Cat Won't Destroy Christmas Tree Because Of Tangerine 'Force Field'

[catbyte]

He REALLY doesn't like tangerines ...

BY CAITLIN JILL ANDERS

Ever since his mom brought him home, Victor has been an incredibly outgoing cat, and not much fazes him. He follows his mom everywhere she goes and instantly loves every stranger he meets, but despite his confidence, he does have one big — and very strange — fear.

When he was just a kitten, Victor’s mom discovered that the one thing he hates the most is tangerines.



“We were together on the couch, I grabbed a tangerine and, as I began to peel it, he hissed and ran away,” Irene Olocco, Victor’s mom, told The Dodo.

Olocco soon learned that all similar orange fruits were Victor’s vice, and he absolutely wouldn’t go near them. Since Victor has always been a little stubborn, especially when it comes to “house rules,” his mom decided to use this new kryptonite to her advantage.



“I began to put oranges or tangerines on the furniture where I didn't want him to climb on and it worked,” Olocco said.

One of the house rules that Victor has always loved to ignore is “don’t destroy the Christmas tree.” Every year, he steals Christmas balls off the tree and destroys various ornaments and other decorations, and his mom could never come up with a way to keep him away from it — until she had the best idea.



“I was sick of yelling at him to not touch the balls,” Olocco said. “In the middle of the morning I decided to eat a tangerine and the brilliant idea struck … It worked immediately!”

Olocco created a force field of tangerines around the tree, and sure enough, Victor wouldn’t go past them. As much as he loves tormenting Christmas trees, he hates tangerines even more.



Now, Olocco’s tree is safe thanks to Victor’s very strange fear, and it seems that surrounding the tree with tangerines will become a new yearly tradition.

https://www.thedodo.com/close-to-home/cat-terrified-of-tangerines

[dewsgirl]

1. LoL Brilliant!

[KT2000]

2. my since departed kitty

loved Clementines. She was the only cat I knew who didn't freak about citrus.

[NJCher]

3. love this story

They look like fluffy little angels in that third photo down. He is decidedly unhappy about that tangerine, though, in the last photo where he is sitting by the wall.

I've seen sprays made from citrus that you can buy to spray your couch or wherever you don't want them.

[47of74]

4. I thought maybe you had put up a photo by the tree.

That of the tangerine toddler and your cat didn’t like that. The animals, they always know...

[LakeArenal]

5. My passed away father remembers for Christmas

He would get some hand knit socks and two oranges for Christmas every year.
Never thought he should get much more.

[Lars39]

6. In my family it was oranges and mixed nuts if they were lucky.

[panader0]

7. Use them as ornaments.

[wnylib]

8. I have tried every scent recommended for use

with cats. Only one if them works but it is not a scent I want to fill my home with,-citron candles.

One spray called Cat Off worked briefly, for a couple hours. I don't know what was in it, but it was so offensive that it kept me away longer than the cat.

So, I keep ornaments off the lowest branches. She sometimes stsnds on 2 feet to swat a higher one, or just slaps a branch in passing. Then she started curling up under the tree for naps. I'm not fooled. I know she does it to be in the vicinity for a quick swat when I'm not looking.

But overall she's not too bad about it as long as I have a spray bottle of water nearby. Fortunately she does not know that I'm reluctant to get water on the tree and ornaments, especially the lights.and nearby electrical outlet.

[Generic Brad]

9. Will that work with vacuums?

My cat is terrified of only vacuums. I bet that if I bought about 10 of those suckers, positioned them around my tree, then turned all of them on I could achieve a similar result.

[jmowreader]

10. Maybe...but consider...

Do you REALLY want to listen to ten vacuum cleaners running 24/7 from now until Tree Removal Day?

[irisblue]

11. Lady Bast is giggling somewhere