Sassy tried to burn down our house last night.

Sassy is one of my mom's cats, a very plump and fluffy medium-haired calitortie, the most affectionate kitty in the house. She's also extremely strong (a Maine Coon mix, I think), and she's able to open any cabinet, any drawer, any door...

And now she can turn the knobs on the STOVE.

It's one of those glass-topped stoves, and we keep metal burner covers over the top when it's not in use. Sassy was the only cat in the kitchen, and we'd had the kitchen door closed for an hour or so to keep St. John from eating the special weight-control food we give her. About 10:30, Mom opened the door and this horrible burning smell rolled out of the kitchen -- and she found the left front burner was on and the metal cover was warped and blackened and smoking!

Today we went to Babies R Us and bought some stove knob covers to keep it from happening again. Yikes!

geebus, what a clever cat!!!

i'm glad you got those covers now!

That IS a clever cat! Now, if only you could teach her how to make dinner too!

Seriously, that would be pretty scary. What if it happened when you weren't home? Good thing you got those covers for the knobs. I used to use those burner covers...until I burned up, not one, but TWO of them. Unfortunately, I couldn't blame it on the cats....

You guys are so lucky that she showed you she could do it when she did. What a smart girl she is ......... make sure she doesnt figure out how to get the locks off.

wow, it's fortunate you caught it before it became something bad. The baby store became a staple for me when Sibohan made every cabinet in the kitchen her personal mission... nothing like haveing baby locks on everything in the bachelorette apaprtment... people just scratch their heads. Now at my parents house (they havn't had child locks in 25 years) I had to teach my dad how to use them.

Originally Posted by Sibohan2005

wow, it's fortunate you caught it before it became something bad. The baby store became a staple for me when Sibohan made every cabinet in the kitchen her personal mission... nothing like haveing baby locks on everything in the bachelorette apaprtment... people just scratch their heads. Now at my parents house (they havn't had child locks in 25 years) I had to teach my dad how to use them.

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Ah yes... try buying a Onesie for a cat and having the girl at Baby's R Us ask you if it's a boy or a girl.

When you politely inform her that it's for a four legged furry child she looks at you like you've lost your mind.

What in the world was your smart kitty thinking! I have never heard of a cat doing that before. You are lucky you caught her!

Does she want homecooked meals?!

I'm glad you found it in time and everyone is all right!

That is too weird - what would attract a cat to burner knobs?

Originally Posted by Momofmany

I'm glad you found it in time and everyone is all right!

That is too weird - what would attract a cat to burner knobs?

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Because they move...and because she can! That is a cat rule.

OMG this just happened to me last week. What are the knob covers you are talking about?

My Lola can open everything and anything. I had the plastic cat food bucket (one of those Iams buckets they were selling for awhile) on the counter.

She knocked it onto the stove, glass top one as well, they got the knob turned on to level 6! I was gone at the time. I came home it couldn't have been 30 seconds after it happened and already the bucket was melted completely through and cat food was cooking on the stove.

If I had come home a minute later the house would have burnt down. It scared me to death!

I have been completely paranoid to leave the house since then. I didn't know they made some special knob covers. Can you post photos of them Carol and what stores they can be purchased at.

So glad it turned out that nothing was seriously harmed at your house either.

Oh my gosh! Your brush with disaster was even nearer than ours! Thank goodness you got there in time!

The knob covers should be easy to find at Babies R Us, or in the baby department of WalMart, I would imagine. Ours are a brand called "Safety 1st," just $7.99 for five of them. They're very simple -- a round, hinged, clear plastic cover with a little latch you squeeze to open so you can reach the knob inside. Easy to put on, too -- took me less than a minute for all four. All you do is pull the stove knob off, place the cover around it, and slide the stove knob back on.

Momofmany, I was wondering that too -- what might attract her to the knobs. Knowing Sassy, I think it was probably just something to rub her face against. She's extremely territorial, and the kitchen is her chosen territory... I think she was just marking the stove as her property.

Glasstops heat up so quickly, I'm just so glad she didn't walk back across it and burn her paws!

Those are some very mischievious kitties! Baby safety supplies work in a lot of places cats can get into trouble...mine likes to get into the cupboards and clean house...so we use those latch thingies on some of them

Originally Posted by CarolPetunia

Oh my gosh! Your brush with disaster was even nearer than ours! Thank goodness you got there in time!

The knob covers should be easy to find at Babies R Us, or in the baby department of WalMart, I would imagine. Ours are a brand called "Safety 1st," just $7.99 for five of them. They're very simple -- a round, hinged, clear plastic cover with a little latch you squeeze to open so you can reach the knob inside. Easy to put on, too -- took me less than a minute for all four. All you do is pull the stove knob off, place the cover around it, and slide the stove knob back on.
!

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Thanks Carol, they are on my Wal Mart list. No Babies R Us anywhere near me. This is such a scary thing. I had never dreamed they could turn on the stove. I was just panicked.

I worry all the time about them walking across the burners. I too put a metal cake pan over the hot burner until it cools off. Yeah, I have counter cruisers

Uhoh -- we were at WalMart today and I looked just out of curiosity, and they didn't have 'em. Just in case your WalMart doesn't, either, here's a link where you can order them online -- they're the third item down on the right:

http://www.toysrus.com/family/index....255984.2256208

Wow, maybe she was hungry for some hot food?

My sister's glasstop range turned itself on at 3:00 a.m. once! She was working in the kitchen as usual (she always stays up late) and heard a click. After a few minutes the top was glowing red even though the knobs said everything was off. She ran to the electrical box and turned everything off. If she'd been asleep, the house would have burned down!

Be careful! I'm glad you are O.K.

Well, THAT'S terrifying! Did she ever find out why it happened? Was the stove defective?

Goodness -- maybe we have falsely accused poor Sassy! Maybe it was spontaneous stoval combustion...

Originally Posted by CarolPetunia

Well, THAT'S terrifying! Did she ever find out why it happened? Was the stove defective?

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It was just some kind of weird electrical short! I guess it's a good thing she stays up half the night.

I believe your kitty was guilty, though, if the knob was turned.

Ha! Yes, you're right... we caught her red-pawed...