DO NOT Try This at Home, Folks

General
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As I lay in bed cozily sleeping through the third alarm I had set to remind me to get up and put the trash out, I heard a cry for mom, then a second. I’ve never been a father, but can verify a mother knows instinctively the sound of distress, most especially in her own offspring.

I JUMPED out of my bed and RAN to find my daughter in violent tears, shaking uncontrollably, unable to speak. I had no clue what time it was, so assumed something was wrong with my grandie. Fortunately he was already off to school, and my daughter was able to get out “cat” and “dryer”.

Please don’t judge. We are good pet parents, and have never had this issue in a lifetime of very many pets.

I pulled the cat out of the dryer thinking he was dead. He just hugged and cuddled me. Thankfully the dryer was set on very low just to get wrinkles out, and full of clothing. The cat has eaten, is climbing and jumping as usual, running around like the dog he thinks he is, none the worse for wear, just a bit fluffier than usual.

The point in sharing this story is…ALWAYS check the washer, dryer, dishwasher for sleeping pets before running AND how amazing is it, that someone who needs a bed rail to pull herself up from it, can’t see to walk well, is still frail and does not move or think fast could use involuntary actions and adrenaline to RUN, not trip over anything, overlook her fear of the ‘dead’ cat to think to pull him out quickly and carefully and still console my extremely upset daughter?

My thought is that if I can do this under the influence of adrenaline and subconcious thought and action, then I must be able to do this again in less serious situations.

Has anything similar happened to any of you? What are your thoughts? (Aside from my pets needing a new home?)

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A sort of Neuroplasticity? I can fire my right side muscles- foot, arm , hand and leg with a sort of yawn and I can sort of control how they move but there’s lots of can’t control to make them usable.
Definitely glad to hear the cat was ok afterwards

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Cat is still happy as a lark, thank goodness!

You have reminded me of the early days, trying to reach for a spoon or a nursing call light, etc… It was so hard to make it happen but I actually remember now telling myself over and over again to grab it and eventually it worked. I even describe my brain as working that way… it is as if my mouth has to tell my brain to do something, so my brain will tell my body to it. ?

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@DeAnn firstly, i’m very glad your cat is none the worse for his tumble dry. They do get in some weird places. I remember ours resting on the engine of hubby’s van once & it was sheer chance we spotted him before we shot off out.

I think there is something in the automatic reactions in an emergency. Even without having a stroke in an emergency instincts seem to kick in & take over. Sadly, we can’t react like that all the time but maybe we do over think things when we’re trying to do stuff. I don’t know :thinking:

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I had an incident a few months back when I was out with my rollator. I was carefully crossing a road and a car came along at well over the speed limit and I was still in the middle of the road. Somehow I managed to get to the pavement in double quick time. I can only assume that was an adreneline rush in response to my fight or flight situation.
When I was on the pavement it did takes me a few minutes to sit down on my rollator to recover.

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I can only think that it will be me that will be found in the fridge or tumble dryer by my wife and pull me out all frozen or fluffy :rofl: :rofl:

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Years ago we had a similar experience with a cat and the tumble dryer which sadly didn’t have such a happy ending. So glad your cat is OK.

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I am so sorry to hear that! Thankfully our dryer does not have a good latch. Cat is still doing just fine. We are watching him closely. He is loving all the extra attention.

I know how it hurts to lose a fur baby, especially if you think you should have done this or that. Cats are quiet and find any tiny crevice to squish themselves into. One cannot be constantly vigilant. Sometimes an accident like that just happens.

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The pitfalls of pet parenting, my cat Daisy, only a few months old, fell off my roof, two stories but thankfully landed on a hedged plant below. Eight to go and counting. Never had them interested in the dishwasher though :thinking: :laughing: I remember when I first got Molly, and I was given walking duty at a local food fair, all was going well until I accidentally stepped on her foot. Keep in mind that I can’t see well and I have a cane to walk with. She yelped. Bystanders voiced, “He’s trodden on the dog’s foot”, “Poor dog.” &c. I took it, but boy could I have turned around and said, “Try walking a six month old pup after having a stroke.”.

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I mentioned it to my brand new doctor today… it doesn’t bode well. He mentioned that our disabilities are often all in our head. PSSH… He was very nice but, that attitude isn’t going to cut it with me. It is in my head, I will agree, but stroke and aneurysms probably have much more to do with it than psychosis. I don’t mind seeing a therapist, if I can get one, but I certainly am not buying baloney about not being motivated to do things until there is an emergency. I am and have been motivated. He might want to talk to any of the specialists I have been seeing and look at all the progress thus far before talking to me about motivation.

I am so glad you double timed to cross the road, and sorry for that awful scare, as well as angry at idiots not watching the road. I look at it as hope for the future and getting back to those quicker thoughts and actions.

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As if no one, even without stroke has ever stepped on a pets tail or paw!!! It is amazing you can do what you do. We often don’t stop to think about what someone else’s story might be before judging. I try to, but I am certain I have been guilty of that as well. Still, publicly making comment is uncalled for.

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Aye, me too, but that’s all part of our work in progress as people.

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I would be afraid of that myself, but it would have been easier on them to stick me in a nursing home and be done with me, so I suppose I am probably safe, so long as I keep my mouth in order! Thank you for the giggle. Every time I ‘see’ you now, I will think popsicle and wonder what kind you would be? :dango: :lollipop: :ice_cream:

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Hi DeAnn, We will have to start a new topic here then - we can call it,

If you were a cat, what would your name be?

I think my ‘cat name’ would be Isiah
Because after a car accident years ago my one eye’shigher than the other​:joy::crazy_face:
:joy_cat:
Take care, John

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Great sense of humor! The cat that was tumbled on the fluff cycle also was in a car accident. His name is T-Rex, but maybe it should be Tumbler or Fluff Butt? My legs sometimes dance of their own volition. Perhaps my name should be Grace? - Nickname for GraceLess.

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@Bert
My wife has been known, on occasions, to park the kettle in the fridge.
Then she turns the house up side down to find it as we wait for a brew.
Maybe you and I need to be vigilant, John/Bert/Isiah, we could indeed end up lost in the cold beside the kettle.

If you do hear plaintiff cries coming from inside a fridge somewhere, do check, it could be a mislaid husband.

Keep on keepin’ on
:black_cat::slightly_smiling_face: :teapot:

@DeAnn
I’m glad your cat had a safe if fluffy escape.
Please tell it to
keep on miaowing
from me

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Everytime I see a Tyrannosaurus Rex I will be thinking it should say Tumbler Rex :rofl: :black_cat:

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Hi Bobbi - it’s great that we can all see a chink of fun in things that we do. :+1:
I went into the garden the other day and put the secateurs, a spade, a fork etc on the grass and I thought, “I’ll sit in the middle of these so I don’t lose them!”
I looked around and my xxxxx spade had gone!
Not possible some people would say, but after a load of swearing and searching I realised as I put the tools down, the spade had gone into a bush and as the handle etc was green, my brain must have only seen green and not a damn spade!
Today I might go and buy some bright yellow paint and paint my tools - but I still think I will lose them :rofl: John

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life is quite serious enough
@Bert
giving someone something to grin about spreads it all about, doesn’t it?

Keep on keepin’ on
:pick: :farmer: :potted_plant:

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@Bobbi i am 100% with Hilary on this. I too put my kettle in the fridge the other day :rofl::rofl:

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