Hello Coffee Room,
Does anyone else have furry family members who seem to appreciate the lights (from a safe distance of course :-)?
My Cleocatra really meowed it out when I lit the candles last night and came close to bask in the glow...
Perhaps this observation will lead this thread down a silly, zany path to stories about how beloved pets found ways to participate in their own unique ways in the various holidays throughout the year...please share!!!
With all due respect, I must raise strong objection to refer to animals as "family members".
Aurora
You have a Jewish cat? Lol.
our cat seems to cuddle up to us as we learn our shmiras haloshon daily halochos. not a joke.
Maybe it's a gilgul. Lol
With all due respect, I must raise strong objection to refer to animals as "family members".
Only because they are furry. Your "family members" would probably have scales, before you gobble them up :-)
I'm sorry iced, I meant no offense...I was just musing on how pets find a way to join our daily rituals and holiday celebrations. I love these kinds of funny and heart-warming stories!
WIY, I do think that Cleocatra has Jewish sympathies :-)
Amichai, I always wonder how these cats (and pets generally) seem so wise when they do what they do...they seem very intuitive to me, like they really sense their people's moods.
Aurora your Cleopatra is most certainly a member of your family.
I don't know why these thoughts come to me late at night...I have observed some videos of pets dressed for holidays, in particular a cat dressed in some kind of Chanukah-themed costume and a yarmulka (he or she seemed quite content).
Putting aside for a moment the issue of whether a particular pet (such as Cleocatra) would enjoy donning such festive wear, are there (seriously) any concerns Halachically regarding doing this?
Before you laugh (although this may make you laugh harder), I should mention that I am a rather skilled knitter (yes, at 35 I am already a crazy, old cat lady), and the pets in my life already have knit blankets and some other special knit items. I also sometimes sell these things (as you may imagine, there is quite a little niche market for these goods).
As I write this, I wonder if perhaps I should have written to Popa bar Abby with this question...
That cat must have been drugged...
My cats are 3-4 years old (we have three) and quite active. When the candles are on, we keep them out of the room. The place where we light is their favorite place to sit all day, in front of the window. Motzash, when we lit, one of them came racing in and almost jumped right on top of the candles. Now keeping in mind there's a big curtain hanging right above.... bad idea.
Now, we make sure to keep both doors closed and physically blocked with a large closet on one side and a chair against the door on the other side. (Our cats are very good at opening doors...)
aurora77, we have a cat too and he came a few times to check out the candles but didn't get too close. If we have to leave the house at night and the candles are still burning, we close him in a bedroom.
my husband calls him a yeshivishe cat because he is black and white - the top of his head is black (black yarmulka) and his back is black too (black jacket) but his face and belly is white (white shirt) :)
pets are a special gift from Hashem to those of us who love them!
Our dog always comes in when we light the Chanukia, but maybe that's because we're in the kitchen and she thinks there's food involved.
Seriously though, our dog starts barking on Friday night when I come home from shule and start singing. When we announce "Kiddish," she really goes nuts because she knows that challah comes next, and she'll get a slice. (Plus, she'll get humus, some soup in her bowl, and maybe some veggies like broccoli or green beans, which she loves.)
Hello The Goq, I think so too! Thank you or what you said :-)
The Chassidishe Gatesheader, mine are very adept at opening doors too! I wonder if they learn this by watching us?
Your feline sounds very studious grateful2Hashem :-) I always think that tuxedo cats like yours look so elegant. I totally agree that pets are a special gift from Hashem!!! I think that the lights mesmerize these cats in some way.
It sounds like your pup has a fabulous Friday night, takahmamash! I'm always amazed that dogs will eat non-meat food stuffs if given the opportunity. I think I've read somewhere that the greens are very good for them.
One of Many, it is hard to believe that a pet would put up with being dressed up to the nines like that :-)
The rule in our house is that pets have to be in another room when shabbos nairos or chanuka candles are burning.
That is wise Imaofthree -- I keep my menorah in a place where Catra can't jump up, because I can very well imagine her being extremely tempted to do so. Also, my aunt's cat had the unfortunate experience a number of years ago to get too close to a candle, and this poor white cat singed its tail fur a little (thank G-d, no worse damage to cat!).
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