cats and candles

[wiskris]

I always burn candles and today I forgot to put the protective cover on it that makes it burn even. Im on the phone with a very important client and I look over and Kiki's tail is smoking!! She did not even feel a thing. She has a nice burn on her fur of her tail but I honestly think she never felt it!
Ally has done this before also about 2 years ago. That is why I always put the siver ring on the candle to prevent that.
Does anyone else's cats have a close call with a candle? Im scared to burn them again. Anyone else have any tips to prevent this from happening again?
Thanks in advance
Kristi

 

[mamacat]

Honestly, we don't burn candles anymore unless the candles are not only directly in our line of vision but also well within our reach. Otherwise, it's just too dangerous--kitties are so quick, they can have a bad accident in the blink of an eye.

 

[pepper girl]

My Pepper totally singed her eyebrows off. I didn't notice it till one day my boyfriend was playing with her and he seen she had no eyebrows. We never leave candles burning unattended...I have no idea how she managed to do it?

 

[rockcat]

Please do not leave a candle unattended with a cat in the house. I posted this around Christmas, but since it came up again...I think it's important.

I work for a company that does (among other things) fire damage restoration. One of our customers left a candle burning and went outside to call her kids for dinner. She was not outside long. The cat knocked over the candle and started a fire.

The poor cat perished. The woman was a firefighter. It could happen to anyone.

 

[pinkdaisy226]

Geez, how sad. Whenever I light a candle, I make sure I'm in the same room as the cat and that she's not near it. I've only ever seen her get near a candle when it's been unlit, but that could change at any time.

I also place them out of reach, on counters she doesn't jump on... but that could change at any minute also so I keep an eye on her.

 

[krazy kat2]

I use jar candles or deep holders ever I had a pillar candle burning on the coffee table right in front of me, and a kitty ran across the table and caught his tail on fire. No burns to his skin, but burnt fur smells awful! He ran off with his tail still smoldering, and I had to catch him to make sure he was ok.

 

[coolcat]

Originally Posted by krazy kat2

I use jar candles or deep holders ever I had a pillar candle burning on the coffee table right in front of me, and a kitty ran across the table and caught his tail on fire. No burns to his skin, but burnt fur smells awful! He ran off with his tail still smoldering, and I had to catch him to make sure he was ok.

nice Advice

 

[yosemite]

I have oodles of candles - they've never been lit. I'm terrified of one of the kitties getting burned. They even try to climb in the fireplace when my husband has the doors opened to start the fire and he has to keep moving them away. They are way too curious. He opened the doors the other day to clean the ashes and before you could say Jack Robin, Mika was in there with all the ashes. I had to wash her feet before she tracked it all over the house.

 

[rosiemac]

I use t-lights and the only time i leave the room is when i make a coffee or go to the bathroom, but the t-lights are always in glass holders out of reach from Rosie and Sophie

 

[wiskris]

I appreciate all the response and tips. I do only light candles when Im in the same room. This candle happened to be on my computer desk as I was sitting at it on the phone. My cats are curious and always jumping up to see me.Kiki's tail was just swinging to wildly right by the candle. I have learned a deep lesson now. NO more candles at my desk! Thank god only burnt hair happened. i would die if anything happened to my babies...Im just glad she was not hurt. Ally was fine also when it happened years ago. I been lucky!!
Cats and lit candles dont fly anymore in my house....
Thanks for the tips all!!!
Kristi

 

[graykittenlove]

Glad to know I'm not the only one whose cat has burned off their eyebrow whiskers. Gandalf did it once when it was a kitten and it completely freaked me out. I do still burn candles I just make sure that I'm with in an arm's reach of the candle if either of the boys can get to it.

 

[pepper girl]

Glad to know I'm not the only one whose cat has burned off their eyebrow whiskers.

Me too!

 

[ttmom]

Yes, I saw the whole side of a kitten flare up at someone's house. I screamed and jumped and started patting the kitten off and it was so hard to put it out. In the end, no one was injured and the room stank of burnt fur, but I don't burn candles with the kitties go anymore.

 

[batgirl2good]

When Shenandoah was a kitten, he got too close to a candle and got singed a teensy bit. Since then, he steers clear of them!

 

[jugen]

I have candles here I'd love to burn but my cats are to nosy. Rocket would be singed or worse yet, burned before we knew what happened. So we never light candles, EVER!!!

 

[hissy]

If we burn candles we do so only with candles protected and far out of reach of curious kitties. I make sure the base is strong enough and sturdy enough to not be dislodged by a curious paw, and I do not burn candles much at all. Only recently in defense to the awful sick smell my house took on. I do have one electric candle in my window that I "light" for any new kitty that has passed over the bridge to light their way- whether that cat be under my care, or if I read about it CTB forum.

Candles, and cats are not a good mix, they are a recipe for disaster

 

[rapunzel47]

I love candles. But the only time we have candles lit is on the dinner table while we are there (and that's usually a ceramic oil candle in a pyramid shape, at that). Very occasionally, we may want to create atmosphere in a particular room for a particular purpose and in that case we're there the whole time and douse the candles before we leave.

 

[cloud_shade]

My former roommate used to fall asleep with candles burning. Occasionally, she would even leave the apartment in a rush and forget to put them out. I'm not sure I've burned ANY candles since she left. Fortunately, neither of our kitties were ever injured by the flames.

My neighbors, however, lost their apartment to a Christmas tree fire a few days before Christmas. One cat was rescued quickly (I rushed him to the vet for them), but the other one hid on top of the kitchen cabinets. They almost didn't find him. Both kitties were lucky and didn't have any serious injuries.