98% of cat owners would risk their lives to save their cat from a house fire

A Quora.com user asks, “Would you risk your life to save your cat from a house fire?” There are 46 responses to that question and everyone bar one says YES. And they respond with commitment and certainty. They have no doubts about it. They will risk their lives to save their cat in a fire. Beautiful. The right answer for me. What about you? A crazy thought or the right one?

Two useful tags. Click either to see the articles: Toxic to cats | Dangers to cats

NEW BEDFORD FIRE DEPARTMENT FACEBOOK PHOTO OF THE SMOLDERING HOME IN WHICH 34 CATS PERISHED. IT SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED.

The reason for the positive answer is obvious: in millions of homes cats are a member of the family just like any other member. There is no difference and if a mother would risk their lives to save their child, they will risk their lives to save their cat.

Despite that overwhelmingly positive response, when you read news media stories online about house fires, it is not uncommon for the house owners to get out but their cat or cats to die in the fire.

There may be a disconnect between one’s feelings about what you would do in a house fire when discussing it over a cup of tea or online in a forum and how you would respond in reality when your home is crashing down around you in flames. And there is no criticism or blame to be made because when one’s life is on the line instinct kicks in and you have one objective: survival at all costs. The cost of your cat’s life becomes instinctively acceptable. The whole thing happens in a blur and you are relying on your instincts.

House fire. Image by eu1 from Pixabay

One responder to the question said that they had a plan to get out of their home if it went up in flames. I think that is a very clever idea. If you have prepared for the eventuality and in your mind processed how you would get yourself and your cat or cats out in the event of a fire you are more likely to do it when under extreme pressure. It’s a form of mind-training and conditioning.

Fire at cat hoarder’s home Woodbury, Orange County. Screenshot.

And I also believe that when there are many cats in a home, there is an added responsibility on the human caregiver to have a method of protecting their cats in case of fire. There are more lives to protect and under these circumstances I would suggest that a sprinkler system even in a residential home would be the best way to go. It’ll be expensive no doubt but if you’ve got the disposable income, I think that would be a good way to spend it.

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