We’ll leave the debate of a real tree or a fake tree to you, but if there’s one thing we can all agree on this holiday season, it’s our desire to keep our pets safe from our Christmas tree (and our Christmas tree safe from our pets)!

Trust us, we don’t want to go Scrooge on your festive tree-decorating spirit, but a few precautions will goes a long way!

Here are a few simple tips to remember when lighting the tree:

Step 1: Tree Placement

Wall it off
Try using a pet gate or surrounding the tree with large Christmas presents to create a barrier so your sneaky pup/kitty has less easy access

Keep the tree away from launching zones for cats
Place your tree away from couches, tables, and window ledges if possible, to ensure your kitty won’t be tempted to pounce on the shiny lights and ornaments

Step 2: Tree Stabilization

Make sure your tree is 100% unmovable.
Anchor it down with a heavy base, and add extra support if needed. A heavy tree falling on your pet is the last thing you want to happen! Your tree and decorations will be damaged, and your pet could be hurt.

Step 3: Tree Decorating

Top half = best half
Your ornaments will thrive near the top of the tree- where your pets have a harder time reaching them. Consider less ornaments on the ends of the branches, and towards the bottom.

Choose pet-safe ornaments
Ones that won’t shatter, and aren’t made of food that could attract a hungry cat or dog.

Skip the tinsel
Cats can’t help but think your tinsel is a toy, specifically made for them. If the light hits your shiny tinsel just right, your cat’s likely to jump on it. We recommend skipping the tinsel all together for cat parents

Light it up (responsibly)
Just like the ornaments, placing lights towards the center/top of the tree will tempt your pets less to chew on the wires. As an extra step, cover the end of the wire that plugs into the wall with a cord protector.

Step 4: Tree Gifts

Hide gifts with food/snacks
Our pets' noses are much stronger than ours- protect the gifts from getting eaten by placing these the night before or morning of Christmas.

And there you have it - a few simple steps to keep Christmas tree shining merry & bright, and safe from your pets!