My cat lit up my bulb!

[Harley]

I noticed a weird thing this morning....it was still dark (5:30 a.m.) and one of my cats was rubbing his head on my reading light which is clipped to the bed headboard. The bulb is one of those energy-efficient spiral bulbs...and every time my cat rubbed his head on the bulb, it gave a dim glow! At first I thought the light was coming from static electricity sparks...but it wasn't sparks. The whole bulb glowed! I saw this happen 7 or 8 times. Has anyone ever seen this happen before?

[aTailOf2Kitties]

it is static electricity affecting the gas within the bulb. If you rub nylon on a fluourescent tube light, it glows. The twisty bulbs are just smaller versions of the tube lights.

[Harley]

Thanks! I tried rubbing my hands together and touching the bulb but didn't get much. So I rubbed my feet on the carpet (with socks on) and then touched the bulb with my socks...very cool light!! Still not as much as my cat's head though...looks like I could use a humidifier in my house!

[columbine]

Frankenkitty! Yeah, a humidifier might be a good idea.

Love, Columbine

[catmandu]

I think that Your Cat was trying to be helpful , and was trying to put a little light on the situation!!!
Hes quite an Electric Cat, at that

[moosmom]

Harley,

Your cat was trying to say, "Youuuuuu, light up my life, you give me hope, to carry on, you light up day..."

Instead of a "Clapper" (Clap on, Clap off), get a cat!!!!!

Just interjecting a little humor here. That's funny.

[smokey the elder]

That is so neat! Cool kitty plasma.

[Harley]

Now that I'm aware of Bo's "phenomenal" lighting ability, we played around with it this morning. He absolutely can light up my light...but my other 2 kitties can only provide brief flickers. Bo is also super sensitive to smells and tastes. I wonder if his "electrical" standard and his other sensitivities are related.

[Randy_K]

The static charge may tickle his fur and probably feels good. Statickitty!