There’s nothing more appealing to a housebound cat than the Mount Everest challenge of a Christmas tree. I know this for certain because of a longstanding family story about a Christmas tree and a cat. As the story went, my mother, then only 7, heard a crash late on Christmas Eve and ran to the living room. Grandma, Grandpa and Mother’s little brother were there already, staring at the toppled Christmas tree. As they watched, its upper branches parted and Casper the cat slid out.