Cats Trained to Set Fires

This newspaper item appeared in 1921: “An insurance investigator reveals a New Jersey insurance scam that involves using cats trained to start fires to burn buildings down.”

First of all, cats are difficult to train to do anything. A dog is easy. Dogs want to please. You can train a dog to not only start a fire but also fill out the bogus insurance claim as well.

Cats have the smarts, but they just don’t care. A cat will quit on the first day of training.

But let’s say you bribe a cat into learning how to set fires. What’s the best method of setting fires for a cat? Matches? Little lighters?

And what if they get caught? A dog would never turn you in. Your cat would turn on you for a lighter sentence in a heartbeat. They would say you forced them to light the fires, saying you would withhold cat toys and treats. You go to prison. The cat gets three months, but jumps out the jail window in 10 minutes.