The Christmas Cat

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”

Admit it, you sung that line in your head. The song by Andy Williams sums up the festive period perfectly. It really is a magical time for everybody, especially my cat.

If you have a house cat and go to the trouble of putting up a Christmas tree each year, then you may have guessed where this story is going. Lucky the cat really was a gift to our household. She is a rescue cat who was abandoned as a kitten and nearly died. My family adopted her from the Kitten Cottage in Virginia and we nursed her back to health.

A fully black cat like her is typically associated with Halloween, however Lucky is a Christmas cat.

Particular attention is paid to the positioning of the lights on the Christmas tree every year in my home. Each family member is required to go out into the garden, hail rain or snow, to report back on the aesthetic worthiness of the dazzling fairy lights.

One particular year, as the family assembled in the garden and nodded their appreciation of the sight before them, the tree began to shake violently. A smash could be heard, followed by a shatter. We ran back inside to find out the cause of the disturbance.

Glass baubles, which had been hung with care, were now crunching beneath our feet. Tinsel lay in chaos around the tree and lights flew everywhere. My mother was distraught, the cat was in the tree.

As we learned that first Christmas, cats cannot simply be plucked from a Christmas tree. They will activate their claws and show no mercy in pulling the tree down with them. No, the cat must be scared out of the tree.

A new Christmas tradition is among the many things that Lucky has brought to our family. The thing is, we are having trouble sticking to just one solution.

First, Henry the hoover took pride of place beside the Christmas tree. Each time the cat went climbing, the hoover was promptly turned on and she jumped out. Secondly, a fire extinguisher was placed under the tree, although this made a terrible mess. An air horn was purchased, as well as an app that made screeching cat noises. Each tactic lasted only a short while.

As you can tell, Lucky is a rather resilient festive cat.

I cannot wait to see what this year’s solution is.

If you have any suggestions, please help a family out!