June 23rd 2011 2:29 pm
[ View A Comments (9) ]
It was inevitable. The Mama went into this knowing that sooner or later we wouldn’t be able to resist using that sandpit as a litter box. What she hadn’t known was how virtually impossible it was to clean our waste out of that sand! It’s not like clay litter – it just doesn’t clump neatly, especially when it’s already moist from rains. Anything liquid just washes through, permeating the entire pit. Which is OK at first, as the liquid mostly sinks down to where the soil starts, and further rains help to wash it down.
But eventually, there is a point of saturation. The Mama, upon her first attempt to clean the pit was hit with a flash of realization. Well, OK - what she was hit with were the fumes wafting up from where she’d dug into the sand with the litter box spoon! Down below that innocent surface was the makings of a kitty cesspool.
She wasn’t able to get in there immediately to fix the situation, and so far the temperature was cool, and off and on rainy, keeping the problem under control. But Tuesday, she and the Papa were out there with shovels, first digging the stinky sand out of the pit, then replacing it with fresh sod. The weather was so obliging as to rain right after they’d planted the sod, helping to set it, and also driving us girls into the house and away from our digging around the edges of the muddy sod blocks. Something I especially seemed to be enjoying!
By the time of this sand relocation project, we were neither of us using our inside litter box, so it worried the Mama a little how we would react when the sandpit disappeared, but she hoped since it had really only been less than a week, that we would easily go back to the former.
Sleeper, always easy-going and taking the path of least resistance, immediately switched back. Me, the Mama wasn’t so sure about. She didn’t see me use the box – only Sleeper, and she couldn’t tell if there was any place else in the dirt of the pen that looked more scratched up than usual. (We had dug a few small holes, but she had seen mole trails through the pen and thought we were digging after those. Can you imagine the nerve of those moles, digging through OUR pen?! And I couldn’t catch one, darn it!!!) So if I wasn’t using the box, and she didn’t know for sure that I’d relieved myself somewhere else in the pen, where HAD I gone, or worse, was I holding it in?!
There was great rejoicing this rainy morning, when the Papa said, “I think Samhain is in the box!” Sure enough, they could both hear the scritch-scritch and it wasn’t Sleeper, because there she was asleep on her blankie on the other side of the Mama’s table. I, of course, accepted their lavish praise as no more than I deserved for being the most excellent kitty that I am. And as far as they know, there are no surprises under sofas or at the back of closets. My lips are sealed on this subject.
My mom STILL praises me when she happens to catch me coming out of the litter box! It's nice!
Well, win some, lose some, right? At least they gave it a shot!
Luv, Tink de box iz trooly knot bad samhain once ewe get used ta it ewe will be stinkin it up all de time !!! we can think oh werse things then de box N de furst thing that comes ta mind begins with a B and ends ina S and they be stoooooooooooooooopid....
=^..^= Good Samhain!!! Get all the praises you can!! Thank you, thank you! (takes a bow) Yes, praises are great; the only thing better would be: starts with a T and ends with a T - right, Tabbies? Youse a goo' girlie kitty. You knows to use da litter box. Maybe yer mama could put a lil san'box wif kitty litter ina cattery. Jus' a finks. Dat way you can has a san'box but no stinky cesspool. That's a thought...If it were not too deep, it could be replaced fairly often without too much expense. I'll tell her! Good idea Ingen. Hey Samhain! Heeheehee. That's like those sandboxes at playgrounds. Mom heard they did testing on one once, and it was like a litterbox for human babies- ick!!
My mom praises me when I use the litterbox too. a little positive reinforcement. just in case! You might not be telling if you're using someplace else but the litter box indoors, but soon enough the smell will. The outdoor sandbox sounds like an excellent idea.
Congratulations on your COTD honor, sweetie.
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June 23rd 2011 at 2:37 pm