Feb. 27, 2008 Wednesday

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A couple years ago we got an electronic litter box, and it is still working as advertised. A motorized rake runs through the litter, picking up the offending clumps as it goes and delivering them into the waste box at the end of the pan.

Sensors detect when the feline has left the box, and a ten-minute wait cycle begins its countdown, giving the clump a chance to solidify before the rake begins its travel through the litter to deliver its cargo to the waste box.

Once one of the cats has used the box for its intended purpose, he/she will usually then return upstairs to hang out with his/her fellow human companions. Ten minutes later, the rake begins its noisy trek through the litter, and four cat ears would perk up and four feline eyes widen. Then they would both take off downstairs to stare in fascination at the litterbox and its slow, relentless rake.

It took almost a year before they finally got used to it and began to ignore it.