Wood stove and cats

[Jay H]

I am getting 2 little kittens very shortly and although I am not burning yet, I will be of course this winter with my Quad 3100. Just wondering for those of you with pets and knowing the cats tend to like to jump on things.... Do you think I should get a protective screen to keep kittens from jumping on the stovetop which would be bad for the kitty or do you think they are smart enough to know that the stove is hot and that jumping on top of fires is a bad thing?

Jay

 

[Gibbonboy]

As dumb as my cats seem, I never worry about them jumping on a hot stove. I do, however, worry about tripping over them on the way to the stove! They know what hot is, or they'll learn quickly without any permanent harm. I'm more of a dog person, but the whole cat "attitude" makes me laugh alot. That and the complete lack of mice in our house, which is why I first got cats. Come to think of it, I think people are the only animals who regularly get burned on stoves! What does that say about us? Also see my signature for the best tip I've ever been given. He came up with that while we were burning a brush pile during the winter, and the dogs were laying there steaming.

I wouldn't be too concerned.

 

[begreen]

I've never had this happen with our cats. You'll have to judge by the individual animal. Some are smart and others not. I wouldn't worry, just try to pick the smartest of the litter. If they're not, perhaps Darwin should rule. They'll learn pretty quickly.

Our neighbors went through similar angst with their two very young boys. They wouldn't light a fire until the kids went to sleep. Then we had a major long power outage and had no choice. Funny thing is the kids were told once - hot, owie, don't touch. And they never went closer than 6 feet from the stove, no matter how rambunctiously they played. Now they've stopped worrying and plan to use the stove a lot this winter.

 

[Metal]

Since you say you are getting two cats, I would say this calls for an experiment. Name one cat variable and the other control...never mind, maybe it isn't such a good idea after all.

 

[BrotherBart]

My wifes cat is dumb as a stump but he doesn't get burned on the stoves. Just loves to lay in front of them and sleep. Something my brother-in-law calls "serious kitty work".

 

[maplegirl]

I wouldn't worry. We just got our first wood stove and I'm pretty confident that our two cats will learn to avoid jumping on it. They are smart enough to keep from igniting themselves on our candles, so no worries!

 

[Eric Johnson]

I've got a Siamese who is pretty smart, but there's nothing he loves better than a fire in the fireplace. As the fire dies down, he moves closer and closer. In the morning, that little sucker will actually be lying IN the fireplace on the grate. He spends most of the winter curled up under one of our many radiators.

 

[MrGriz]

I wouldn't worry, we have two cats and they just get close enough to slowly bake and get in the way when I'm loading or bringing in wood.

I don't know if cats are really as dumb as some people make them out to be. Sometimes I think they are smart enough to know that they don't have to listen.

 

[Stevebass4]

i have two as well and the love to sleep on the sofa next to the insert - and i don't think they are too dumb either. heck they get a roof over their heads, 2 meals a day, and they don't have to go to work to pay the mortage

 

[jpl1nh]

Thought this was the old "cat vs. non-cat" debate again. I remember hearing someone tell a story of their cat who had grown used to being able to jump on top of a wood stove that was not in use. One day they lit it. Cat jumped, and jumped off so quick it was almost as if he had never landed. Did burns his pads, but no permanent damage. I'd say that's an unfair switcheroo by the cat owner. Cat's are by no means dumb, but like most of us they are creatures of habit and expect things to be as they always were. If your stove is not lit yet, just give them the courtesy of teaching them that being on the stove is not acceptable. Guess that would turn it into a non-cat stove. %-P The rest, they're quite capable of figuring out.

 

[hookspacken]

My aunt used to have this cat that would lay its head in between the coils on the old big cast iron steam radiators! they would keep moving it away, and it would come back and lay there. I swear, I think that cat got some kind of braindamage from that because it was a really strange cat in a lot of ways!

 

[buxbud2]

I vote for the "don't worry about it" answer. I have, and please don't hold this against me, 3 cats. I also have a black lab but that is another story. The cats use my Oslo stove as a "launching pad" to get onto other fixtures in my house. Come winter time, they avoid the thing like the plaque, unless they are laying around in front of it. Lots of laziness in front of the Oslo, dog, cats and humans!! Good luck.