I had a hell of a scare tonight. richard and i were eating dinner after lighting the menorah and suddenly i smelled something burning. i looked to my left and my cat, penny, was on fire! she had walked across the table to eat her own food and brushed against the menorah on the way. i don't know how i put the fire out. i remember reaching my hand out to put it out but i didn't get burned -- but i remember it going out when i did that. she wasn't even aware she was on fire. her fur protected her; her skin wasn't even singed. i brushed the burnt fur off her; the table is full of black ash. i cried and cried and richard kept telling me "she's okay; why are you crying?" but i couldn't stop.
g
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13 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.Scary.
Time to transition to a LED menorah?
Glad your cat was not seriously hurt.
NoMagicCookie
Level 8
Dec 14, 2018
0
i don't know -- there is something about lighting the traditional menorah in the right order, but this was pretty damned scary. next april she will be 17. i don't know if she will even be around for the next chanukah... i sure hope so. there are four others but she is definitely the most careless, the one who sometimes slides off the bed for example. we shall see.
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@genessa Yes, fire does have a (magic) appeal.
I have two wood burning fireplaces and a half cord of wood in the back yard but shortly before I purchased the house the owners (just before they both died in the house) (old age) added a shake shingle room. There are no spark arrestors in the chimney system so I don't dare light the fireplaces until I modify the chimney.
@NoMagicCookie oh i hear you. we have a fireplace and can't deal with it until a whole slew of things are done.
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@genessa They are a lot of work. In the attic I need to re-grout the bricks. The ten foot wide stone fireplace in the formal living room is fine but the nine foot high fireplace in the breeseway was incorrectly designed so I would need to lower the height of the firebox so it doesn't vent into the room. This project is very low on my to do list. I have 54 windows that need to be stripped, re-glazed and painted again. Lots of work. The six casement windows that make up the bow are almost a high as I am and they occupy roughly ten feet of wall space in the formal living room. Also need to design, build and replace the front door. Plan to make it a stained glass art project.
@NoMagicCookie we're old farts. our project is to wake up every day.
g
@genessa My old landlord was in his late 90's when I moved out.
He stripped and painted the entire outside of his house every year.
He also outlived several of his children.
The first daughter he lost was eaten by a serial killer in California. The authorities found pieces of her and other young (missing) women, in the guys freezer.
@NoMagicCookie yuck!
no, we're not just old but disabled. but we have not been hacked up and frozen yet.
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@genessa As long as you haven't been hacked up and frozen, you are good.
@NoMagicCookie as good as circumstances and our natures allow 
)
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Glad you were close by!
itsmedammit
Level 8
Dec 9, 2018
0
oh we never leave the candles unattended. that would be pushing our luck for sure. that's why i can't figure out how she did it, right in front of us! i must have been looking at richard. then i smelled burning fur....
g
Same thing happened to me and one of my previous cats. Her tail caught on fire from a jack 'o' lantern candle and I just clapped it out with one clap of my hands. She, the cat, had no idea that anything had happened but she could be kinda thick. Glad you didn't have any major issues either.
kmdskit3
Level 8
Dec 9, 2018
1
oh penny had no clue either! she'll never know!
g
we have a cat that loves to get really close to the fireplace and I have recurring nightmares about her fur accidentally catching on fire. So glad you were able to catch her and extinguish before it hurt her - how very scary. Totally understand the crying - sometimes we do it when we are relieved that it wasn't worse....
Lavergne
Level 8
Dec 9, 2018
1
yes, relief crying, looks funny to others but we feel it.
g
Oh that’s scary. Of course you cried.
Mine have singed their whiskers on candles and the other had a fluffy tail that was caught on fire.
It just reminds us of how vulnerable they are.
Sydland
Level 7
Dec 9, 2018
0
they and we. if she had jumped off the table, the house would've caught fire. <shudder>
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My little Monty decided to walk across the table once when we had candles. Caught the end of his tail on fire. Aaaaaa! A swoop up the tail with a hand and nobody was hurt.
Booklover
Level 7
Dec 9, 2018
0
that would've been scary but not AS scary. penny was just aflame! glad kitty and tail survived!
g
I'd cry too. I worry about one of my cats jumping onto the oven door when I have it open. I can"t even imagine! Glad she is ok!
Kynlei
Level 8
Dec 9, 2018
1
she has a big orange patch on her fur now. the outer layer (tabby) got burned off and apparently she is a secret marmie under that coat!
g
poor Penny. We had a chihauhau (sp) that fell into our campfire . Hubby kicked her back out. She was drunk from drinking from drinks that were sitting on the ground.
Susieq
Level 7
Dec 8, 2018
1
omg i can picture that! we have a mostly longhaired chi too. we don't camp, though.
g
NNNOOO!!!!
RobertNappi2
Level 9
Dec 8, 2018
1
all is well now but wow, i was terrified.
g
That was a scary moment, glad everyone is ok.
HippieChick58
Level 9
Dec 8, 2018
3
i think i got some new gray hairs and maybe lost a year of my expected lifespan but we're all otherwise fine. penny is snuggled with one of her daughters and still apparently has no clue she ever was aflame.
g
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