Last weekend my 3-year old top of the line Bosch 800 series combination convection wall oven (model HBL8751UCC) introduced us to a secret Bosch recipe for preparing meat. About 15 minutes into cooking two trays of steak, the inner sheet of glass in the oven shattered into a thousand small pieces, showering the meat with delicious chunks of broken glass! After discussing the issue with my Bosch representative all I got was an apology and a 20% discount on buying a replacement piece of glass (no discount at all for the labor). Looking at the internet, it became clear that Bosch has been using the secret glass recipe in their ovens for about 10 years now, and it's apparently such a big hit with consumers that the company has decided not to make any changes to their recipe. Ahhh, there have been other issues with this oven, like the ever dimming display on the microwave control panel (now barely visible) and the weird way that closing the microwave door would sometimes turn the lower oven on (a ghost in the machine?). A word to the wise--if you're thinking of buying a Bosch oven, you might want to consider some other brands--unless you like the taste of glass in your favorite recipes.

I too have a self-cleaning oven feature that I've never used (on this current oven, that is), because I've got a parrot andf they really can be killed by things that don't affect other pets (like non-stick cookware coatings) - there's a very good reason canaries were used as mine safety checks prior to environmental samplers, birds are highly susceptible to gases that mammals don't detect. What I do is a hot soapy water dampened towel to soak off baked on gunk and then a green scrubby, or the Method bathroom scrub (well rinsed off before cooking in the oven again.) That said, I think the cat would be okay - I never had a problem using self-cleaning before getting the parrot, and I've always had cats and dogs. My 20 year old siamese has been through several oven cleaning cycles in her life, and she always just vacated the room until the smell dispersed.

Did you use cold or hot oven cleaner? Cold might be fine - in fact my gas self-cleaning oven doesn't clean the very front bottom of the oven and the manufacturer advised me to use cold oven cleaner and it worked fine. I would never use hot oven cleaner in a self-clean oven. Except for appearance, why do you think your oven is ruined?

The best solution is for you to come to terms with the fact, that this is an appliance that is being used, rather than just a show piece. So, you'll never get it 100% clean again. The next best solution is to buy a brand new door and then refrain from ever using the oven. Since both options are unlikely to appeal to you, I suggest removing the door so that you can lay it flat. I own a Bluestar rather than a Wolf, but I would expect the hinges to work very similarly. From what I can tell, most gas ranges follow similar principles. You might have to loosen or remove one or two screws. But then the door probably just lifts straight up for removal. Try to find a mechanism to hold the hinges in the open position, this will make it infinitely easier to reinstall it later. Search for a service manual online or see if there is a Youtube video demonstrating how to do this for your particular model. Once you have the door out, you can apply liquid oven cleaner from a spray can, let it sit for a while, wipe off the excess, and then scrape the glass with a razor blade. Finally, wipe off any remaining chemicals with a wet rag. I find, having removed the door, it is much easier to do this work. But I also find that it doesn't make the glass perfectly pristine. It'll take off 95% of the grime, but the glass will definitely look more dull and stained than when you first bought the range. Generous application of elbow grease can improve results, but don't expect miracles. Opening up the door to clean the inside of the glass is likely possible. I am just not sure how well-advised it is to do this. It's more labor intensive and stands a higher chance of you breaking something without a guarantee that things will look significantly better. Your call. With some brands, you can access the area between the two glass panes from the air vents. In that case, you could try to blow out any dust with compressed air, or you could use a long-handled brush. And whatever you decide on, please report back for the benefit of other owners.