Gatito Fuego

Brandon and I arrived home safely from our trip to Warsaw, IN. I've learned that "home" is wherever our king-sized bed is. Home is wherever our cats are.

Tilly & Mareth missed us. While we were gone for 9 days, my mother came over every other day to see after them. They do just fine while we are gone, but the days that follow our return are filled with MUCH affection from our furry companions. When we first arrive home, Tilly plays coy. It's not until the following morning when we are in bed that she insists on coming in, jumping on the bed and smothering us both with feline affection and purring that plainly says, "Oh, it's sooo good to have you back!!" (I believe there is implied purrs that say, "Don't get me wrong, I like my sister Mareth, but 9 days cooped up with just her, well... she is not much of a conversationalist, and her idea of playing and my idea of playing.... She's such a kitten!!) Mareth-Dale is always extremely affectionate, but when we get back from a long trip, she practically glues herself to one of us, then switches and attaches herself to the other. It's been since Sunday night when we returned, and she is still plastered to my side.

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After our return home on Sunday, we unpacked the car and settled in for the evening. I lit a small candle in the bath room because it makes me feel homey, and the house needed a bit freshening up. I also lit some incense, which I do occasionally. After a few minutes, I asked Brandon, "Do you smell that?" He has an uber sensitive nose, and could smell it if a mouse farted. Seriously. He said, "Yeah, what is that??" It smelled odd. Almost electrical. We got up and started walking through the house. It was coming from the bathroom, but nothing was on fire. It smelled strongest around the candle, so I blew it out. We couldn't figure it out, so we assumed our lounging positions, and resumed watching mindless TV. Then, Mareth jumped on Brandon. She was twitching around. For a split second I did not think anything of it, as sometimes she gets the "zoomies" and bounces all over the place. Then, I noticed her tail, and pointed it out to Brandon. We both jumped up. I grabbed her and took her into the bathroom on the tile floor, and began rubbing her fur with my hand. Singed, melted bits came off in my hand and fell all over the tile. Mareth had been on fire!!! She had jumped up onto the counter where the candle was, made a pass by it, and the left side of her rump and tail caught fire. I don't believe there was any serious flamage, but there was enough heat or weird feeling for her to hop around. We checked her really well. No burnt skin. We checked all around the house and under the beds to make sure that she didn't accidentally use her tail as a torch and set the rest of the house on fire!! So, that smell was burnt kitty fur!! Mareth did not usually jump onto that bathroom counter, but that's what happens when I clean house. There was actually space for her to jump up there!! No more lit bathroom candles. I'm gonna find an electrical warmer for my bathroom!!

(Disclaimer: I have not told my mother about this incident. She has always warned me about candle flames. And to this day, every time I lite a candle, I can hear her cautioning me about an open flame, house fires, death... So, I guess I will find out soon if she reads my blog...)