cats

What do you mean "you can't have nice things"? There's a cat, if that's not a nice thing then idk what is.

We switched to a real tree about 10 years ago. We had both a real tree and an artifical tree set up one year, and the cats only ever climbed the artifical tree - never the real tree. So, since then, I've been telling people to get real trees instead, cats don't climb them.

Well. A few days ago, I was in tree kitchen prepping food for the dog, when I heard a crash from the living room. I looked over, and one of our tuxedos, named Inky, was walking out of the living room. I went that way, and he scampered off. In the living room, I didn't see anything amiss... At first. Later, from a different angle, I realized the tree was moved a foot or so and there was water on the floor.

I think Inky climbed the tree, it started to fall over, he fell or jumped out, and the tree rocked back down to the floor in a different position. It must have been pretty close to toppling, but fortunately we bought a pretty heavy stand that saved it.

He hasn't tried it since, or if he did, he's been more careful.

I still love him though. I have several amusing pictures of cats in trees from back then, I should post them. We wouldn't even be done setting it up and there'd be a cat in it.

And yet you wouldn't change it at all.

There's definitely 40% cat in this picture. But where does it start and end? Is that an eye? An ear? Can't make heads or tails of it.