Changing the Kitty Litter

Nobody likes changing the kitty litter.

That is, right-thinking Americans don't generally enjoy this task. It's not really a hard job, of course. It just involves a quick dumping of the old, wiping of the box, and a quick refill with new. But there is an unpleasant proximity-to-nasty involved, and nobody, no matter how often they clean their house or kitty facility, has a completely stinky-free cat box. After all, it's used for pooping. How can something used for pooping stay pristine?

But I don't have to change my kitty box anymore... And the reason might be a bit surprising. You see, my cat has taken over the job.

Uh, I don't let it go that long or anything... (No, seriously!) But you know cats. They have sensitive noses, and they really are very close to the floor, so. Perhaps it's much more urgent in their minds to have a fresh box.

On the other hand, maybe he's just special. I hear him clawing and clawing away at something in the other room, where his box is kept. I've been mostly ignoring him... but it was kitty box time, and so I wandered in. And what do I see? The box has somehow been knocked over at some point (though now I see it has been returned to its normal upright state). I know this because there is a huge pile of dirty litter on the floor. (Also, he's been practicing upending things using his food bowl.) It's not just some of the litter, either, it's ALL the old litter, including the little bit of damp that settles to the bottom of the... okay, too much information, I understand.

But there is clean litter in the box... how can this be? The answer lies in the empty cat litter bag next to the box. The big bag with the giant hole clawed in the bottom. The bag used to sit, upright, next to the kitty box... I guess it wouldn't be too hard for an enterprising young cat to, say, knock it over. And once you've done that, well, all you have to do is just claw all the litter out until the bag is empty, and then knock it away. And, indeed, there are eighty-five thousand little bits of kitty-litter-bag paper scattered in the box along with the litter, as one might expect if someone has clawed all of the litter out of the bag.

So... okay! I'm all set. The CAT is going to do it for me from now on. All I have to do is leave a full bag of litter there and sweep away the old litter and mop the floor and, well, yeah, not so much. It's kind of easier to just empty the box like a normal person. But if he's this determined to have a clean place to do his business, I have to wonder: why didn't he ever just teach himself to use the toilet?