The Sparky Report #9

LOOK OUT, HOLLYWOOD!

Sparky's a star! Jo Beverley has put together a cute Animoto promo for Mischief and Mistletoe, and Sparky opens and closes the piece. Have a look-see here, and tell us what you think! As evidenced by the picture above, Sparky has given it a thumbs up!

SPARKY IS ELECTRIFYING

I'm having considerable work done on my 100-year-old house, and the carpenter/electrician who's doing all the work has taken a real shine to Sparky. In fact, he's nicknamed her "Polly" (because she's a polydactyl) and he allows her to climb all over him while he works. Thank goodness he's a good natured guy, because Sparky spent a lot of time in his lap recently, playing with scraps of wire and other electrical bits while the carpenter installed a new outlet by my desk. She's so used to carpentry noises (saws, drills, sanders) that she no longer runs and hides when she hears them fire up.

    

    

TO SLEEP, PERCHANCE TO DREAM

After a hard day supervising the carpenter, Sparky needs a rest, and can usually be found sacked out in Shona's crate. It's so cute to see them snuggling together!

Comments

[Donna]

LOVE that top picture of Sparky. She's gorgeous and looks like the diva that she is. I can't believe how big she has gotten! Jo's trailer for M & M was great too!

Sparky and the electrical wires leads me to say that Pierce was a wire chewer as a kitten. I still catch him at it occasionally. There's a spray called Sour Apple I used that stopped him (used on the wires, not the cat). I was terrified that he'd electrocute himself! I've never had a cat that chewed - dogs, yes - but not cats. Pierce has many dog traits though.

[Sherrie Holmes]

Thanks, Donna! Sparky has gotten big, hasn't she? Each stage of growth brings yet another endearing personality trait. She's still small--barely 5 pounds--but there's a lot of personality packed into such a small bundle.

Isn't the trailer for Mischief and Mistletoe cute! Jo did a great job.

Believe it or not, I already bought a product called Bitter Apple that I plan on using to discourage Sparky from chewiung on wires. Right now, her favorite thing to chew on are the speaker wires from my stereo. Despite the fact they are covered by a large throw rug, the little monkey still manages to fish them out. I'm going to have to tape them to the floor until she gets over her penchant for wires!

[Connie Fischer]

What a total Love Bug! Sparky is such a treasure and you are so lucky.

[Sherrie Holmes]

Hi, Connie. Believe me, I know Sparky is a treasure, and I know how lucky I am. I bless the day this orphaned kitten kept up a loud squalling until we went looking for the source of the sound!

[theo]

Well, let me tell you one thing about Bitter Apple...my dogs and cats love it! So don't put all your money on it discouraging Sparky. You have a 50/50 chance at best.

She is adorable though! What a sweet thing. :)

And the trailer was pretty great!

[Sherrie Holmes]

Theo, only *you* would have dogs and cats that love Bitter Apple! We'll see how Sparky does with it and I'll let you know. She's such a quirky cat I wouldn't be surprised if she liked it too!

Yes, Sparky is adorable and sweet--when she isn't being rambunctious and wicked. *g* She has an amazing penchant for getting into trouble, and her latest trick is knocking over things that make loud crashes.

[Lucy]

First the carpenter pictures made me laugh out loud. Then they made me think "uh-oh"--as in, she's not scared of much, is she? Cat owners everywhere will understand why this is an ominous sign. *g*

[Sherrie Holmes]

Lucy, glad you enjoyed the pictures. (And I'm glad my carpenter likes cats, especially Sparky!)

You're right--Sparky isn't afraid of much. For a kitten, she's very bold and audacious. As you say, cat owners will understand why this is ominous. It spells trouble with a capital T. Her saving grace is her intelligence which, I hope, will prevent her from getting into serious trouble, or if she does get into trouble, she'll find a way out of it, unscathed. On the other hand, she's likely to give me a few more gray hairs!

[theo]

You know, Sherrie, they make a tubing for computer cables that has a slit down the side that you wrap your cables and wires in that you might want to try. Also, one of those things that looks like a transition piece from one floor covering to another (can't remember what it's called, but it has a slight rise in the center) that is hollow underneath for laying wires across traffic areas.

And yes, I know. My animals are weird. They really like the Red Devil hot sauce too so I'm really limited on what I can use to discourage them. With the dogs, I just lay the shock collar on the table and hit the vibrate button. It makes a ton of noise the dogs don't like. (haven't shocked them with it!) but the cats could care less of course. The other morning, I went into the half bath to find the small antique table on its side and everything broken that could be, all because Garth took a liking to the toilet paper roll...not like he couldn't have stood on the floor and reached it just as well...

[Sherrie Holmes]

Theo, funny you should mention the tubing! Lucy (one of Sparky's followers) told me about the tubing for computer cords, and I wrote a note to myself that if Sparky continues to chew on wires, I'd get that tubing. In the meantime, I'm using zip ties and those velcro bands made especially for bundling cords together, and so far, they seem to be working.

Also, Sparky is showing far less interest in the computer cords than she is those blasted speaker wires. Today I taped those wires to the floor under the rug, and that seems to have stymied her. For now. *g*

I had to laugh about your placing the shock collar on the table and hitting the vibrate button! I'd say those dogs are well-conditioned! And Garth--naughty kitty! By any chance is he related to Sparky? As I mentioned in an earlier post, anytime I hear a loud crash in the house, I know automatically that it was caused by Miss Innocent Face! *g*

[MaeLou]

Best picture yet of Sparky in that window with nice touch of subtle placing those amazing toes center stage. The background color and the lace is surreal it so gorgeous. I'm telling you this would make an incredible book cover picture! I'm posting it to my FB page and crediting you as best-ever photographer. <3

[Sherrie Holmes]

***Blush!***

Thank you, MaeLou! What a lovely compliment. I too love the colors and the touch of lace curtain in the corner. I'm fortunate that Sparky is used to the camera (in fact, she's a bit of a diva!).

That window is just above my desk, so I get to see that lovely combination of cat/trees/lace/big thumb all the time. And wouldn't it be fun to have a Sparky Tabasco book?!! I can see a series aimed at children . . .