Air Freshener, Incense, or Candle?

So on Facebook I took this quiz, "How Hippie Are You?" http://quizdoo.com/how-hippie-are-you/.  I scored 62%.  I would have scored higher, but some of my habits have changed over the last few years.

One of the questions had to do with odor elimination.  The question was would you use air freshener, candle or incense.  I realized my preference is incense, but for convenience I often use air freshener. 

I love candles, but I realized that incense is more effective, and less dangerous, especially with my cats, who bump into candles and set their tales on fire (put out by dragging my hand on the flaming tail before it got to skin,) and knock them over (imagine burning wax spreading on a surface, which did not happen).  Also, consider my absent-mindedness, which allows a 30 hour candle to burn all night while I am in bed (I now only burn candles on the stove top where the cats do not go.)  Or imagine my absent-mindedness and I am melting down a candle on the stove to recycle the wax and I set the stove top on fire and unaware, walk into the kitchen and douse the flame with my ample supply of baking soda, on hand for a stove top fire emergency!

I realize the incense really is better for odor elimination, and it does not involve an open flame and burns itself out faster than a candle.  So it really is safer, as well as more effective.

The Cats and The Candles

I really like to have candles lit, and under other circumstances, would fill my house with candles all over, especially on these mellow nights when I feel bleak, or just want to chill and be mellow.

But, that is dangerous given the cats I have.  I know I have told this story before:  I had an open candle on the dining table, and Sake jumped on the table, swished her tail into the flame, and it stared on fire. I was sitting right there, and did not panic, but just grabbed her tail at the base, and ran it up to the end, extinguishing the flame.  Later, Sake sniffed at her tail with disgust.  She did not seem to even know her tail was a plume of flame.  After this was over with, I had a delayed panic attack!  But was mostly just grateful that I was there to extinguish the flame.

So, after that, I used jar candles on the dining table.  Until the night that Haiku jumped up on the dining table and knocked over the jar candle. Again, I was sitting there, and again automatically responded by righting the candle before the wax and flame could spread very far. 

I have resorted to burning candles on the counter stove top.  The cats do not jump up to that part of the counter, although every once in a while, Sake will walk in front of it, to try to get into the cabinet next to it, where I start the inside grass in the dark. 

The other safe place is in the big bathroom: the vanity counter has baskets of hygiene items in the front, and I have a small place in the back next to the wall for a candle holder.  The cats do not bother that counter, as there is no space for them.

Having cats is more important than having candles.