Cats dig destruction, especially wild Bengal cats. A gleam comes to their eyes as they watch the object of their fascination crash to the ground. A sense of excitement fumes off them as they tear apart a toy or, worse yet, work documents. Our naughty feline besties love the sound of something shattering into a million pieces. They sit proudly above their mess for all the world to see what they’ve wrought. And their destruction can range from a water glass to an entire Christmas tree.
Oh, how they love the glory of downing a Christmas tree. The smashed ornaments glittering in the light. The scattered tinsel ready to be thrown around. And the ultimate prize: they revel in the fact they pulled down a whole tree. You can see the gleam of pride in their eyes!
But one family found their kitty’s ultimate kryptonite, and their tree was safe! Perhaps tangerines will be the barrier you need to protect your tree from your Bengal cat too…
Lord Victor Fluffypaw Makes His Own Rules
A handsome Ragdoll cat hailing from Italy, Lord Victor Fluffypaw rules his house with younger sibling Gedeone McCuddle Fluffypaw.
While Victor loves his mom and pretty much anyone he meets, the three-year-old lad doesn’t care for the “house rules”. A sweet and cuddly cat he may be, Victor makes his own laws to live by.
But Victor’s mom, Irene Olocco, discovered a secret to keep the feisty cat in line or at least off spots he didn’t belong.
Irene told The Dodo, “We were together on the couch, I grabbed a tangerine and, as I began to peel it, he hissed and ran away.”
So strange was Victor’s reaction to the tangerine, Irene decided to run with it. “I began to put oranges or tangerines on the furniture where I didn’t want him to climb on and it worked.”
Certainly, Irene had discovered the ultimate deterrent to keep her citrus-loathing cat on his best behavior.
Would Tangerines Protect the Christmas Tree?
Once Christmas rolled around, Irene knew she would spend much of her holiday season discouraging destruction as one of Victor’s favorite rules to break was “don’t destroy the Christmas tree.” Every year, the mischievous cat quite enjoyed batting ornaments off the branches as well as destroying whatever else he could get his paws on. But Irene wasn’t having it this year.
“I was sick of yelling at him to not touch the balls,” reported Irene. “In the middle of the morning I decided to eat a tangerine and the brilliant idea struck… It worked immediately!”
Indeed, the dapper blue-eyed boy had been thwarted, but he wasn’t happy about it. As much as he wished to destroy the shiny and bright, his hatred of tangerines proved stronger. If a Christmas tree could feel relief, surely this one did! Bravo, Irene!
H/T: www.thedodo.com
Feature Image: @fluffypawsfamily/Instagram