Dangfraznabbit, cat! Stop drinking the Christmas tree water!

[owlice]

You have a bowl of your own in the kitchen (and, if I forget to put the lid down, in the bathroom)! Leave the tree water alone!!

[Zen]

But it has that piney twang!

[owlice]

HA!! Zen, that's it!! It's a fir tree; I should have gotten a spruce!!

[salsabike]

Our cat LOVES the Christmas tree water. We've taken to wrapping a blanket snugly around the base with the water and securing it with clamps so there's no way she can get to it--otherwise, there'd never be any water in there.

[SheFly]

Mine does the same thing. I've finally given up (plus, she's in renal failure, so any water to me is good water). I can't imagine that it tastes any good though!

SheFly

[IFjane]

I have four (cats, not trees!) and they all do it. They are very crafty at pulling the tree skirt just far enough out to drink!

[Tuckervill]

My cats love it, too! I don't see the harm. The tree sucks up so much of the water that I have to check it regularly anyway.

I think it's cute!

Karen

[Selkie]

BE CAREFUL. Not sure if it's true but I've heard that the resin from the sap is POISON to pets..... It runs down into the water.

[Jolt]

My cats love it, too! I don't see the harm. The tree sucks up so much of the water that I have to check it regularly anyway.

I think it's cute!

Karen

It's funny to hear how common it seems to be for cats to get into the Christmas tree water--my family has one that does it too! We just thought she was weird but it sounds like a lot of them do that. It must taste good to them.

[Tuckervill]

My dogs LOVE to drink out of puddles. They all (2 dogs, 3 cats at the moment) drink out of the same 2 gallon water thing in the house, and none of them seem to mind when one of the dogs has been digging outside and leaves soil and grass on the top of the water. I guess they're not picky.

Karen

[Tuckervill]

I googled. I can only find a reference to CEDAR trees in which the sap could be bad for animals. http://www.cliniciansbrief.com/news/10-holiday-tips-keep-pets-safe

On further reading, I can't really find any proof--no vets or other scientists saying that tree sap is toxic to cats. Always cat advocates saying it. Since my cat and many others have been doing it for years and years with no apparent ill effects, I don't see the point in panicking about it.

Karen

[Selkie]

I googled. I can only find a reference to CEDAR trees in which the sap could be bad for animals. http://www.cliniciansbrief.com/news/10-holiday-tips-keep-pets-safe

On further reading, I can't really find any proof--no vets or other scientists saying that tree sap is toxic to cats. Always cat advocates saying it. Since my cat and many others have been doing it for years and years with no apparent ill effects, I don't see the point in panicking about it.

Karen

I wasn't panicking or trying to start a panic, Karen. I was merely pointing out that I heard this (actually from someone who specializes in safety), that I wasn't sure it was true, and was merely passing it on. Since the rambunctious nature of our dogs precludes having a Christmas tree, it isn't something that concerns me in terms of my animals (although if we had a tree, I wouldn't want them to drink tree water it for fear of getting the runs or puking).

Very thoughtful of you spend time and research it, though.

[SheFly]

I wasn't panicking or trying to start a panic, Karen. I was merely pointing out that I heard this (actually from someone who specializes in safety), that I wasn't sure it was true, and was merely passing it on. Since the rambunctious nature of our dogs precludes having a Christmas tree, it isn't something that concerns me in terms of my animals (although if we had a tree, I wouldn't want them to drink tree water it for fear of getting the runs or puking).

Very thoughtful of you spend time and research it, though.

We've had weekly visits to the vet recently, and I let her know that my cat was drinking the tree water. She said that as long as you don't put any preservatives in it (like Miracle Gro) that is should be fine. Might not taste good, but won't hurt her either. And as I said in my earlier post, she agreed that any water is a good thing for my cat right now!

SheFly

[Tuckervill]

I wasn't panicking or trying to start a panic, Karen. I was merely pointing out that I heard this (actually from someone who specializes in safety), that I wasn't sure it was true, and was merely passing it on. Since the rambunctious nature of our dogs precludes having a Christmas tree, it isn't something that concerns me in terms of my animals (although if we had a tree, I wouldn't want them to drink tree water it for fear of getting the runs or puking).

Very thoughtful of you spend time and research it, though.

Oh no, I'm sorry. I didn't mean you. I meant the people on some of the cat websites who use extremely strong language to make sure no one ever lets their cat drink from the tree water, based on very little evidence.

Karen

[Tuckervill]

I think it must taste very very good to mine, since they all like to drink it!!

Karen

[salsabike]

My cat has IBS, and we were mostly concerned about her ingesting pine needles that float in the water.

All cats love illicit water. It doesn't matter what it is in as long as it's not in their water bowl. They're SO funny.

[badger]

not just water...

the things we buy for them, but they seem to go for the stuff that doesn't cost anything (fancy cat bed vs. cardboard box).

I recently bought my cat this cute, crinkly bag looking like a large-mouth fish. What does he do? ignore it but he can't very well leave the paper bag the mushrooms were in alone. :rolleyes:

[Brandi]

Tree water I believe is a cat's right. At least in my house it is. My cat aki's fav toy right now is a zip tie. To funny!