household are toxic plants such as yew, ivy, holly, mistletoe, and poinsettia. It’s better to not have them around as a chewing temptation for feline and canine family members.

Nix These Décor Items:

Tinsel and low hanging glass ornaments are major hazards for cats and dogs. Tinsel can cause choking and injury if swallowed. Glass ornaments can be easily swatted and broken, causing injury.  Choose wooden, plastic or non-breakable ornaments to decorate your tree.

Thankfully, the internet is filled with lots of excellent pet care resources so we can learn all these important safety tips before anybody gets hurt. No one wants a last-minute emergency trip to the vet!

Invest in Your Cat’s Safety:

Always provide your pets with their favorite toys to divert their attention away from holiday decorations and to keep them occupied and safe.  Cats love catnip, silvervine and honeysuckle-filled grab toys, teaser toys to chase and treat puzzles to satiate curious minds. Providing them with their own cat tree to climb and scratch will likewise distract them from your holiday tree.

Dedicate a space in your home exclusively for your cats to enjoy while the guests are partying. You will find it is a great solution to help keep your furballs happy and secure. Set up their food and water bowls, litter boxes and toys, as well as a cozy bed or blanket for napping.

Have a purr-fect holiday season!

 

 

 

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Unleash Your Indoor Cat’s “inner kitten” With These Easy Tips

Cats are intelligent, active creatures that need daily stimulation just as we do. Helping your cats tackle boredom can keep unwelcome behaviors to a minimum.

Constant, compelling meows, scratching furniture, and urinating outside the litter box may be symptoms of medical issues that should be treated by a veterinarian. In healthy cats, those behaviors can be avoided by keeping your feline companions entertained throughout the day.

Try these solutions:

  • Here’s a simple way to entertain your cats for hours at a time.  Place a sturdy,  multiple-tiered cat tree with a good scratching surface such as sisal next to a window with an exciting view! They’ll ogle at birds, passing cars, and anyone walking by.
  • Before you leave your cat home alone, turn on calming music or nature sounds to soothe and comfort him. Go a step further to delight your furbaby by finding a compelling video for him to watch on “Cat TV”, a television channel created specifically for cats.
  • If you have empty wall space, quench your cat’s need to climb by installing perch wall units which create safe pathways for him to launch to tops of bookshelves and other high places.
  • Indulge the natural hunting instincts in your cat by hiding treats or dry kibble in your home. Use a kitty food puzzle that will provide your cats with a stimulating activity. The challenging activity appeals to the natural love of hunting and will stimulate them both mentally and physically.  Change the locations frequently to keep things interesting and encourage your kitty to embrace his inner stalker!
  • Shake things up by surprising your cat with new toys to sniff, play with, and explore. Catnip toys, puzzle toys, teaser toys and tunnels all make wise investments that will go a long way toward keeping your cat healthy and happy.
  • Introduce your indoor cats to one of many attractive models of secure cat enclosures for the yard. They allow your kitties to enjoy some of the perks of being outdoors without any of the risks! Enclosures that can be folded up for easy travel are a bonus!
  • Treat your cats to quality one-on-one playtime and cuddle time as often as possible. It is as good for you as it is for them!

Since your cats have a distinct personality just like you do, experiment with several of these entertainment options,  then pick and stick to the ones they like best! You’re sure to find just the right options for your cat at MyThreeCats.com.

 

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Catastic Cat Cake

Years ago, my daughter, Nicole, devoted many hours towards creating the most beautiful and original birthday cake for me.  This cake is the stuff of cat lovers’ dreams.   Nicole created from scratch, a moist, mouth watering red velveteen cake.  She painstakingly decorated it with marzipan.  Enjoy the slideshow that takes you step-by-step through the process.   This cat cake truly was a labor of love.  Thank you for the memories, Nicole.  You are the best daughter a mother could hope for.

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No blarney! Find Patrick the Cat in our CatHaven Tree for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate!

It’s easy to enter!
  1. Find Patrick the Cat in our CatHaven Tree, pictured below
  2. Click here to place an order with us, any order store wide (no minimum).
  3. When you receive your email order confirmation, click Reply, and tell us where Patrick is located on the CatHaven Tree.
  4. The winner will be randomly selected from the correct entries posted by March 31, 2019.
  5. We’ll notify the winner via email on April 1, 2019.
Now, have fun shopping with us, and may you have the luck of the Irish!
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