Every year, cat owners struggle with solutions on how to protect their Christmas tree from destructive cats. Like moths to a flame, cats are draw to the bows of a pine tree, eating the needles and tearing apart the branches, knocking the most breakable ornaments to a 10ft plunge. One family got tired of all of the broken ornaments, snapped twigs, and constant vigilance over the tree that they came up with a brilliant solution to prevent their cats from ever stepping foot near their humble tree. The solution was simple enough— employee the one household item that has a vice grip over the cat’s fear receptors: the vacuum.
The hoomans knew that their furry companions were deathly afraid of the dreaded, noisy vacuum, but never realized they could harness that power for good… until now. Knowing that the sound of firing up the vacuum’s engine meant that the cats would be sent fleeing with their tails between their legs, they fashioned a device that would act as kitty repellent to their tree. With the vacuum stationed near to the tasty, piney branches, they built a motion sensing device that would turn on a power strip to which the vacuum was attached. With the power on and the vacuum ready to engage, all they needed was a curious cat to fall right in their trap.
As the vacuum blazes to life, the cat instinctively knows that its 9 lives are numbered and it runs away in fleeing terror. One might say that this technique went a little too far with the cats, scaring them unnecessarily. But what’s really going on here is some classical conditioning of the terrifying variety. The cats then will always associate the tree with scary, loud noises, so it will no longer intrigue them in a positive way. Therefore, the cats will eventually stop approaching the tree.
Even with the vacuum cleverly hidden behind the branches, which is a very low profile home aesthetic (well done), the tree is safe from unwanted meddling from the felines of the house. The real genius here is not only in the appearance of the anti-cat, but the effectiveness. With 100% efficacy in its trial runs, this cat-resistant tree saver may actually save Christmas this year. Not only does the vacuum keep the cats away during the day, it runs at all hours, protecting the tree even when the hoomans can’t.
Now that’s one of those things that sets man apart from beast.
