Monday, December 22, 2014

Cammie and the Christmas Tree


My Christmas tree is up and decorated. This is Kola’s first Christmas with me. As much as I like him, I hope it’s his last, as well; that cat would be such a good choice for adoption. Anyway, I was worried about what he might do to a Christmas tree. As it turns out, he was mildly curious about it, but only briefly. After that, he appeared uninterested in it.

The same cannot be said for Cammie. My Siamese princess was with me during last year’s Yuletide and, so far as I can recall, did not cause me problems with my tree. This year, however, she has taken to attempting to eat the ‘needles’.

Mine is a fake tree, and the needles are of soft plastic. To be honest, I don’t think she can eat many of them. They are too short and too strongly fastened onto the tree; she can’t get a good grip on them. But she tries, and will sometimes gnaw on a whole branch. The little needles do fall off from time to time, so she may get those.

I don’t believe the needles will do her damage if they are consumed. They will probably go right through her. But I don’t want to take chances, so I may have to put the tree away when I am absent and bring it out again later. I hope to get Cammie used to its presence; she doesn’t nibble at it all the time even when she can. So it’s hard to gauge her fascination with it.

But I was pleased to note an indication of how far that cat has come in her trust of people. I had to move her along when I caught her eating the tree. She knows full well when I want her out of an area and eventually she does go, grumbling and sometimes hissing. She did that in this case. Then, not ten minutes later, she was up on my lap at the table, purring away. She stayed there for half an hour. Being scolded is one thing; a warm lap and a petting session is quite another.


11 comments:

  1. We have a fake tree too and those needles have no flavor what so ever!

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  2. She's come a long way under your care! :-)

    Does she eat cat grass? Maybe a bit of cat grass near the tree would help, if she'd eat that instead of trying to eat the "needles." Derry will chew on my silk or plastic stems (the grass-like ones), even though I usually make cat grass available to them year-round.

    Hopefully Cammie will decide the tree isn't very appetizing at all and leave it alone!

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  3. She is a good kitty! That dear Cammie.

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  4. Cammie, so you like chewing on that tree. It can't taste good but maybe you think you are eating green grass. Or it is just something to do. You all have a very Merry Christmas.

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  5. A friend's cat also likes to chew on the fake tree, and when she does she generally throws it up. I'd guess Cammie is mostly just chewing if you're not finding the evidence. Silly girl!

    She sounds like a real princess, much like my Silver. She was quick to let me know when she wasn't happy but when she wanted love, I knew that too.

    Have a very Merry Christmas!

    P.S. I hope your fosters find their forever homes in the New Year.

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  6. The tree cannot be that tasty, Cammie. We have a real tree but it is up high so Jessica cannot reach it. From Eileen and Jessica

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  7. I know that your fostering helps a cat to find his forever home. But we've all fallen in love with Kola and Cami . I know it's probably not the right thing to say but you've given them both such love and understanding I wish they could stay with you. ( well maybe if it were an extraordinarily perfect home...). I guess you can see I wouldn't be a very good foster parent.

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    1. 'Foster failures' are common in rescue groups. That's how Tucker and Renn ended up as two of my perma-cats. Josie was a trial-adoption that eventually proved successful, though not according to Tungsten...

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  8. Flynn will often chew on the lower branches on our fake tree, but will not attempt to eat them.

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  9. I love the fact that she is returning to jump up on your lap and purr!!!!!!!!

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