In the Never Ending Quest...

...to effectively deal with cat "messes" (euphemism intended to be spoken with a very wry look on the face indeed), i came across yet another nifty idea that i figured i could do one better, and a bit cheaper.

Until the time when i can afford a real cat toilet -- yes, they have them, they are called the Cat Genie, and they work, according to my friend Mouse -- i keep trying new solutions to the age old problem of dealing with cat "waste" (see above parenthetical).

We now also have a puppy in the house, and puppies are notorious for being into everything, including the cat's litter boxes.

So, while the litter box that you turn upside down to scoop itself is still working well, and is where Hazelnut doesn't bother it, the other box was a different story. It has to be where the cats of larger avoirdupois (now that is a word!) can access it without having to jump over the items we put up to block the kittens into the kitchen. Yes, we need a playpen for the kittens, but that's another issue altogether, meanwhile, they are blocked into here where they are under my feet all day.

The other box was tempting to Hazelnut, so when i saw one at the pet store that looks like a big Rubbermaid style box with a hole in the lid for access, it got me thinking.

They wanted $35 for a Rubbermaid style box with a hole in the lid. Nope. Instead, i waited until an even larger version of Sterilite box went on sale at a different store, bought that, and cut a hole in the top.

It is bigger than the original design, and less than half the cost.

So far, at least two of the cats are using it.

Hazelnut can't get down into it.

It keeps litter from scattering everywhere, mostly. They do track a bit up on the lid, but i lift that and dump it back in.

Until i get the Cat Genie, it's a good option. It won't stop me from continuing the quest.


Today is:

Armed Forces Day -- Egypt; Montenegro

Chicago International Film Festival -- Chicago, IL, US (oldest competitive international film festival in North America; through the 20th)

Dussehra -- Hindu (a/k/a Dasara, Dashara, or Navaratri; a festival of joy)

Festival of the Other Five Toes -- Fairy Calendar

German Pioneer Day -- Pennsylvania

Ig Noble Prize Ceremony -- Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, US

Ivy Day -- Ireland

Mad Hatter Day (A second crazy day in the year, to balance April Fool's Day)

National German-American Day -- US

National Noodle Day

National Student Day -- US

Physician Assistant Day -- US

St. Faith's Day (Patron of prisoners, soldiers)

St. Bruno's Day

Tshcechu Festival -- Thimphu, Bhutan (masked dance rituals and praying monks are featured in the capital city's colorful festival; through the 8th)


Anniversaries Today:

American Library Association founded in 1876


Birthdays Today:

Elisabeth Shue, 1963
Britt Ekland, 1942
Thor Heyerdahl, 1912
Carole Lombard, 1908
Le Corbusier, 1887
George Westinghouse, 1846
Jenny Lind, 1820


Today in History:

The Cimbri inflict the heaviest defeat on the Roman Republic army of Gnaeus Mallius Maximus in the Battle of Arausio, BC105
Founding of Germantown, Pennsylvania by 13 Mennonite families from Germany, 1683
The Americans and French begin the siege of Cornwallis at Yorktown, which becomes the last battle of the American Revolutionary War, 1781
Benjamin Hanks patents a self-winding clock, 1783
Louis XVI accedes to the demands of the women of Paris and returns to that city, 1789
Great Fire of Newcastle and Gateshead begins shortly after midnight, leads to 53 deaths and hundreds of injuries, 1854
The American Chess Association is organized and holds the first major US chess tournament, in NYC, 1857
The American Library Association is organized in Philadelphia, 1876
Thomas Edison shows his first motion picture, 1889
Nabisco Foods debuts its Cream of Wheat, 1893
Beatrix Van Rijk becomes the first licensed Dutch woman pilot, 1911
Opening of The Jazz Singer, the first prominent talking movie, 1927
Egypt launches a coordinated attack against Israel to reclaim land lost in the Six Day War, 1973
Massacre of students gathering at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand to protest the return of ex-dictator Thanom, 1976
Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit the White House, 1979
President of Egypt, Anwar al-Sadat is assassinated, 1981
51 Pegasi is discovered to be the first major star apart from the Sun to have a planet (and extrasolar planet) orbiting around it, 1995
Jason Lewis completes the first human-powered circumnavigation of the globe, 2007