I just read this story on MSN..."Kitten survives wild ride in washing machine: Cat emerges dizzy after going through full cycle, including high-level spin". Apparently this person left his washer open with dirty clothes inside, then closed the door and turned it on without checking. It's a miracle the poor thing wasn't drowned.

A friend of mine actually accidentally killed her cat by not checking the dryer. It was full of clothes with the door open. She wanted to run it a few minutes to get the wrinkles out but didn't see her dear kitty sleeping inside.

I have two inside cats and I ALWAYS close the doors on my washer and dryer. I've had to shoo them out before as they jump in while I'm taking out or putting in clothes, so it can happen that quickly. They're just being nosey about what I'm doing, and you know what they say about a cat's curiosity!

So, please everyone, just be careful!

thanks for sharing

Been there, unfortunately, done that! My Rudy jumped into the dryer when i turned away for a second to get a dryer sheet. Turned on the dryer, heard a thump, thump, and remember thinking "I didn't wash any sneakers today." Then it hit me! OMG!!!! Opened the door and a VERY confused Rudy looked at me as if to say "huh?" then took off. I almost had a heart attack! Over twenty years of cats and this had never happened. Needless to say, I'm very careful now. I think what saved Rudy was it was a load of towels, cushioning his falls.

I had that happen in the dryer one time but kitty was ok, I had put jackets in and heard a thumping, figured maybe I accidently threw in a boot, No it was the silly kitty a little dazed but did fine.

As you can see from my avatar, post-dryer incident, Rudy is still alive and well. He hasn't gone in the dryer again (no surprise there!) but my Squeaky has ocassionally but now I know to look. If I have a big load to dry, and turn around for something, I'll actually poke thru the load to make sure there are no furry bodies hiding in there! They do love "caves"!

One time we had a batch of kittens and I was digging in the chest freezer for something one must have snuck in before I closed the lid, Thank heavens I went to get something else a little while later, He was a little chilly but I am glad I went back. Curious little creatures~

Okay, you win. holey moley!

OH cool What did I win? Radar for the cats?

How about cow bells for around their pesky necks?

Now we only have one it is easier to keep track of her, but there were times we had lots of cats and kittens, when the kids were little.