The Perils of Earth Hour: Flaming Cats

Another insipid Earth Hour came and went last Saturday and reports are now coming in showing how dangerous it can be to voluntarily leave yourself in the dark.

The occasion: Earth Hour.

The lights: Off.

The cat: On fire.

A romantic, candlelight dinner in the B.C. environment minister’s house got some unexpected fireworks on Saturday while he and his wife celebrated Earth Hour.

“Suddenly, there was a poof of smoke,” Barry Penner said Tuesday.

He looked over to see that Ranger, the family’s orange-coloured cat, had caught fire while brushing past a candle.

The inquisitive cat, 5, apparently wanted to get in on what was supposed to have been an Earth Hour tete-a-tete for Penner and his wife Daris LaPointe.

The couple rushed to extinguish their pet, but by the time they reached his side, the flames were out, leaving Ranger’s fur singed on one side.

“He looked somewhat disgruntled,” said Penner. “He looked taken aback but he didn’t look afraid. He looked more irritated than anything.”

Candles had been lit around the kitchen and the dining room, as well as on counters and on the table, Penner said.

“This was something new and so he wanted to get a closer look at the candle. He likes to rub against things,” he said.

Within seconds of his brush with destiny, Ranger was demanding rubs, Penner said. The environment minister reported Tuesday Ranger is completely fine, although petting him makes your hand smell like smoke, and his singed fur is curled up, frizzy and brittle.

Left with a house smelling like burnt cat hair left them with a quandary. How to get rid of it?

“We thought about using the fan but we couldn’t do it,” said Penner. They opted instead to open windows to air out the house without using any electricity.

Canada's really in the best of hands.

H/T Tim Blair, who chronicles other moonbat hilarity from up north.