Reply
Sun 14 Nov, 2010 09:22 pm
My son's little cat Sophia jumped into my lap this morning and I petted her. I was surprised to feel a stiffness to her fur at the hip. I immediately assumed that she had knocked over my son's leftover tea and that the sweet liquid had dried on her fur.
I was horrified to see that some of her fur had burned. A curve band of charcoal spread across her hip. Although she was her usual sweet and loving self, I was horrified. I checked to see whether there was skin damage, but there seemed to be none.
I picked her up and carried her down stairs, into my son's room, where I announced, "Sophia has been burned." He was on his feet immediately. We both examined her and decided that there was no damage.
The pellet stove hasn't worked since Tuesday and they are never that warm. We are waiting for the technician. I made espresso on the gas stove but put the espresso maker on the burner because there really isn't any place else for it to go. Neither the iron nor my hair dryer were plugged in. I have a small electric space heater with a thick plastic case that keeps the coils two inches away from anyone or anything but it was not in use. It was plugged in but switched off. The heating system is forced hot air by gas but has not been turned on this season.
We do not allow the cats access to the basement as it is moldy and we don't want mold on their paws. That means the cats never come in contact with the furnace or hot water heater. The house is more than 100 years old but, to the best of my knowledge, all the knob-and-tube wiring is gone.
We can not figure out how she could have burned herself. The singed fur crumbled, leaving an area of "cropped" fur.
We are upset because Sophia is precious to us and because we have been alerted to a potential danger we do not understand.
I have looked about the house for anything that might have singed fur on it. There is nothing.
@plainoldme,
Is the cat allowed to go outside? Perhaps she was a victim of some jerkish kid's prank?
@tsarstepan,
Neither my son nor I believe in allowing the kitties outside. Sophia weighs 8 pounds. There are coyottes, fox, wolves, beer and raptors here that might consider her a meal. I also live on a state highway.
Frankly, I wondered whether someone broke into the house. My son dismisses the suggestion but there seems nothing that answers our mystery.
@Arella Mae,
thank you! She is our baby. She swallowed some string several years ago (she is eight) and before I had evidence that she was ill, I knew something was amiss because she didn't sit next to me while I worked at the computer or sewed. The string was surgically removed. We've been diligent to keep string away from the cats.
@plainoldme,
Any incandescent bulbs around?
@engineer,
Yes, but, the one in my room was turned off. In this situation, the bulbs in the ceiling fixture don't count. There is a wonky old floor lamp in my son's room as well as a small, night-stand type lamp. The wonky old lamp has compact florescent bulbs, but, the cat would have had to hung from the shade to burn herself even with with incandescent bulbs.
The burn is the wrong shape -- it is an open C rather than a spot -- for me to suspect a light bulb.
Check all the electrical cords in the house. You may have a short in one that the cat happened to rub up against.
@Butrflynet,
Ah, now that makes sense. Her burn could match the loop of a cord. Thank you.
My son suggested she sat against something to keep warm.
@plainoldme,
While I thought Betterfly's suggestion made sense, my son rejects it because he feels an electric cord creates a spark and her burn was too extensive. I suggested that sparks generate flame and offered that she could have climbed onto a piece of furniture -- as she did, because I was working a Sudoku in bed while listening to the radio and drinking my morning coffee -- and ignited the furniture or bedclothes.
@plainoldme,
It still isn't a bad idea to routinely check electrical cords. I'd hate to hear that you'd had a house fire. Do it just to be on the safe side.
@Butrflynet,
I would hate to have an electrical fire as well. My poor kitties!
My son pooh-poohs the idea that a cord caused her burn. My daughter suspects Sophia crawled into some small space. I wondered that as well. Perhaps, under the frig?
@plainoldme,
I don't have an answer, but it seems to be a serious enough situation that warrants an immediate and thorough investigation and survey of all electrical appliances and other heat sources in the house regardless of how likely it is that they might be the cause.
I'm very surprised that the ambiguity about that has gone on for so long. Something caused it, the something is dangerous to the cat and quite possibly your house and inhabitants. It calls for an immediate all out physical search rather than all these cerebral guessing games as to what it might be.
We did the search immediately. It turned up nothing. I posted here for an outside opinion. I honestly believe that outsiders can sometimes see things those involved in a situation can not. I hoped, and still do, that someone can come up with something we missed because they know more about things like this than we do.
We were certain we would see singed fur but we did not.
What amazes me is that there is nothing plugged into outlets in either the living room or dining room. Nor is anything plugged into the lower hall. The door to the guest room is closed and there is nothing plugged in there. The only thing that remains permanently plugged in in the kitchen (where all the plugs are placed no lower than a foot off the floor) is the coffee grinder. The one tv is plugged in behind a bureau. The computers are plugged into surge protectors, along with lamps. The few outlets in use makes this more puzzling.
There is no sign that she was ever on the stove nor has she a history of climbing onto it, either here or in the four other places she lived.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace