Apparently some people don’t know cats make really bad lit candle babysitters.

Thinking, "What happens if I swat at it? Hmm"
I can’t even believe the story I just read. It’s sad actually. A local woman is seriously regretting spending so much money at Yankee Candle tonight. She’s also probably regretting her pet choice but that’s really unfair since the cat didn’t ask for any of this. She admitted she’s a big lover of scented candles and has them lit in her home pretty often. For a reason I cannot fathom she lit a few and then left her house! Didn’t anyone ever teach her this is a huge no-no in the candle etiquette world? On top of that, she left the candles lit with her cat left home alone. Can we say DUH? Cats are very predictable. We all know that they literally have a list of about 5 things they do each day; eat, drink, sleep, lick themselves and jump/walk on surfaces of all heights. That’s really the limit of their day. You have a sweet cat if cuddle is on that list but some don’t want to be bothered. Don’t get me wrong, I adore cats but they’re pretty much an easy to understand pet.

As you can guess, the cat jumped up on some surface, walked near a candle and knocked it over. The candle obviously landed on or near a flammable surface (which is pretty much anything in the average home) and it caught fire. Moments later there were flames shooting out of the second story window and firefighters arrived on scene. They said when they went inside they could see other lit candles on the main floor as they dashed upstairs to put out the fire. Thankfully they were able to save the cat but not much of the upstairs. The woman now has more then $20,000 in damages to her second story. All because she wanted the house to smell of lavender or cucumber melon. I don’t think normal insurance policies cover “I left my cat alone with my lit candles and he burned the house down”.

It doesn’t end there though because last week there was another cat/candle related fire in my state. This time the people were home but left the candles unattended in a room their cats had access to. Again, the cat went near the candle, it fell over and their apartment went up in flames. Sadly one of the cats died in that fire but the other was saved. The people all survived but couldn’t return to their home due to the damages. A few of their neighbors were also displaced due to the fire.

Obviously I feel bad for these families since one lost their beloved pet and both ended up with a lot of damages but I can’t help but be a little tough on them too. I grew up with cats and a mother who was a huge fan of scented candles. There was always at least one in every room and others in the closet for different seasons. She loved them! However, when they were lit they were never left unattended since there were two kids and cats in the house. If she was going to have some lit then she was going to be in that room. It just seems obvious to me that you wouldn’t leave them lit in that type of situation. I really can’t get over the woman who thought nothing of leaving her house with candles going. I would never do that no matter what type of pets I had or none at all. It’s just DUH!

Its stories like this that make me understand why my grandmother hates candles with a passion. Even when people give them to her as gifts she will never light them. Personally, I don’t light candles unless the lights go out. It’s not because I’m afraid of them but because I have no sense of smell (see this post that explains why I can’t smell) and can’t fully appreciate them. I have a bunch but they’re just used as decorations most of the time. Other people picked them out so I just have to take their word for it that they smell good. Being that they’re vanilla and french vanilla is probably a pretty safe bet though.

I get that people never think anything is going to happen to them (I’m not one of them, I’m more convinced everything is going to happen to me) but this world needs a lot more common sense!

So note to people, cats and candles don’t mix!