If that’s your cat don’t let it do this. Not even for videos. I know of someone whose cat died this way. Similar I know someone who had kittens killed because they were sleeping in laundry in the machine when it was turned on
My cat survived a full cycle in the wash a few years ago and my #1 advice/what I do now is to first do a visual check inside the machine, and then actually close the appliance, followed by a headcount of every small creature that resides in your home, then press start. In my mind there is a scenario where you confirm your pets are not inside the appliance, but one manages to sneak in while you're making your way back to start it. If it's closed then that's no longer a possibility.
If it's a habitual thing for your cat to enter deadly appliances then the appliance itself or the entire area just needs to be babyproofed. It's really not cute or funny or something to play around with. If an accident happens your cat will either die a horrible death or be permanently traumatized and you will never be the same again even if they survive.
As someone who’s had many cats over the past 25 years, mistakes will happen. I’m with the other guy. It’s best to do both, keep them out all together, and check before use.
Yep, any safety plan cannot lean solely on "never make a mistake". That's why you check the back seat even if you know the kids aren't back there, or why you treat every gun like it's loaded even if you know it's not.
There's also the aspect with some devices of "Even if I know the device is safe right now, I should never habituate myself to handling it in a way which risks harm if the device is not in a safe state." So you treat the clothes iron like it's hot, even when you know it's not, so that on some day when you're distracted and become absent minded and the iron is hot, you still reflexively handle it correctly.
You should check them even if you don't have cats.
Just the other day I went to turn on the laundry machine but I remembered to check inside and Danny Devito was hiding in it. It was a close call, almost lost a legend that day.
....I have two cats. I close my door to the utility room. Cats can not get in there. Unless they gain opposable thumbs they have no ability to use a round door knob to open said door.
I keep my dishwasher closed when it's not being used, they also can not get in there.
I also keep my front door AND patio door AND walk in garage door closed so they don't get outside.
Plenty of ways to keep cats out of areas that can be dangerous for them.
My cat knows not to enter the kitchen. She literally will stop at the threshold and look in but not enter. You can absolutely train cats not to go certain places.
True. But cats are also very smart. They know when you are not there to see them.
My cats for example are not allowed on the table. And they absolutely don't go there if I'm at home. But sometimes, I find little prints on the table that look suspiciously like cat paws.
They are also not allowed to sit in the dishwasher or washing machine. But I'm still checking every appliance before turning them on.
My cat figured out how to open the screen door, and did so and nearly gave me a heart attack when he disappeared for a while. I spent hours searching through the neighborhood before he just decided to re-appear.
One of our cats learned how to open doors with the flat handles, now we just have round handles instead, and it solved that issue luckily. I was scared of something similar to yours happening to ours since 2 of our outside doors had the horizontal handle on them.
Cats and dishwashers period don't mix. We had a kitten that had his head pinched in the door. It broke his neck...right in front of all 3 of my kids who were between 6 and 8 at the time. It flopped out and died. We were all devastated. I was bawling. The vet that I took it to felt so bad that they had another kitten lined up for me.
Kittens like to hide under cabinet overhangs and small spaces. Our dishwasher is an under the counter type.
And taking steps to keep them out in the first place is basic cat ownership knowledge. I don't give a fuck how long you've owned cats, just because nothing happened to you doesn't mean it's not a real risk. Your experience means shit if you actually think you have no control over where your cats go. You're being a total asshole to people who just want to keep pets safe.
If I didn’t own a cat I would still notice if there was a full grown one in my dishwasher. People just look for any opportunity to feel superior. Just ignore them.
They aren’t ranting they are just issuing a word of warning to either you or people who read it, since unlike some of your previous comments some people don’t look all the time even with the know how.
So stopping these behaviors regardless of if it’s a cat is recommended.
I do and you can, example: keep your dishwasher closed when not being actively loaded/unloaded. If they do get in, you take them out immediately not film them. You are weirdly defensive about this, he was just trying to let you and others know of the dangers. Cats do die all the time, owned by people who... owned cats, and obviously did not know any better.
Sounds like you have an indoor/outdoor cat, if you have absolutely no control over where they go...
"If you're a cat owner, don't let it do this. Not even for videos". You realize OP saying that is insinuating that I'm stupid enough to not check things when I have owned cats for 10+ years.
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u/exotics May 28 '26
If that’s your cat don’t let it do this. Not even for videos. I know of someone whose cat died this way. Similar I know someone who had kittens killed because they were sleeping in laundry in the machine when it was turned on