I would have preferred an alarm clock! A cautionary tale.

Night before last, I fell asleep on the couch ... again. About 6:00 a.m., I was jarred out of a deep sleep by a sound that my foggy brain could only interpret as an exceptionally loud and violent cat gack followed shortly by a thump. As I tried to clear the cobwebs from my sleepy brain, I panicked at the thought of one of my beloved babies having some sort of violent heart attack and dying in the other room. I quickly scanned the room and saw several cats staring into my office with wide eyes. I leapt off the couch and into the office where several more cats stood staring at the wall.

It was then that the smell hit me. It was the smell of something burning! I followed the cats' stares to the outlet on the wall which was crackling, sizzling, and blackened with soot. I immediately knew that one of my beloveds had unwisely decided to "claim" the outlet for his very own and nearly burned the house down in the process! I ran to the basement and shut off all of the electricity to the house. As I ran for the breaker box, I cursed myself for not having purchased the new fire extinguishers which the fire inspector told me I needed a month ago. Oh, and that new smoke alarm I hadn't quite gotten around to installing yet? Not much help there, either.

Back upstairs, the crackling and sizzling had stopped. I checked the wall carefully for any indications of heat. There were none. I grabbed a screwdriver and removed the outlet from the wall. No heat there, either, though I could clearly see where my little arsonist had "aimed" his direct hit and shorted the electrical circuit.

Once I was reasonably assured that the house wasn't burning down around us, I did a cat count. All accounted for and still standing. Thankfully, the violent "cat gack" that awakened me was actually the sound of the outlet shorting out in a rather explosive manner.

I called an electrician first thing, but he wasn't able to get here until late this afternoon. Of course the circuit breaker that operates the shorted outlet also happens to operate my office and livingroom, so there was no computer or TV access yesterday or today until an hour or so ago. But hey, at least we're all alive and the house is still standing, so I can't be too bothered by minor inconveniences like no computer or TV for a day and a half.

All unused, cat-accessible outlets are now covered with tape, so my darlings will have to find another way to get me up for their breakfast. Frankly, I would have preferred an alarm clock.

Laurie