This was sent to me in another mailing, and given our propensity 
towards laughing at Kitty things, you just have to read this.

A couple of weeks ago, I succumbed to an ill-begotten urge to 
purchase an electric cat box.

That's right, an electric cat box. You heard right.

Here's the concept: the cat box is equipped with a disposable 
container, a sensor, a timer & a mechanized "rake". When the cat 
makes a 'deposit", the sensor recognizes the event, the timer allows 
a respectful interval to elapse, and the rake then drags itself 
through the cat litter and deposits the waste in the disposable 
container. Every few days, one replaces the disposable container and 
the kitty litter chores are done.

Now, just to get this out of the way, yes, it was expensive. $80 for
this bit of frivolity, but I figured I was darn well worth it.

It did, however, present a bit of a learning curve for the kitties, 
who had been used to one sort of litter; the new kitty box required
clump-able litter. This stuff is rather like sand, but when in 
contact with litter, a clump is formed. Initially, however, Ling 
thought it was some sort of a spa: he leaped into the litter box and 
rolled around in it like he was trying to cover every atom of his fur 
with litter. He then promptly curled up in the box and took a nap.

Not to be daunted by this, however, I decided to help the cats to 
learn the true purpose of the electric litter pan. Being a nurse - 
and a resourceful one at that - I produced a small urine sample in a
disposable dixie cup and poured this in the pan to the amazement of 
the kitty crew. They stared transfixed at the lump as it coalesced 
there, and watched in total awe as the mechanical arm drug the rake 
through the litter and deposited my sample into the disposable bin. 

Thereafter, the cats were totally enthralled by this new device and 
quickly began to use the pan exclusively. We rarely saw them after 
that. If by chance their attention spans waned before the raking 
process started, they would run from any portion of the house after 
hearing the motor begin and stare in rapt glee as the evidence of 
their potty habits vanished into the bin.

And yes, you are correct, there IS more to this tale.

The "rake" is attached to the mechanical arm that powers it back & 
forth through the litter by means of a snap-in attachment that, after 
the second "sweep", neither snapped in nor attached on one side of 
the box.

At first this was a fairly minor irritation, but over time, it became
more and more of an issue.

Initially, small bits of cat litter were gently deposited on the 
other side of the bin, i.e. on the floor outside of the box. Soon the 
level of enthusiasm generated by the rake escalated, however. And now 
we had a new form of entertainment for the feline family members:

The great American shit toss.

Yes indeed, soon the rake began to drag so badly on one side of the 
box that it would lag well behind the rest of the process until 
rounding the corner to (allegedly) deposit the turds in the bin. As a 
result, it became the kitty litter equivalent of Babe Ruth.

The cats were endlessly fascinated by this new permutation. They
determined ONLY to poop on that side of the box, and to poop in 
petite amounts. I think they were taking bets on distance before this 
whole sad event concluded.

And they are in DEEP mourning now that we switched back to the old
manual system.

[By Sue Roth - 12/19/02]

---
Cats meow out of angst
"Thumbs! If only we had thumbs!
We could break so much!" 

ICQ#9731786
http://www.counsellingforchange.net
http://home.iprimus.com.au/teddieboo/



--- Rachel's Little NET2FIDO Gate v 0.9.9.8 Alpha