Fire danger/kitties & heaters

xocats

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Wall, floor and space heater warning...

During cold weather our kitties love a nice warm place to sleep.
Please remain vigilant...
if something that can burn, is to close to a heat source, a tragic fire can quickly happen.

Keep all flammables at least 3 feet away from any heat source.

In the past few days, my area has had several devastating home fires, all related to combustibles that were to close to a heat source.

Use common sense and be safe.

http://www.nfpa.org/categoryList.asp...ng%20equipment
 

amberthe bobcat

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The best thing to do is not use a space heater. However, if you do, do not leave it on or plugged in when you are gone from home or while you are sleeping. Always make sure nothing is placed on or to close to the heater as well. The heaters I like, are the ones called "ceramic heaters". They are usally 6 to 8 inches square, have a small fan and NO glowing heating element in them. The heat they produce is below the combustion temperature of paper, but they do a really good job. If the heater is tipped over or if something blocks the air vent causing the heater to over heat, it will shut off. Again, there is no glowing or red hot heating element in them, making it less likely for a fire. I used 2 of them in my garage last winter, to help warm it up a bit for a kitten we found abandoned in a snow storm. We had to keep him in the garge for a little while, until he was vet checked and made sure he was free of any illness, that could have spread to our other cats. As with any space heater, I would still not let these heaters run while sleeping or away from home. It is always much better to be over safe than sorry.
 
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xocats

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I agree...
it is always better to be safe than sorry.

I have noticed that in Cat Pics...
some members have their kitties beds directly over a floor furnace vent or touching their wall heaters.

Rather than hijacking their threads, I decided to post this with the hope that all members will put safety first.

Thanks for your comments.
 

amberthe bobcat

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I have always been a little compulsive about these things, but that is one of my biggest fears. During the winter months, people need to pay extra attention to these hidden dangers. With Christmas time and many people putting up lights inside their homes, it is also important not to overload electrical cords and do not run extension cords under carpet or in areas that have heavy foot traffic.
 
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xocats

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Originally Posted by AmberThe Bobcat

I have always been a little compulsive about these things, but that is one of my biggest fears. During the winter months, people need to pay extra attention to these hidden dangers. With Christmas time and many people putting up lights inside their homes, it is also important not to overload electrical cords and do not run extension cords under carpet or in areas that have heavy foot traffic.

Be smart and stay safe.

Merry Christmas
 

pookie-poo

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This is the exact reason I haven't burned a candle (even tho I'd love to!) in over 7 years. Cleo tried to set her face on fire by smelling a burning candle. You can't teach a cat how to "stop, drop and roll".
 
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xocats

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Originally Posted by Pookie-poo

You can't teach a cat how to "stop, drop and roll".

For the same reason...
I don't use candles.
 

crazyforinfo

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How do you keep a cat from sitting next to a space heater? It wasn't until this thread was started that Cello learned this behavior. LoL
 
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xocats

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Originally Posted by Crazyforinfo

How do you keep a cat from sitting next to a space heater? It wasn't until this thread was started that Cello learned this behavior. LoL
Have Cello read this thread please.


The important thing is to keep things that can burn like a cat's bedding, cloths....
anything flammable away from heaters.

The other day a home in my area burned to the ground.
The cause was a plastic laundry hamper that was to close to a wall heater.
Those people just weren't thinking about the danger of fire.
They lost everything and it could have easily been prevented if they had just moved the hamper away from the heater.
 

amberthe bobcat

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Originally Posted by Pookie-poo

This is the exact reason I haven't burned a candle (even tho I'd love to!) in over 7 years. Cleo tried to set her face on fire by smelling a burning candle. You can't teach a cat how to "stop, drop and roll".
Thanks for the reminder. I never use candles, just to much danger with them.
How do you keep a cat from sitting next to a space heater? It wasn't until this thread was started that Cello learned this behavior. LoL
It's not so much your cat you need to worry about. If he/she gets to warm, they will move away. But you must be very careful not to have the cats bedding near the heater. As stated, never leave a space heater on or plugged in when you away from home or while sleeping.
 

littleraven7726

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We have electric heat in our apartment and I am pretty OCD about making sure nothing is touching the heaters before bed or leaving.


Gas heat isn't that great either. Our last apartment had gas/forced air heat and we had a gas leak.
Luckily we caught it before we got too sick. We were having bad headaches. As soon as we figured it out we had maintenance over and opened the windows.

I can't wait until we can buy instead of renting.
 

mzjazz2u

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Good reminders! For space heaters, the ones with the ceramic heaters are the safest. I still wouldn't leave those on unattended though. And don't forget candles! Last year Peaches singed her tail on a burning candle. And I was right there so even when you're monitoring it can happen.
 
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xocats

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Originally Posted by mzjazz2u

Last year Peaches singed her tail on a burning candle. And I was right there so even when you're monitoring it can happen.
Peaches


This is an example of what can happen.
There are no lit candles at my place.
 

littleraven7726

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Originally Posted by mzjazz2u

Good reminders! For space heaters, the ones with the ceramic heaters are the safest. I still wouldn't leave those on unattended though. And don't forget candles! Last year Peaches singed her tail on a burning candle. And I was right there so even when you're monitoring it can happen.
I thought Nabu was the only one who would do that.
He walked right up to a candle and singed his whiskers! I was so glad he didn't burn his nose. I don't burn candles anymore either.
 

crazyforinfo

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Originally Posted by AmberThe Bobcat

Thanks for the reminder. I never use candles, just to much danger with them.

It's not so much your cat you need to worry about. If he/she gets to warm, they will move away. But you must be very careful not to have the cats bedding near the heater. As stated, never leave a space heater on or plugged in when you away from home or while sleeping.
Well this cat won't back up. Last year he had blisters on his ears. Took us to figure out why. He was laying in the back of it and we couldn't see him. I waited 45mins with him last night until it cooled off.
 

kittkatt

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IMO, and based on my experience with portable heaters, the radiator kind is the safest. They don't give out a whole lot of heat, but they work fairly well for one room.

I don't trust those other portable heaters at all..


~KK~
 

amberthe bobcat

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Originally Posted by Crazyforinfo

Well this cat won't back up. Last year he had blisters on his ears. Took us to figure out why. He was laying in the back of it and we couldn't see him. I waited 45mins with him last night until it cooled off.
Wow, I think I would just stop using the heater.
 

weldrwomn

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Ok, so no cat bedding on the floor vents, but what about the cat? How long can a cat lay on the floor vent until she catches fire? Somehow, I know that isn't funny, but everyday, Darcy parks her furry little body right on the hottest floor vent in the house and falls asleep. When she gets up, she is very hot to the touch.
 
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xocats

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Originally Posted by WELDRWOMN

Ok, so no cat bedding on the floor vents, but what about the cat? How long can a cat lay on the floor vent until she catches fire? Somehow, I know that isn't funny, but everyday, Darcy parks her furry little body right on the hottest floor vent in the house and falls asleep. When she gets up, she is very hot to the touch.
Years ago, when my son was about 5, on a cold morning, while trying to get warm after his shower, he backed his bare bottom up to our wall heater and burned himself.

To this day he has a faded waffle pattern scar on his butt from that burn.
We still tease him about it....old "waffle butt."


My point is that, if it's hot...it can burn.
 
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