What do hamburger-eating cats, video game squabbles and an unwanted carpet roll have in common?

Chatham-Kent police can't quite believe it, but people in their southwestern Ontario area apparently thought these were all situations requiring an emergency response.

A woman who called 911 because her cats ate her Whopper and she wanted another one earned the dubious top spot on the Chatham-Kent Police Service "Top 10 Silly Calls of 2011."

It's the third annual instalment of the list. Last year's No. 1 was a woman who called police to complain that her ex-boyfriend gave her perfume as a gift, when all she really wanted was drugs.

"It does surprise me that we're still getting these ... calls that are so outlandish," said Const. Michael Pearce.

This year there was such an embarrassment of riches that the force could have issued a Top 20 list, but managed to pare it down to 10, Pearce said.

"We don't want people to stop calling 911 or the police if they need assistance, but we want to make sure that it's police-related," he said.

One of Pearce's favourites that should not have warranted a call to police was about an errant carpet that turned out to be not so errant after all.

A man called to report that he found a roll of carpet on his front lawn and wanted an officer to come to his home. He later cancelled his call when he found out his wife put it there.

Also not requiring police intervention: domestic squabbles over which video game system to play or who gets to sleep on a certain side of a sofa.

Alcohol likely a factor in many calls

Pearce said he suspects alcohol was a factor in some of the top 10 calls.

The full list from the Chatham-Kent Police Service: