# Lesson learned the hardest way...kitty safety



## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

About 4 months ago a lovely family with two children came to adopt a kitten from the shelter I work at. They were wonderful and spent a lot of time asking questions about whether a kitten was right for their family. Unlike most families they relied almost entirely on my advice as to which kitten in our care would be best suited to living with two active kids. After much discussion they took home little Josh, a toothpick of a kitten who was almost entirely black, who despite his great personality had been overlooked by many due to his appearance. 

A couple of weeks ago little Josh (an indoor cat) went missing. The family looked all over the house. They discovered him inside the laundry machine. He had gone through the wash and sadly didn't make it out alive.

The family is devastated and feel a lot of guilt. They wanted everyone to know their store and take extra vigilance when doing laundry. 

I've known others to whom this has happened and have always been somewhat paranoid when I do laundry as our kitty often likes to climb into our laundry machines.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

That is so sad. I know that I have to watch my cat because she likes to climb in the washer and dryer when the doors are open. It is a sad accident and no one is at fault. Poor kids I hope they will not blame themselves.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

That's horrible.... 

But it's why we have a top loading washer and it stays closed unless somebody is putting laundry in or taking laundry out. Cats love hiding places.

The closest we've come to something like this would be chipmunks running into the exhaust pipes from the dryer and getting fried.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Oh my God*

Oh My God, how tragic.


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## janine (Aug 8, 2009)

That is so sad...that poor family and of course the kitty.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

This has happened to two different friends of mine and have always been paranoid because of their losses.

I did have a cat that would climb into my old washer, and could not get back out.

I now have a front loader, and it is easier to see that the cat is not in their - the door is glass, the light turns on when the door opens, and you have the full view of the drum when the door.

I would recommend anyone with a black cat to keep a bell on them, especially as kittens. They are so hard to find and see when they are in their hiding places. At least with a bell on them, you always know when they are in the vicinity. I never believed in collars and bells on cats, until I brought home my solid black Princess.


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## TomCat'sGirl (Aug 27, 2010)

Oh how sad. My kitten well he's 9 months old always jumps in my dryer when i'm taking out the warm clothes. I have told my husband a 1000 times to make sure he shuts the dryer and washing machine doors tightly so he can't get in.


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## maggiesmommy (Feb 23, 2010)

This happened to my cousin's cat, my first cat, Sox's, sister. My aunt blamed herself for so long.


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## Taz Monkey (Feb 25, 2007)

Its very sad but it was a total accident. I'm sure they feel a lot of guilt but they're not at fault, especially being first time kitten parents. I keep my washer and dryer doors closed at all times, because I don't want any of mine to even discover that its a nice hiding place.


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## Bell (Jan 23, 2010)

Oh,that's sad!Strangly,my brother always remind us to check where the cat is,before we turn the washing machine on.I think it't because he's heard of another such story...I'm glad we do check every time now...
Poor kitty,poor family...


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

That is so very sad, how awful for the kitty and that poor family. Accidents are terrible. I have a top loader and the lid stays closed.


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## 2DogsN3Cats (May 25, 2010)

OMG that poor kitten and those poor people. Accidents do happen but still when you hear about laundry accidents in cats it becomes a regular thing to say "dont forget to check your washer and dryer before you start it" to new cat owners.

I had a friend a long time ago do the same thing, except the kitty crawled in the dryer and to this day (its been 10+ years) and she is petrified to own a cat afraid she will kill it. I told her time and time again it was an accident but she still cant stop blaming herself and as much as she wants another cat shes scared to have one. 

Thankfully my 3 are scared of the washer and dryer so they dont go near them when they are on being loaded and unloaded. I dont think they have forgiven those extra large boxes that came trampling into their house the night we bought them, especially since they were banished to the cat room during the unpacking and installing process.


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## NuttinButGoldens (Jan 10, 2009)

It's a bigger problem these days with the front-loading washers. These things have an inherent design issue that requires you to keep the door open when empty so mold/mildew doesn't build up in them.


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## Lestorm (Feb 25, 2007)

Many years ago we had a kitten that climbed into our washing machine. I hadnt noticed and had put the bed linen onto a boil wash. A few minutes into the cycle i happened to look through the glass and saw the kitten pawing at the door, going round in circles. My was I shocked. I quickly drained the water from the machine and took our little kitten out, She was wet but ok i will never forget the look on her face and seeing her mew at me through the glass. I had nightmares for years about what may have happened if i hadnt glanced into the machine at that moment. Shudder!!


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## Lisa_and_Willow. (Dec 18, 2007)

My cat has never been interested in the washing machine or dryer but it is such a scary thought.


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

NuttinButGoldens said:


> It's a bigger problem these days with the front-loading washers. These things have an inherent design issue that requires you to keep the door open when empty so mold/mildew doesn't build up in them.


Same here. Huge mildew problems with our laundry. Luckily we have a laundry closet with a door. Problem is our cat learned to open the door when he figure out there was a washing machine inside and the dog kibble which he loves to rip open and eat. We now have a child lock on the door.


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

Lestorm said:


> Many years ago we had a kitten that climbed into our washing machine. I hadnt noticed and had put the bed linen onto a boil wash. A few minutes into the cycle i happened to look through the glass and saw the kitten pawing at the door, going round in circles. My was I shocked. I quickly drained the water from the machine and took our little kitten out, She was wet but ok i will never forget the look on her face and seeing her mew at me through the glass. I had nightmares for years about what may have happened if i hadnt glanced into the machine at that moment. Shudder!!


How scary!!! Poor you! That would haunt my nightmares.


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## Jackson'sMom (Oct 13, 2007)

Poor little Josh.


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## ChiPack (Jan 22, 2010)

That is SO sad! I am so heartbroken for the family and poor Josh.


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

Our family cat once got into the dryer somehow and it was turned on. Fortunately the sound he made alerted my mother so she immediately got him out and he was OK.


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## mm03gn (Sep 24, 2008)

Wow - it is very alarming to hear how many people have either had this happen to them or someone they know! It seems it's not a very rare occurrence, but I had never heard of such a thing...


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

My heart dropped when I read this original post. What an awful thing for that family and of course that poor kitty.


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