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Monday, August 19, 2024

Voices of Experience: Sounding The Alarm for Cats Dying in Clothes Dryers

A danger foreseen is half avoided. ~ Thomas Fuller

Prevent Tragic Accidents: Put Reminder Stickers on Your Washer and Dryer!

This past March, Anne's life changed forever. While working from home, struggling with internet issues during a meeting, she moved to another room and briefly paused and restarted her noisy clothes dryer. Tragically, in that brief moment, her beloved 9-year-old, 7-pound cat sought refuge in the warmth of the machine. Anne didn’t anticipate this, and when she restarted the dryer, her kitty was inside. Her cat perished in what has become Anne's worst nightmare. This is her story.

In Memory of My Beloved Kitty--A Call to Action for Pet Safety 

I’m asking you, dear reader, to take action today to help prevent a tragedy like the one I experienced. If you’ve endured a similar loss, please accept my deepest condolences. In my own grief, I’ve found some comfort in these efforts to prevent such tragedies from happening to others, and I hope that sharing my story will remind you that you’re not alone. By joining me in raising awareness, I hope you’ll find solace too. In memory of my beloved kitty, I encourage you to help keep pets safe.

First, I’ve designed reminder stickers to place on washers and dryers, and I urge you to consider using them. Further down in this blog, you’ll find options and ideas for obtaining these stickers.

Second, if you or someone you know has experienced a similar incident in the United States, I encourage you to report it to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). While CPSC traditionally focuses on consumer safety, my correspondence with them suggests that if enough of us report these incidents, we can drive change. 

In Memoriam: Remembering My Kitty

My kitty was the quintessential princess, known for her under-the-chin snuggles, neck hugs, fearless spirit, and robust voice. She always came running when called and loved her toys. We traveled together—by train, plane, and car. Her personality was enormous, and it’s been so quiet without her. She trusted me completely, even letting me hold her in any upside-down position. Knowing how much she trusted me to keep her safe -- when I failed to keep her safe -- has been devastating.

Why This Matters: A Preventable Tragedy

You might think this was a rare, freak incident. But based on my research, it’s far from uncommon even though we don't have an agency charged with collecting data on these horrific deaths. A quick internet search/review of comments sections when people post "cute" pictures of their cats sleeping inside washers and dryers -- reveals that incidents like mine happen more often than we might expect, yet they’re rarely discussed due to their distressing nature. Many dismiss these incidents as unfortunate accidents, but I refuse to accept complacency in the face of such serious preventable tragedies inside our intimate homes. Yes, our world is a place with an overabundance of suffering -- but little seems more preventable, more intimate, than this.

In 2024, with all our advanced technology, it’s alarming that this horror remains unaddressed. My car reminds me to check the back seat for living creatures, yet our clothes dryers have no such warnings or life sensors. Flying internationally, we have image recognition for global entry. Meanwhile, there are even reports of small children dying in these appliances. If I had to pay an extra couple dollars for a "presence of life" sensor in a machine, I'd gladly do it and yet I don't even see it listed as a feature among the machines being sold today. 

Call to Action: What You Can Do

Please, please, help me make a difference! 

I am working on writing these manufacturers voluntary standards entities: United Laboratories (UL)  2158 – Electric Clothes Dryers and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z21.5.1 - Gas clothes dryers, volume I, type 1 clothes dryers.  In the United States, under CPSC’s primary statute, the Consumer Product Safety Act, CPSC may not impose mandatory standards if voluntary standards, developed via a consensus-based process involving government agencies, interest groups, industry, and the public, are deemed to be effective and are largely adhered to by manufacturers.

We can create change, but we must be clear: we will not accept having appliances in our homes that rely on flawed human vigilance to avoid causing the most grievous harm to our beloved pets and our own mental health.

Please note that I am not a safety expert, but I’m doing my best to address what seems to be a gray area with limited professional or industry guidance.

Thank you for reading.

© 2024 by Anne S.

*Anne's Stickers Design
About the Author: Anne S. writes: There were circumstances that contributed to this tragedy—I was staying with my mom after years in an apartment without an in-unit washer and dryer, stressed about a new job, and preparing for a vacation the next day. But none of that excuses my negligence. I knew the machines were risky, and I had thought about putting reminder stickers on them, but I hadn’t done it. We think we check--  but all too often the moments of highest distraction coincide with the highest risk. So, please, put stickers on your machines now. Don't trust yourself to "always check". Don’t be me—don’t live the rest of your life as a traumatized animal lover who feels responsible for the loss of a beloved companion.
For further information on obtaining stickers I've designed, contact me via email at safe4kittyforever@gmail.com

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