I'm a big cat person, have had them my whole adult life. Our current cat is inches away from me right now. She is like a dog in some ways, constantly hangs out with us, following us from room to room, lays in our laps all winter. Also sleeps with us at night. Thankful for her company. And she's great with our five year old grandson, who lives with us! We've never had a christmas tree disaster with any of ours. I used to have a cat with silver/grey fur, and she would lie underneath an old aluminum Christmas tree I had (actually still have it, but haven't put it up in years since the house got more occupied), and change colors along with the tree when the color wheel was running.