# Cats & Fireplaces



## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

Last Saturday, I lit the pilot lights for my gas logs in the family room. I never got around to using the logs last year, so this is the first time the girls have seen them lit. I figured Muffs and Abby would like to sit on the fireplace surround, since it would be warm and cozy. Nope! 

Muffs is mesmerized by the fire. She will often go up onto the surround and sniff at the logs (there’s a safety screen in front, so she can’t hurt herself). But, she still seems a little scared of the fire. Thus far, Abby is keeping her distance and has yet work up the nerve to go up onto the surround. I’m curious as to whether they will sit on the surround once they get a little more used to the logs being lit. Here they are below, with Muffs being brave and Abby looking none too sure about things!


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## Ducman69 (Aug 28, 2010)

I am sure they will. 

Bud has a cat that is mesmerized by fire as well, and has burned himself multiple times. Not the brightest claw on the block. Can't be left unattended by the fireplace either, as he'll cook himself. 

In fact, even once he was just allowed to bask on the patio under some serious sun and we forgot about him, and I just about burned myself on his black fur trying to pick him up to get him to go inside.


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## Jan Rebecca (Oct 14, 2010)

Abby looks so cute - checking it out.


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## Greenport ferals (Oct 30, 2010)

Cute pic.


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## Time Bandit (Aug 17, 2010)

Cuties!! I love Abby checking things out at a distance. Muffin seems to be enjoying herself though, heh! Nice fireplace by the way.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

Thanks! I like the fireplace because it's a "two-way": one side is open to the family room and the other side is open to the kitchen. I'm nice and cozy right now, sitting in the family room with the fire going. Abby's sitting on the back of my chair watching me type. Her paws are on my shoulders and she's "making biscuits". I just love it when she kneads...it's so sweet!


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## kittywitty (Jun 19, 2010)

Very cute! And you finally got a pic of Muffs with her back turned


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## swimkris (Jul 17, 2010)

That's a cute picture; I love fluffy cats  I have spent the last few months trying to keep my kittens out of the the fireplace, and I came home several times to and found Simone covered in tell-tale smudges of soot!! I blocked it up with a fan and a hand weight set, but they kept getting in. I moved the blockade a couple of days ago because I was decorating for Christmas, and they haven't played in the fireplace since! lol


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## Vivid Dawn (May 31, 2010)

Awwww, cute!

I wish my fireplace worked. It uses real logs... but the back wall of it has loose bricks (one has even fallen out), and I doubt that's very safe. I'm sure Paizly would love to lounge by it... not quite sure how Nebbie would react. Either fascinated or frightened - she's wishy washy about so many things!


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

swimkris said:


> That's a cute picture; I love fluffy cats  I have spent the last few months trying to keep my kittens out of the the fireplace, and I came home several times to and found Simone covered in tell-tale smudges of soot!! I blocked it up with a fan and a hand weight set, but they kept getting in. I moved the blockade a couple of days ago because I was decorating for Christmas, and they haven't played in the fireplace since! lol


Sooty kitties, yikes! I always keep the screen closed and locked, because I don't want to come home to the world's first all-black Ragdoll...:?


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## Nan (Oct 11, 2010)

Great picture!


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## Fran (Jan 9, 2008)

What a great picture  so cute!

We've got a gas-log fireplace too. Gracie occasionally sits on the brick part in front of the opening when the fire is going, but I get the feeling that she is a little unnerved by the hissing and blowing sounds of the gas itself, it's a bit noisy. She does sit further away on the rug, where there's still some heat, but the fireplace is less of an attraction than we would have thought. Maybe a wood-burning fireplace would be more compelling for her.

Fran


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

My gas logs actually aren't very noisy, except when I first turn them on, whereupon there's an initial "whoosh" noise. Each time the girls hear the "whoosh", they run and hide underneath the coffee table. All I see are two little noses sticking out! A minute or so later, they get brave and come back out again. 

The fireplace was initially wood-burning, but I converted it to gas logs a few years back because I didn't like dealing with the mess of a wood fire...not much chance of me converting it back to wood!


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## swimkris (Jul 17, 2010)

Susan said:


> Sooty kitties, yikes! I always keep the screen closed and locked, because I don't want to come home to the world's first all-black Ragdoll...:?



Unfortunately, the cats have figured out how to weave in and out of the safety screen (like a thick heavy wire) to get into the fireplace. They became more fascinated when I blocked it to keep them out; the only thing I can think of is to wire it shut?! I don't know that I will ever use the fireplace, so I think that is the easiest solution.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

swimkris said:


> Unfortunately, the cats have figured out how to weave in and out of the safety screen (like a thick heavy wire) to get into the fireplace. They became more fascinated when I blocked it to keep them out; the only thing I can think of is to wire it shut?! I don't know that I will ever use the fireplace, so I think that is the easiest solution.


That's about the only thing I can think of, unless you wanted to invest in a permanent screen/glass door enclosure. My screen is not free-standing. It's part of an "all-in-one" glass door enclosure that is permanently bolted to the fireplace. In the winter, I open the glass doors, but the screen remains in place. The screen doors can be opened from the middle to allow access to the interior, but when the screen doors are closed, they can be locked to prevent children and animals from getting through.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Ugg sooty kitty and kitty prints. In a remodel I did there was a pass thru fireplace. We put in fake logs but the cats kept walking thru and tracking soot all over the bonkos. I hate bonkos. So I talked her into putting granite on the bonkos to 1. Clean up easier 2. Tie it in with the rest of the granite in the bar area of the livingroom. The granite is a dream to clean up.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

That's a nice fireplace and the granite looks great...I absolutely LOVE the leopard on the log!


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## kittywitty (Jun 19, 2010)

That fire place is exquisite. I don't have one but now I wish I did!


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## Time Bandit (Aug 17, 2010)

kittywitty said:


> That fire place is exquisite. I don't have one but now I wish I did!


Me too! Stunning fireplace, Merry. If I was one of your cats, I'd be sleeping right up there on that granite all day, hehe.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Time Bandit said:


> Me too! Stunning fireplace, Merry. If I was one of your cats, I'd be sleeping right up there on that granite all day, hehe.


That isnt my fireplace. Its a remodel I did. Im a general contractor. The owner has 2 fireplaces and the cost of the propane is very expensive. I wouldnt want that bill. But luckily its just a drop in the bucket for her. She has 4 wonderful cats and she is a total animal person.


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