According to the Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Department, cats have started 107 house fires in South Korea during the last three years. The cats reportedly jump on touch-sensitive buttons on electric stovetops that overheat and ignite the fires. From CNN:
The department also advised cat owners to remove flammable objects, like paper towels, from the stove. It suggested using an electric stove with an automatic lock function to prevent the risk of fires.
And the problem isn't limited to South Korea.
According to the American Humane Association, pets are responsible for about 1,000 house fires in the United States every year. The association encourages owners to put covers on or remove stove knobs as a safety measure and says owners should discourage their pets from interacting with a stove.
What's not being considered though is that the cats may have started the fires on purpose.
image: Chayasit Fangem/Shutterstock.com
