Litter Boxes R Me

No wonder my cats love me.... they all must think I'm a cat myself. As I sit here in black capris, and a black top with a beaded white cat on the front of it. My sister would be appalled at this top, but I only wear it around the house. Although, I did have it on when I went to the local PetCo store this morning. This beaded cat on my top didn't look out of place there at all.

PetCo.... once again in search of the perfect litter boxes for three male cats. I never had litter box problems with my female cat years ago. One litter box, not three, and it didn't matter what size it was because she never made any sort of mess outside of the edge of the box. Females are smaller than males, so that alone means you need a bigger box for male cats. Also, females will crouch down to the litter so nothing sprays over the edges. Not so with male cats, depending on their mood. Particularly with AngelBoy, who wouldn't even consider lowering his prissy, fluffy gray-white fur too close to that litter. And ShadowBaby, who has been practically standing up on all fours in that litter box of his, as if he's outside peeing up against a fence.

Which is why I went to PetCo this morning.... I have scrubbed and washed the far corner of the screen-porch for the last time, I swear. Yesterday, my husband cut the sides of two plastic storage bins that I had found in Target. We thought the sides would be high enough to eliminate the over-the-edge problem. Well, think again. Plus, the bins were clear, see-through plastic--- I just cannot describe the look of disgust on AngelBoy's face yesterday when he inspected those "home-made" litter boxes for the first time. Only people who have seen this cat will believe the expressions his prissy little blue-eyed face can conjure up. Everything from pure cat-joy to the ultimate kitty-disgust has been seen on AngelBoy's face.

PetCo had a huge assortment of boxes, everything from pretty pink ones decorated with hearts (I kid you not. Or should that be I "kit" you not.) If we had a cute little female cat, I probably would've bought one of those. I can just imagine AngelBoy crinkling up his little nose at that one..... "Pink? You expect me to use pink? Not in these nine lifetimes."

They also had round litter boxes with spiral steps going up into the box. Whoever designed that one didn't have large male cats in mind because as the cat goes up those steps, his head is bound to hit the top of the box. Then when the cat finally gets to the litter-box part, that space isn't very big at all because most of the inside is taken up by those silly steps. Give me a break.

I bought three new boxes... "Jumbo Deluxe" size. All covered, all deep and high, with a front opening that they have to walk through to get into the box. Two in blue, one in burgundy. AngelBoy will claim one of the blue ones... that's his color, with everything from food dishes to litter boxes to blankets. Believe me, that cat knows blue. And he won't go near anything that's dark green or dark gray or brown.... we found that out years ago when I replaced his blue litter boxes with a green one and a gray one. The carpet-cleaning guy had us on a monthly schedule till we figured that one out, with the help of Sonia Fitzpatrick. She was the television "pet physic" who lived in Houston. We were at our wits end with AngelBoy and his "accidents" so we called Sonia. First thing she said about AngelBoy was "He's upset because you tossed out his blue litter boxes... he doesn't like the brown and green ones." Now laugh if you want to, but that's the honest truth. She knew nothing, not a thing, about anything that was happening here. My opening line to her was that we were "having problems with AngelBoy." That was all I told her... I nearly fell out of my chair when she told me his "problems" were of my doing, and the reasons why.

She also told us more things about all of our pets, all of which were true... and she had never met us, nor had she ever seen our pets before. She did that little "reading" over the phone, looking at close-up photos that I had mailed to her... pictures of each of our cats and our dog--- nothing in the backgrounds of those photos to give anything away, such as color schemes or furniture or anything else. That little adventure cost us $150 but it was worth every blessed penny. Soon after that, my husband and I went to a taping of her television show in downtown Houston. After the program, I asked her to sign my copy of her book. I told her my name and she remembered me as "AngelBoy's mommy."

I can only imagine how much money I've spent on litter boxes over the years. They don't last forever, and after so many scrubbings, you've just got to replace them because the plastic just gets worn from the washings. These "jumbo deluxe" boxes came with free plastic liners, so I'm trying those out as well. It will make cleaning easier, and the boxes won't have to be replaced so soon. Free liners. Nothing is free. Those boxes cost $24 each, so the cost of those liners is in there as well, I'm sure.

"AngelBoy's mommy." Jeez. Guilty as charged.