Real Christmas Trees and Pets: A Practical Guide

A real tree and a curious cat or dog can share a living room without drama. It just takes a bit of planning before the tree goes up. Here are the risks worth knowing about and how to deal with each one.

The tree tipping over

This is the biggest practical risk, especially with cats that climb and big dogs that barge past. Use a stand with a wide, stable base, and for extra security tie the tree back to a wall hook or curtain rail with fishing line or thin cord. It's invisible from the front and stops the tree coming down if it gets a knock. Our guide to Christmas tree stands covers what to look for.

The water in the stand

Many pets will try to drink from the stand. Keep it to plain water, with no sugar, plant food or other additives, and cover the reservoir if you can. A tree skirt or a piece of card cut to fit works well. Just make sure you can still reach it to top it up.

Needles

Nordmann Fir needles are soft rather than sharp, which makes them kinder to paws than spikier varieties. Eaten in quantity, though, they can upset a stomach. A well-watered tree drops far fewer, so keeping the stand full helps here too. If your pet has eaten a lot of needles or seems unwell, speak to your vet.

Decorations

Glass baubles, tinsel, ribbon and anything that looks like a toy are the main hazards. Tinsel in particular can cause serious problems if swallowed. Keep breakable and dangly decorations on the upper half of the tree and use shatterproof ones lower down, or leave the bottom branches bare.

Lights and cables

Cats and puppies may chew cables. Run them up the back of the tree, tuck them out of reach at floor level, and switch the lights off when you go out or go to bed. There's more on lights in our Christmas tree fire safety guide.

A few habits that help

• If you have a room you can close off when you're not around, put the tree there.
• Give pets a day or two to get used to the tree before you decorate it.
• Keep an eye on young dogs for the first few days. A new tree can look like something to mark.
• Sweep up fallen needles regularly.

If needles have been a problem in the past, our guide to why Christmas trees drop needles explains how to keep them on the tree.