Search...
Home Subscribe
Pie
Home Subscribe
Recent topics Flagged topics Hot topics Best topics
Search...
Search within wood burning stoves Search permies
Advance search Google search
Register / Login
Energy efficient DIY wood stoves
  • Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
SKIP=SKills to Inherit Property PEP woodworking Permaculture Experience According to Paul DIY rocket mass heaters - instructional DVD set native bee guide ebook GMC website Building a Better World book,sketch of dandelion and lightbulb
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Nancy Reading
  • Carla Burke
  • r ranson
  • John F Dean
  • paul wheaton
  • Pearl Sutton
stewards:
  • Jay Angler
  • Liv Smith
  • Leigh Tate
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
  • Timothy Norton
gardeners:
  • thomas rubino
  • Jeremy VanGelder
  • Maieshe Ljin

Making Wood Stoves Safe for Pets

 
Laura Poland
Posts: 11
Location: Indiana, USA
8
posted 4 years ago
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
My husband and I are considering installing a wood stove in our house to make use of all the free wood we received when the Emerald Ash Borer moved to our town.  We already have our electric bills covered thanks to a 100% solar system, but we pay for gas heat in the winter, and we think a wood stove would greatly reduce that last utility bill.  We have a perfect spot for one in our living room, with an existing chimney.  My only real concern about doing this is for the safety of my cats.  They are very active and love to chase each other around the house, slide long distances on the wood floors, play fight, toss toys all over the place, etc.  I am concerned they could slide into the stove and burn themselves, or maybe throw a toy on top and create a fire hazard.  Has anyone else dealt with cat-proofing a wood stove?

“When the last tree is cut, the last fish is caught, and the last river is polluted; when to breathe the air is sickening, you will realize, too late, that wealth is not in bank accounts and that you can’t eat money.” -Alanis Obomsawin
http://strawberrymoonfarm.com/

 
John F Dean
master steward
Posts: 6970
Location: southern Illinois, USA
2537
I like...
goat cat dog chicken composting toilet food preservation pig bee solar wood heat homestead
posted 4 years ago
  • Likes 9
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I have had a wood stove since the mid 70s and cats longer than that.  I have never had a cat injured by a wood stove.

At my age, Happy Hour is a nap.

 
thomas rubino
rocket scientist
Posts: 6322
Location: latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
3199
I like...
cat pig rocket stoves
posted 4 years ago
  • Likes 9
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Yes we have bred Persion cats in our tiny wood heated home for over twenty years. At times with kittens we have had over twenty in a 500 sq ft house...
Cats are smart they love the kitty warmer but Do Not jump at or on it when it is running.
In our kitchen we have an old wood cook stove flat top,  Even that large jump-able surface is left alone when that stove is running... like I said Cats are smart even the teenage one's that are wild and crazy stay away from hot stoves.
I might suggest that you build a rocket mass heater, Batchbox design (closed door) with a brick bell .  Your kitty's could live on those warm bricks all day and not be burnt... just saying...

For all your Montana Masonry Heater parts (also known as) Rocket Mass heater parts.
Visit me at
dragontechrmh.com Once you go brick you will never go back!

 
John F Dean
master steward
Posts: 6970
Location: southern Illinois, USA
2537
I like...
goat cat dog chicken composting toilet food preservation pig bee solar wood heat homestead
posted 4 years ago
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hi Thomas,

Excellent point. I have never had a RMH, but our cats know it when the fireplace get lit in the late fall.  They line up by the window and want in so they  can warm up in front of it.

At my age, Happy Hour is a nap.

 
Trace Oswald
pollinator
Posts: 3757
Location: 4b
1358
I like...
dog forest garden trees bee building
posted 4 years ago
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I agree with the others that said the cats will stay away from the stove, but if you are still concerned, those little indoor fence things weigh almost nothing, are pretty cheap, and would be very easy to put around the wood stove.  Many of them have a little gate that opens so you don't have to move the fence to fill the stove.  If it gives you piece of mind, it may be worth the small cost.  If you search "indoor pet playpen", you'll find lots of examples.

A build too cool to miss:Mike's GreenhouseA great example:Joseph's Garden
All the soil info you'll ever need:
Redhawk's excellent soil-building series

 
bruce Fine
Posts: 1510
110
posted 4 years ago
  • Likes 5
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
cats are smarter than you might give them credit for. I had my cats inside last winter with wood stove going constantly, they might like to keep warm but instinctively don't go anywhere near the stove, they do however like to sharpen claws on firewood.
in my opinion you won't have any problem. wish I had more ash to burn, super easy to split and puts out great heat whatever dead ash is left in my woods is way to rotten to try and burn.
 
Helen Mealy
Posts: 2
1
I like...
chicken composting toilet ungarbage
posted 4 years ago
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I've heated with wood for four winters so far. My four cats love the wood stove and have never gotten hurt. During the cold season they claim their spots near it or underneath it (it's up on legs) but never get too close. They run away from the intense heat when I open the door to load more wood, then come back when they're sure I'm done. They learn quickly.

However, we did have a blind senile dog who was always running into things and bumped into the stove a couple times. So we made sure to place sturdy barriers around it for his safety when we weren't around to supervise. Hog panel surrounding the stove works, as long as it's secured so it doesn't get knocked over. A sturdier, but more expensive option would be those safety fences designed to keep babies away from the fireplace. Just be sure it's made of metal.
 
John F Dean
master steward
Posts: 6970
Location: southern Illinois, USA
2537
I like...
goat cat dog chicken composting toilet food preservation pig bee solar wood heat homestead
posted 4 years ago
  • Likes 5
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hi Bruce,

The issue is not if cats are smarter than we give them credit for, it is if we're as smart as cats give us credit for

At my age, Happy Hour is a nap.

 
Mike Haasl
steward
Posts: 15505
Location: Northern WI (zone 4)
4846
7
I like...
hunting trees books food preservation solar woodworking
posted 4 years ago
  • Likes 7
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I suspect cats don't give us much credit for being smart.  Semi reliable minions, maybe.

SKIP books, get 'em while they're hot!!! Skills to Inherit Property

 
Linda Krelle
Posts: 1
posted 4 years ago
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Seems Leo is the only stupid cat then. He jumped ontop and off with a squeal. I rushed and put his paws in cold water in the sink. Hopefully he will be ok. I am wondering if i put something like slatted wood with gap under to stop it getting too hot or maybe bricks?
Anyone made a safe top?
Thanks
 
Mike Haasl
steward
Posts: 15505
Location: Northern WI (zone 4)
4846
7
I like...
hunting trees books food preservation solar woodworking
posted 4 years ago
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I wouldn't put wood on top of the stove in any arrangement.  There's a word for it but if wood gets hot for a long time it can burn even though it never got anywhere near burning temps.  

I think Leo probably learned a valuable lesson.  Next time you have the stove running, pick him up and hold him over the stove so he can feel the heat.  Odds are he'll put two and two together.

SKIP books, get 'em while they're hot!!! Skills to Inherit Property

 
Skandi Rogers
pollinator
Posts: 2339
Location: Denmark 57N
598
I like...
fungi foraging trees cooking food preservation
posted 4 years ago
  • Likes 7
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I have an oven that opens downwards and two kittens one of whom loves to lie under the oven while it is on (there's both a hot water pipe under the floor AND the warm oven to draw him in) I am very paranoid about him jumping on the hot door when it is open, so what i do is when they are around 3-4 months I heat it until it's to hot to touch comfortably but not hot enough to burn unless you keep yourself pressed onto it, they I let them try to jump on it. they don't do it again. Now as soon as the door opens they flee which is a perfect response.
 
Trisha Morey
Posts: 1
posted 2 years ago
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
This is not true. I have literally watched a cat jump on a wood stove with my own eyes and he had to get treated for burns. Just because SOME cats won’t, doesn’t mean they all won’t.
 
Michael Cox
pollinator
Posts: 3844
Location: Kent, UK - Zone 8
703
I like...
books composting toilet bee rocket stoves wood heat homestead
posted 2 years ago
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Pets and children learn fast. Our dog loves to go into the gap behind the woodstove, It's barely wide enough for him. He cooks himself for a few minutes then comes back out once he has warmed up. He has never burned himself.

Moderator, Treatment Free Beekeepers group on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/treatmentfreebeekeepers/

 
Charlotte King
Posts: 1
posted 2 years ago
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I have cats and have never had a problem with them until this new group of siblings.  They are 2 years old now and although they stay away from the heat of the wood stove, they run and chase a fly if they see it and or each other and I have caught them when the stove is cold during the summer jumping on top of the stove, I have been looking for something they will not find enticing and jump over it to get a better look.  They are so inquisitive and full of energy its scary.  I have had cats all my life and this is the first ones to cause problems with jumping on the table, the kitchen stove, or counter and the wood stove.  They have two cat  trees and plenty of toys and go out in a open enclosed patio for plenty of sunshine and fresh air.. but that will be closed to them soon.

Right now I am only building a fire when they go to bed at 11 PM,  but its getting cold during the day.

Any suggestions?

Thank you.
 
Mike Haasl
steward
Posts: 15505
Location: Northern WI (zone 4)
4846
7
I like...
hunting trees books food preservation solar woodworking
posted 2 years ago
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I think they will learn very quickly that the stove is hot so I would trust their abilities and just run the stove and see what happens.

SKIP books, get 'em while they're hot!!! Skills to Inherit Property

 
John F Dean
master steward
Posts: 6970
Location: southern Illinois, USA
2537
I like...
goat cat dog chicken composting toilet food preservation pig bee solar wood heat homestead
posted 2 years ago
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hi Charlotte,

Welcome to Permies.

At my age, Happy Hour is a nap.

 
Anne Miller
steward
Posts: 16058
Location: USDA Zone 8a
4272
I like...
dog hunting food preservation cooking bee greening the desert
posted 2 years ago
  • Likes 5
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I have read this thread several times.

Now that we have a curious kitten I can understand everyone's concerns.

I would fill the top with things like tea kettles, deep pans of water with lids, etc to see if this would work.

I had to break the kitten from jumping on the table from some boxes of canned goods that I had stacked by the table.

A squirt bottle filled with water helps too.

Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner

 
Rocky Miles
Posts: 1
posted 1 year ago
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I am very concerned too, my cat is very curious and I know she will probably go on top.  A few months ago she walked on the hot cooking stove top, quickly ran off but still goes.    Nothing exist on the market as a wood stove top pet protector, I'm moving in a few months and will have a wood stove so I'll figure out something to build one on my own with heat resistant materials.
 
Anne Miller
steward
Posts: 16058
Location: USDA Zone 8a
4272
I like...
dog hunting food preservation cooking bee greening the desert
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
We got a kitten in May.  I trained her to not jump on the table.  She has never tried to jump on the counters or stoves.

Cats seem to know their boundaries when taught.

I used a spray water bottle a few times and she got the hint.

I know of no other way to train them not to jump on a wood stove.

Can you build a cage or something around the wood stove so the cat can't jump the distance?

Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner

 
Shari Clark
gardener
Posts: 219
Location: East Beaches area of Manitoba, Zone 3
90
I like...
hugelkultur purity trees medical herbs writing ungarbage composting
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 5
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I know this is an older thread but it caught my attention. We have two cats (used to be three) and a pretty active Great Pyrenees dog. I had the same concerns when we first moved to this place and started heating with our woodstove. At first, I was watching all the animals very carefully and with concern. The puppy especially concerned me when we got her because she was very clumsy and random in her movements.

But we have had absolutely no problems in this regard. On cold evenings, the animals love to sit close to the fire and feel the warmth. They even like to watch the flames but they have a healthy respect for fire and have never tried to get too close. I wonder, too, if you could get an extra clasp or something to ensure that the front of the stove never opens unless you want it to. But I have lived with animals and the woodstove now for ten years and never had an issue.

Best serotonin-booster ever: garden time.

 
Joanne Banks
Posts: 1
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Cats aren't stupid they will feel the heat & stay away. My cats when kittens never went near it also the heat is intense & it's just too hot for them they would sooner rest further away...unlike my dog who lays in front roasting herself till she has to get up to rehydrate!!
If you're still worried when the stove is hot hold them in your hands near & open the door they will see & feel the danger.
X
 
Sindi Jessen
Posts: 1
posted 1 year ago
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I built a fire first time this season and I have 3 8 week old kittens. I was watching them close but one of them jumped on the wood stove so fast I couldn't get to her fast enough. How do I stop the other 2 from doing the same thing and so they don't get hurt. She act like I did it to her cause I yelled first I feel bad. They climb over baby gates.
 
Mike Haasl
steward
Posts: 15505
Location: Northern WI (zone 4)
4846
7
I like...
hunting trees books food preservation solar woodworking
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Maybe don't yell the next time and they'll have a better chance of putting two and two together?  I think the worst they'll get is some light burns on their feet, nothing serious.  But I could be wrong...

SKIP books, get 'em while they're hot!!! Skills to Inherit Property

 
Timothy Norton
master gardener
Posts: 4249
Location: Upstate NY, Zone 5, 43 inch Avg. Rainfall
1721
I like...
monies home care dog fungi trees chicken food preservation cooking building composting homestead
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
My cats learned pretty quick, unfortunately from jumping on the darn stove. They won't do that twice, that is for sure.

I wonder if you can hold each cat securely in your hands, and bring them close to the warm stove body without letting them touch it. Try to get them to relate the stove to heat.

- Tim's Homestead Journal - Purchase a copy of Building a Better World in Your Backyard - Purchase 6 Decks of Permaculture Cards -
- Purchase 12x Decks of Permaculture Cards - Purchase a copy of the SKIP Book - Purchase 12x copies of Building a Better World in your Backyard

 
Ara Murray
pollinator
Posts: 187
Location: Northern UK
87
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
The stove in our previous house did not have a flat top so our cat only ever walked round the back of it rather than trying to jump up. It was very kind of him to do that as he removed all the dust and cobwebs I had difficulty reaching. We had a new flat topped woodstove fitted here in the summer and I have never seen the cat try and jump on it even though he's always jumping up onto other pieces of furniture. I think I will have to watch him carefully when we start using the stove seriously just in case he gets silly. We have a fire guard we can put in front of it when we are out of the room (there was an open fire there before) which will delay him if not prevent him getting on top of it.
 
Anne Miller
steward
Posts: 16058
Location: USDA Zone 8a
4272
I like...
dog hunting food preservation cooking bee greening the desert
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I don't have a wood stove though I have a crdenza that I don't want the cat jumping yp on.

She likes to jump up there so she can look out the window.

My solution is some bottles of water place where she does not have a "Landing spot".

With a wood stove, the same principle could be used only with tea kettles or other kettles filled with water.

Don't provide a landing spot. Cats and kittens are smart to realize that there is not a landing spot or will learn pretty quick.

Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner

 
John otero
Posts: 1
posted 1 year ago
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I just had two cats in the past year burned by our wood stove ..one not so bad the other severely burned 3 of her paws so to say it never happens is a reach mr commenter at the top ..I guess we just have to be happy they have 9 lives and great vets and medicines ..sincerely loving cat owner
 
Ell Bee
Posts: 5
Location: USA
1
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I’m glad to see this thread is still alive - and the kitties too! I thought I had lost my cat, trying to rack my brain for a chance he may have slipped out the door (the night is dark and full of terrors!)…but I found him beneath the woodstove. I felt the bottom (cautiously) and while it was warm, it didn’t burn me. Still, I worry for him. I’m considering wrapping chicken wire around the legs of the woodstove to keep him out, but it’s also nice that he found a comfortable spot.

I guess he is smart enough, because when I open the door to load wood, he removes himself (and ever so adorably plops on the cold tile floor to cool off).

But, y’know, safety first!
 
Terry Turkington
Posts: 1
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
If somebody could invent a decorative top that prevents the top of the woodstove from getting hot and can be custom sized, they could probably make a few dollars from all the pet owners. I know I’ve been looking for months for some kind of solution other than scaring the B-Jesus out of my cats (how I keep them away from the doors because they are inside cats) if they get close to the new thing in the house…my new woodstove.
 
Charlotte Bishop
Posts: 1
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 5
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Just as I settled in with a cup of coffee, my approx 10 month old kitten leapt from the table to the woodstove. I don't think he made a sound but he flew off in an instant and ran to hide. I couldn't get him to come out to take a look at him. He was in pain, excessively licking his paws and lifting them repeatedly. He did actually lie down on his side to get all 4 feet off the floor. I was able to run his front paws under cold water. It was not very effective due to his squirming and unhappiness. Its a terrible feeling of panic and fear since you don't know how badly they are burned. It smelled of burning flesh and hair which was awful. He has been eating like a champ and after my boyfriend and I looked at his pads the next morning they look a bit shiny/hair is burned but no blistering. We determined he doesn't need a vet. Cats jump on woodstoves and he will be blocked somehow.
 
Glenn Herbert
Rocket Scientist
Posts: 4526
Location: Upstate NY, zone 5
574
5
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
The bottom of any woodstove built to official specs will not get dangerously hot so as not to endanger the floor, so I would let your cat bask in the warmth under it. They are smart enough to move if they are getting too warm, and the semi-enclosed space is perfect for a cat's sensibilities.

I think your kitten will not make the mistake of jumping on the stove top again... just glad his lesson was not actually injurious.
 
John F Dean
master steward
Posts: 6970
Location: southern Illinois, USA
2537
I like...
goat cat dog chicken composting toilet food preservation pig bee solar wood heat homestead
posted 1 year ago
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
    Send
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hi Charlotte,

Welcome to Permies.

At my age, Happy Hour is a nap.

 
What are you doing in my house? Get 'em tiny ad!
Rocket Mass Heater Jamboree And Updates
https://permies.com/t/170234/Rocket-Mass-Heater-Jamboree-Updates
reply
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
Boost this thread!
Similar Threads
More...