Static electric kitties....

[Sara luvs her Tinky]

When the weather gets cold the air gets soooo much static electricity here... does it do that anywhere else? My hair stands on end and sticks to my face.... it is so irritating.!! Now the cats get it... Every time I touch them to pet them I shock them and when I rub them they crackle from the static... I can tell they are annoyed by it too. It was so funny the other night I got off work and when I went to bed Tinky followed me and I was petting her and with the lights off you could see the little sparks running all through her fur....
Is anyone else having this problem?!?!?

[NoahsMommy]

A week or so ago, we had a lot of dry wind. That charged Noah's whole body. Poor little guy...each time I kissed or pet him, he sparked!

[AmberLee]

Moisture in the air should help -- the drinking fountain helps here, and I think KAK is using a humidifier for Pepper's breathing. You might try either and see if it helps?

[neko1]

YES!!! This happens EVERY winter here!!! I hate it!! and so do my kitties!!

[trinity]

We have this problem even with a humidifier attached to the furnace. I have found that a very light spray of static guard on the brush will help a little...humans and furries!

[Barbara]

Since 2 days it's here cold like that. I was sparkling when I touched my car -stayed away from the kitties when I still had my shoes on.

[moosmom]

I go through that every winter as well. I've found that rubbing all "furred" cats down with a dryer sheet does the trick. I also have a humidifier that I use at night. My heat is SO dry in this place I used to wake up with nosebleeds. The humidifier helps relieve that.

[Tina]

No problems here! Thank goodness!! But usually in January we have that problem.

[All Creatures Great And Small]

It seems more "snap crackly" this year than last, and yes, it's driving me nuts! I have medium length straight hair, and it is so limp and clingy with the static. I'm getting shocks from everything I touch, including the plastic shopping carts and chairs where I work (since when does plastic conduct electricity?). And I have to do the "touch something else first" method when petting the kitty, because he cringes now when he sees my hand coming . I think I'll get some of those dryer sheets, because a girl at work said she uses them on her long, straight hair and it works. (We tried the humidifier thing once, but we could never get the moisture level just right - we had moisture running down the walls at one point which was gross.) And I'll have the added bonus of me and the kitty smelling "April fresh", too!

[moosmom]

I call it "Animal Magnetism"

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

We've got that problem too. During our nightly petting sessions (more like our nightly "mom you're not leaving this couch until you pet me sessions) Tubby will sit on top of me, and I can feel a bunch of little shocks come through his feet as I run my hand down his back. It's kinda neat - I like the "animal magnetism" theory - and he doesn't seem to mind either. What he doesn't like is sometimes when he goes to sniff me he'll get snapped, then he'll look at me like I did it on purpose or something. Our humidifier is also attached to our furnace, but it obviously working right anymore since both Terry and I have learned....whenever I come home from work, or before I leave in the morning, or before we go to bed, or when we wake up, or if I'm going to bed and he's staying up, or I guess whenever we're going to give each other a quick little kiss, we always touch our hands first, 'cause I guess it's nice that the sparks still fly between us, but not literally!

And for the dry, fly away, sticky hair, just use a drop or two of conditioner. If you find the right one it won't weigh your hair down, but will stop the sticky static hair.

[catland]

Originally posted by Tubby & Peanut's Mom
I guess whenever we're going to give each other a quick little kiss, we always touch our hands first, 'cause I guess it's nice that the sparks still fly between us, but not literally!

We do the same thing!!!!

Fortunately, the rains have returned, so maybe I'll be ok for a while. I can barely pick up Joxer when the air is really dry there is so much static. I just might need to give those dryer sheets a try in our next dry spell (which in western Oregon might be next May!)

Barbara - I also get the shock thing with the car. I've found that if I hold my car keys and touch them to the car, they get the shock and not me.

[Nomilynn]

my hair gets REALLY staticky, and then it get's all tanlged up. When that happens, I get really grumpy! I use Static Guard. I spray it on my brush and then brush my hair. It actually says right on the can it's supposed to be used for that. I don't know about the kitties though. So far their static hasn't been so bad, but I don't want to put something on them that when they lick it off, it makes them sick. I should ask the vet about Static Guard! That stuff works miracles!

Animal Magnetism.. are you getting hypnotised by your kitties!! I just did an essay on hypnosis, and the founder of it all, Mesmer, thought people got hypnotised by magnets. Anyway.. that was a bit of a tangent

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Originally posted by Nomilynn
So far their static hasn't been so bad, but I don't want to put something on them that when they lick it off, it makes them sick. I should ask the vet about Static Guard! That stuff works miracles!

I would definetely check with the vet first. I remember the few times I've used static guard, Tubby would start sneezing and coughing really bad. Got to the point where I made sure he wasn't in the room when I sprayed it. But even when I finally let him in after I thought all the fumes were gone, he'd still sneeze a few times and wrinkle up his nose like there was something nasty around, and start breathing funny. It seemed like it really affected his breathing most. Don't know if it was the fumes or just the fact that it comes from a pressurized, aerosol can. I think the dryer sheets might be a better alternative in this case.

[RICHARD]

500 cats can generate enough static electricity to
toast two pieces of whole wheat toast, heat water
for one Cup of Noodles or open one can of Whiskas
seafood flavor cat food.