A frustrated influencer was forced to hang her Christmas tree from the ceiling in a desperate bid to stop her ‘Grinch cat’ from destroying it.
María Márquez is spending Christmas at home with her two moggies for the first time – and festive peace has gone out of the window.
Last year, the influencer celebrated the festive season with just her five-year-old cat, Michi, and all was calm in the household.
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But this year, nine-month-old Mochi has joined the family – and the mischievous black kitten has become the star of the show.
The energetic feline simply won’t stop attacking the Christmas tree, and TikTok users can’t get enough of her antics.
María, who boasts 615,000 TikTok followers, said she bought the tree a year ago.
“It was just the two of us last year, and Michi wasn’t interested in the tree at all,” she told What’s The Jam.
“I was able to decorate it and have a peaceful Christmas.
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“This year, Mochi came into our lives.
“As she’s so curious and restless, I was a little afraid to put my tree up this year, but I wanted to try anyway.
“From the very first moment, she was fascinated by the tree.
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“She started playing with it, climbing it, and even sleeping under it.”
The 24-year-old, who is from Barquisimeto in Venezuela, has posted nearly 20 videos showing Mochi’s chaotic behaviour on TikTok – with all of the clips racking up millions of views.
María, who works as a graphic designer, model and content creator, said: “From the beginning, I documented every moment of Mochi messing with the tree.
“I had a series of videos on my phone and thought, ‘Why not make a compilation and upload it to TikTok?’
“I edited the video and uploaded it without knowing the frenzy it would cause.
“People started commenting with possible solutions to get the cat to stop being so interested in the tree, so I decided to test it out and keep documenting it.
“I tried vinegar, aluminium foil, cucumber, lemon, a blender, a hairdryer, pepper, buying another small tree just for her, and even hanging the tree from the ceiling.
“With each experiment, Mochi became more determined and overcame each obstacle to keep climbing the tree.”
With Christmas just days away, María admits she is at her wits’ end.
She said: “Unfortunately, I haven’t found a solution yet.”
A clip showing the Christmas tree suspended from the ceiling went viral, clocking up a whopping 42 million views.
María added: “The online reaction has been insane, everyone loves Mochi’s antics.
“I thought it could be popular in my home city, but I never imagined it would cross so many borders.
“People even recognise me in the street and take the time to say ‘hello’.
“I’m truly incredibly grateful to everyone who has taken the time to share my story.”
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