Mrs Hemming said shewent into a downstairs bedroom where the four-month-old kitten, Beauty, then brushed against her leg, but she said she could not recall taking it from the property before she drove the short distance to her own home.
Their bodyguards' presence outside set the gritty, bustling neighborhood of Center Havana abuzz, and a crowd gathered downstairs shouting Beyonce's name until shewent to a balcony and waved.
Minutes after she left her bedroom on the lower level and went upstairs, the smoke alarm went off and she saw "thick black smoke" coming from downstairs.