Meow All!
I just finished reading the latest edition of the Weekly Purrsuader...an eggcelent purrblication... and saw a picture of Bentley playing in the holiday wrappings and goodies. It brought back a most terrifying memory!
Kitties, you must DEMAND that your humans be VERY careful with holiday, or any other human wrappings and packages! They MUST put them where curious kitties cannot get at them, and ALWAYS cut the handles on bags and packages!
When we saw Bentley playing in the holiday bag, with those uncut handles, we saw a potential hangman's noose just waiting to grab him. It shook us to the core!
Here's what happened in our house and WHY this is so important.
My brother, Sir Edward Pussycat is a very curious cat, and he loves to get INTO things. I often have to follow him and keep him out of trouble, or grab that treat he's managed to dig out. Sometimes, this can spell DANGER for the unwary kitty.
One day, our beloved CHU came home with bags of goodies from the hunt, called by humans a "grocery store". The goodies were in plastic bags. CHU left the room for a moment to change coats while Eddie decided to climb into one of the bags to check out the contents. In a SECOND, he got his head stuck in the handle of the bag and panicked!
He took off running (I shudder as I remember the scene) as the bag got twisted and turned around his neck, choking and strangling him. He couldn't even cry out for help!
So I screamed, and CHU came running. In an instant, thank goodness, CHU was on top of the situation-- and Eddie-- and had to carefully cut the handle to prevent it from harming my brother any further. Eddie tremembled for an hour aftewards. He says that he even thought he saw the Rainbow Bridge for a moment before CHU rescued him!
We were lucky, but it was a close call. The entire event took place in less than a minute, but it was the longest minute of my life!
CHU now cuts the handles of all bags, destroys strings and rubber bands and keeps little light bulbs and tiny choking things in a safe place where we can't get to them. Even a burning candle can be a great danger to a cat. It's an open flame, and kitty fur does burn!
CHU keeps us safe by "kitty proofing" ClydeSight HQ, cutting up bag handles, wrapping loose computer wires so we don't get stuck in them, monitoring burning candles, watching the dryer in case one of us decides to go for a ride, keeping all sticky items, like tape, away from us. CHU keeps us safe, and your human can do the same for you, if they realize the dangers.
You must DEMAND that your humans do the same and remain ever vigilant. What seems harmless to the humans can be very dangerous to us cats.
We wish you ALL stay safe and happy this New Year, and have many more New Years in your future. If you talk to your humans and alert them to this safety concern, we will be granted our wish.