Back-story: Spook is a midget vandal disguised as a domestic cat. She is four months old, about five in cat-years, and reaching the height of her destructive powers.
A week or so ago I foolishly left my MP3 player on the bookshelf, and, not considering that I am now the proud parent of a hyperactive kitten, left the earbuds dangling down over the edge. The next morning when I got out of bed I immediately stepped on a small hard object that gave way with a crunch. One of the ear buds. The other was never found (I think she ate it).
This was one of those times when you dearly wish that cats understood English. There I am, in my underwear inspecting my savaged MP3 player. Sharp kitty teeth have snipped through the wires effortlessly. Spook comes bounding up to me in joy and hugs my leg – her signal that I need to pick her up and cuddle her. I would have yelled at her if there was any chance of her understanding why.
Never mind. I rooted through my junk box and salvaged a pair of old earbuds off a CD walkman I’d forgotten I still had. This time I stowed the MP3 player securely in my bag, with the earbuds wound round it.
An hour later, I returned to find that Spook the Avenger had struck again. My bag had been knocked off the table, and it’s contents scattered across the living-room floor. Picture Spook lying on her back in the centre of a swathe of destruction, displaying her fuzzy spotted tummy and waving her paws in a display of kitty-cuteness. One of the earbuds is half-severed. The other is in my shoe.
I bought a new pair of earbuds, and much to Spook’s disgruntlement, my bag now lives on a coat-hook far above her reach.
I thought that this was the end of her fascination with electronics, but no. Yesterday I awoke to find that during the night, Spook had chewed through the powercable to my wireless router. Following online advice, I have now rubbed soap on every exposed cable in the house.
Spook: 3, Consumer Electronics: 0.
