Not a way to start a morning..

[Val]

Just sort of need to vent..

I'm home alone and I woke about about an hour and a half before I even had my alarm set, and I couldn't be happier that I did. I started walking down the stairs and something smelled like it was burning, so I'm running from room to room trying to see if maybe something fell against the baseboard heaters and sure enough I found a winner. Our spare bedroom/computer room reaked like burning plastic, and there was a bag against it. Instinct told me to move it immediately, and I really didn't take into consideration how freaking HOT it was even though I saw all the holes that were burnt into it. I know for a fact I saw the bag sitting on the desk before I went to bed around 2am, so my only guess is that one of the darling cats knocked it down. I love them, but some days..... :main_thumbsdown:

So now my house is FREEZING, since I had to turn the heat off and open up a few windows to let the 39* air in to flush out the fumes before they kill my bird. And I don't know if plastic can actually catch fire, but if it could this was as close as it could get. I can't ever remember being so scared in my entire life..and all I have to say is Thank God I woke up early. I hope this isn't an indication of how the rest of the day is going to go... :main_no:

 

[Jeremy Letkey]

Val, I'm just glad to hear you are ok.

 

[Scott&Nikki]

Hey, I would call that a good start. That could have been SOOO bad. Obviously it isn't something you want to happen, but you could have stopped something drastic. And yes, plastic can catch on fire (well, I'm not sure if all can). I had something like that happen and had to do the same with the windows because of my bird. Good luck with that.

 

[Val]

Thanks Jeremy and Scott. I guess I should think of it as a pretty good day considering what could have happened had I slept until my alarm went off.

 

[LadyGecko]

Val- i am sooooooo glad that you woke up and got to it in time
It could have been alot worse than it was

Cats are notorious for knocking things down all over the place
I have to nail stuff down if I want it to stay where I put it and I am forever looking behind tanks for stuff that the cats have knocked behind them
How's your bird doing??

:main_rolleyes:

gotta luv dem cats

Sandy

 

[moosassah]

I'm glad things turned out OK. Hopefully your day has been much better since this morning. My husband always says cats are evil. I don't agree, but they sure can wreak havoc!

 

[Jeanne]

Wow, I am glad you woke up early!

 

[John N]

I'm glad no one got hurt!

 

[nwheat]

That was certainly too close!! I'm so glad you woke up early!!

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

WOW, how scary! There was definitely a reason you woke up early, Val!

 

[techgirl]

I am so glad that you woke up when you did. That certainly could have been a bad situation. Yes most plastics can catch fire. I'm glad you caught it in time and hope your bird is ok. Someone was definitely watching over you.

 

[GeckoStud]

That was some good fortune on your part for waking up early, that could have been much worse in terms of damage had you snoozed any longer. I'm glad to hear your ok!

 

[BalloonzForU]

Wow Val, I'm glad you woke up early. I bet that was scary!

 

[Val]

Thanks guys. After reality set in I really got upset when all the 'what if's' starting flooding into my head. I'm checking all the smoke alarms and heaters tonight before I even think about falling asleep. I'm never up that early, so someone really must be watching over me. Hopefully they know how grateful I am!

The bird and cats are all ok. Shortly after I closed up the window the bird was back to his normal screeching and the cats were back to whatever it is they do in a day (besides knocking things over..). And as for setting a tone for the rest of the day, my only complaint is my hair got screwed up at the hair dressers today, but if that's the least of my problems...I'm really alright with that!

 

[RaiQuee]

Glad to hear your okay

 

[GECKOFREAK]

Good thing you got up when you did! Glad you are okay

 

[Val]

Thanks Desire and Andrea

 

[PaulSage]

I'm glad you and all the critters are alright, Val. I hate moments of panic like that, and don't envy you in the slightest. One of my greatest fears is having something catch fire or start burning when I'm not home or awake. It's a darn good thing that you had the intuition or sixth sense or whatever it is to know something's going on.

 

[Val]

I'm glad you and all the critters are alright, Val. I hate moments of panic like that, and don't envy you in the slightest. One of my greatest fears is having something catch fire or start burning when I'm not home or awake. It's a darn good thing that you had the intuition or sixth sense or whatever it is to know something's going on.

I'm actually terrified of the same thing. To go along with my previously stated cat issues, I have one that is super attached to me and freaks out if he can't find me. I have a betta fish in my room which he's knocked off my dresser several times, so I have to keep my door shut at all times. So several times throughout the night while I'm sleeping, he lays on the ground and slides his paw under my door and literally shakes it so it bangs and cries to be let in. The only way I can get sleep once he starts that is by jamming a blanket under the door and every time I do it I'm terrified I'll never smell smoke if something were to happen. I have to figure something else out, as I don't want to be doing that anymore.

 

[Scott&Nikki]

I'm actually terrified of the same thing. To go along with my previously stated cat issues, I have one that is super attached to me and freaks out if he can't find me. I have a betta fish in my room which he's knocked off my dresser several times, so I have to keep my door shut at all times. So several times throughout the night while I'm sleeping, he lays on the ground and slides his paw under my door and literally shakes it so it bangs and cries to be let in. The only way I can get sleep once he starts that is by jamming a blanket under the door and every time I do it I'm terrified I'll never smell smoke if something were to happen. I have to figure something else out, as I don't want to be doing that anymore.

It would be difficult if you don't already have something like this, but a friend of mine had a similar problem. She had a dresser with a little glass door cabinet that she kept her valuable stuff in so that her cats could not get to it. You could do something similar with your fish, even if it's just at night.

EDIT: That was assuming your betta is in one of those small tanks.