I told you I could write a whole post about it

Yes, this post is about cat poop. Sorry, it's just that it has occupied a lot of my thoughts since, well, I got Loki and Lola. But it's also about me Finding Solutions so yay?

The thing is, these adorable kitties...

...produce a LOT of poop.  And pee, but that's good because it means their urinary tracts are okay.

This is to be expected. Food twice a day has to come out at basically the same interval, times two cats. The only problem is that one or both of the cats has a tendency to not bury their poop, which means that the whole apartment can get stinky fast. It's to be expected somewhat with any pet, but J has never had a pet before, so I'm really anxious to make this experience a good one.

So I did a little (read: lots) bit of research on the web, and learned that the detergents in cat litter can be too harsh for kitty's noses and so they don't cover up their poop because they can't smell it. I had been using the Fresh Step multi-cat litter because it had good odor reviews but all the deodorants in the world can't help uncovered poop. So I did some more research and bought Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat litter because it is universally praised at being the bestest litter ever and is unscented. It's also cheaper than the Fresh Step stuff, but it sells out quick at Petsmart, which is basically the only place to get it. That's why I currently have 200lbs of it in my trunk. Hey it was on sale and I had a 15% total purchase coupon. I don't know where I will store it, but I'm sure I can think of something (under the couch/my bed/in the corner of my room? who knows?).

Things have improved slightly, and since there is literally no better litter to move to I guess I'm stuck to Dr. Elsey. And my 200lbs of kitty litter. So I then decided to turn my attention to the actual box itself.

Now I live in a pretty small apartment. I think it's a pretty good size, but the only good place for the litter box is in the bathroom (which does make sense, as it is the poop room). The space isn't that spacious, however, so I got the cats the Clevercat litter box, which is technically effective (they use it). However this website says that the top-entry box is horrible for cats' joints, etc etc, and it is kind of small. But there is no good alternative for the space. The website also says that the only good box is a huge open-air one but I just can't do that. I don't have the resources. That website is helpful, but it also has the effect of making me feel like a horrible horrible cat parent. More on that later.

So I decided that instead of spending so much money on another litterbox that really didn't meet my needs, I would make my own that suited my needs and hopefully that of the Shittens. I scoured the internet for some tips and actually took pictures for once as I went along.

First up, the box, which started life as an ordinary 18 gallon plastic tote purchased for ~$5 at Target. It was the largest one that would fit in the 24" long space next to the sink in the bathroom. I probably could have found one slightly better at Lowe's or Meijer or something, but it was Saturday aka Game Day and I was lucky to make it to Target. If I had a bigger space I'd probably want to use a 25+ gallon tote, but as it is the 18 gallon is bigger in all dimensions than the current box.

18 gallon Sterilite tote in a light color to make it easier to see inside and also to look better in the bathroom.

Next up, the tools:

Clockwise from top: safety goggles, tape measure, industrial Sharpie, dry-erase marker, and rotary tool and accessories.

All the how-tos I found said that a good utility knife and some sandpaper would do, but a rotary tool would make it easier. And I am never one to turn down a chance to get a power tool. Because of this the total cost of the project is on par with a fancier litter box, but I anticipate using my rotary tool again so I'm okay with that. I looooove power tools.

After assembling my tools I put the box in the space and, using the dry erase marker, marked where the entrance to the litter box would be. If Loki or Lola turn out to be huge cats then I can always make the hole bigger, but I gave them room. I then broke out the rotary tool on low speed and cut the hole:

 I chose to put it on the long side (and not in the middle) so that the cats will not be jumping out into the standing-in-front-of-the-sink area, but rather to the side where the litter mat will be to collect all the little litter bits that get stuck in their paws and then later find their way into odd places, like the couch or my bed.

I'd never used a rotary tool before, so it was a bit awkward at first. To cut plastic the blade basically uses friction to melt the plastic, leaving little plastic bits along the edge that need to be scraped/snapped off. It took a few passes to get the edges smooth enough.

I don't want my kitties to suffocate while using their poop box, so using my dry-erase (which, oddly enough, needed water to actually erase) I drew some marks for air/light vents on the top of the box:

The square in the corner is why I needed the measuring tape. I have an odor filter in the bathroom that I would ideally like to put ON the box if the kitties are okay with it. It measures 8.5"by8.5" so I measure off a 9.5"by9.5" square in the corner to not put holes in. I chose triangles because they are easier to cut than rectangles with the rotary cutter.

Of course once I started cutting I noticed that the triangles I had drawn were huge and that more and smaller were better:

I am awesome at following along with my own plan!

 To top it off, I then added some vents/holes where the handles of the box are in order to get more air circulation:

 There is about a one inch gap between the holes in the handles and the lid, so litter probably won't escape that way but air can come freely in/out.

Most litter packages say to fill the box with about 2-3 inches of litter. The one downside of my custom box is that I won't be able to get a liner for it, and trash bags won't work because of the side hole. So in order to keep the sides of the box relatively excrement free, I will be putting in 3"+ of litter into the box. But how will I know that it's deep enough? Well it's a custom box, so I whipped out my tape measure and my sharpie and drew a 3.25" fill line around the inside of the box:

Here you can see that there are still about 4 inches between the fill line and the litter box entrance. Hopefully that will help prevent litter from flying out.

I would install this right away into the bathroom so that the kitties can start using it while I am home for the day, but on Monday right after I scooped the box (into my Litter Locker, which is the best invention ever for cat people who live in apartments--it's basically a Diaper Genie for cat waste) Lola hopped in and had some pretty nasty diarrhea with what looked like blood in it. I don't know how long it's been going on, but I think a while. Her appetite is good (though she has thrown up a bit) and her energy is high but because she may have a heart condition I decided to take her to the vet.

I got a bunch of recs from my school's message board and went with the one that seemed cheapest but still good. On Wednesday I loaded up both cats into their carriers and drove them there. Boy was THAT fun. Loki is 8lbs and Lola is 6.8lbs and both seem fit and healthy aside from Lola's problem. No parasites.

The vet suggested I try an obscenely expensive prescription sensitive stomach food and an anti-inflammatory antibiotic to try and get stuff out of Lola's system. I bought that food and will probably continue to feed them sensitive-stomach food but of a cheaper (and maybe better?) brand. I gave Lola her first dose of meds today. Despite the chicken flavor she did NOT like it and spent a good 20 minutes frothing at the mouch and drooling under my bed. Thanks cat. Only 19 more doses to go.

Earlier I mentioned that the website catinfo.org makes me feel like a bad pet parent. I feed my cats Wellness, which is a natural pet food whose first ingredient is whole meat and not byproduct and is low on grains, etc. Larry eats it and his coat is gorgeous. The thing is that I only feed dry food to the kittens. It's expensive dry food yes, and nutritionally balanced, and they drink a lot of water, but it's not wet food, and the vet who runs the website says that cats should only be fed wet. I can't afford wet, not the good quality stuff, and not for two cats. I'm doing the best I can for my cats, but there are always reminders that I could be doing more. Sigh. I spent some serious time at Petsmart today and found a no soy-corn-wheat sensitive stomach food that is actually cheaper than the Wellness, so I will start feeding that after the vet stuff runs out.

So until Lola has had at least half her meds I won't switch the boxes, but it's there, waiting. I'll indicate in not great detail later how it works.

I have spent way too much time posting about poop so I will STOP. Instead I will now go enjoy the benefits of cat ownership: cuddles.

11 pm: too late to call my parents, so I'm blogging instead!

Today was a thoroughly ick day. Didn't finish my reading, couldn't concentrate in lecture, discovered that my new nemesis is the Ann Arbor Transport Authority and to top it off arrived home too late to get my Thor bluray from the main office where UPS delivered it. I JUST WANTED TO SEE CHRIS HEMSWORTH'S ABS IN HIGH DEFINITION ON MY TV.

I effing love that movie so much.

So I went to Petsmart to get litter for the shittens (one day I am going to write an entire post on cat poop), and to Target to return something, and came back and woe-is-me'd on the couch for awhile, pretty exhausted. J came home from work (it's a busy week for him) and as we were chatting I opened my spam folder because ever since grad app time I got into the habit and lo and behold there was a reply to the thank you e-mail I sent after my interview Saturday.

I got the job! Pays $12 an hour and is much more career oriented than current job. So I guess I have to put my notice in tomorrow which is incredibly stressful for me. A lot of people have assured me that they will find other work-study people really quickly and this is a better opportunity but I hate hate hate letting people down.

I also got an e-mail today asking me to send a resume and cover letter to one of the science museums on campus because they got a grant to digitize their millions of plant specimens (grants are good; they mean I can do work-study and grant-funded work). I have no idea if any employment would come out of it but I'm currently tapping away at a cover letter expressing my interest and eagerness but playing down the fact that I don't really have any experience. If they say they don't have anything for me oh well I never would have heard about it if I hadn't followed my desire for more free food and nosily butted into someone else's conversation. I think I will take it in to the career office tomorrow to have them look it over. So much to do....and then all my reading and Thor watching of course :)

The kittens were especially adorable today. Loki is so damn photogenic:

Lola, while adorable in real life, is not:

Night!

Tiny Kitten Paws

Are capable of tracking so much litter around. Seriously guys, that's gross.

I am back in Ann Arbor, kind of permanently, I suppose, although I will be heading off to Canada to visit folks this weekend.

Because it is my permamove, I brought the kittens (whom I am trying to refer to in my head as the LoL cats) with me. I also had to work today at 10, which means I had to be on the road by seven.

The two hour drive from Midland to Ann Arbor was quite possibly the most stressful I have ever driven, because I had two upset kittens yelling at me in stereo. Mostly the kittens communicate in meowy squeaks and chirps, but they really let their grown-up voices out (think Larry-style). Then once we arrived and I brought them to the apartment they yelled at me some more because they didn't get let out right away.

Of course then I had to go to work so I quickly put J’s guitar in his room, put the potted plant in my room, closed those doors and hoped that the cats wouldn’t get into too much mischief. I was at work for about 5 hours, and it doesn’t look like anything was destroyed. There were a few lumps in the litter box (yay!) so I put its lid on (I got them a Clevercat Top Entry box—it’s really the only one that will fit in our bathroom and still have a lid). Loki has already used it with the lid but Lola deigned not to, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that she will adapt fine. My life has become one in which I worry a lot about cat poop. Sigh.

The kittens seem to be doing okay. I opened my room and Lola is exploring (Loki, the weirdo, is cuddled up next to my feet suckling himself. Sigh). In a few moments I’ll lock them both up in there so I can unload the stuff from my car and finally get unpacked/settled in.  Orientation tomorrow!

ETA: Lola has pretty much wrapped J around her little paw.

I am a horrible mother

I am back in Midland, returning the dadmobile and getting some more things, most importantly, the cats, Loki and Lola.

At present I am in the basement on a supremely uncomfortable loveseat supervising the kittens play with one of Larry's discarded mousies that Loki fetched from under the lazyboy. Larry is also down here, hissing and growling at any kitten who gets too close.

I just cleaned out their litter box. Since they've been snatching mouthfuls of Larry's wet food and his adult dry food, their poop has been less than solid. Nasty nasty. And there are poopy pawprints on the sheet I put on the bed to protect it.

I feel like such a failure.

Maybe some more backstory?

Cats make me happy. My favorite creature in perhaps the entire world is my cat Larry, who we adopted when I was 12 and he was 1.  To say that he literally saved my life would not be an exaggeration. He is a mouthy, extremely affectionate cat whom I (and lots of other people) love deeply.

However, Larry (being almost 14) can not exactly give up three floors of rich carpeting and expensive food and many sunbeams to go live in my small graduate school apartment. And frankly the thought of him getting lost is enough to trigger an anxiety attack, even as I write this.

But cats make me happy, and since I am heading off to the stressful world of grad school I decided I want to take a cat with me. The first question I asked my potential roommate was "do you like cats?"

I fell in love with Loki via his picture on petfinder.com, but when I went to meet him I was not only presented with him  but also three other cats. He was the lovable cat I thought him to be, but he basically ignored me after the first introduction in favor of playing with his sister. This other cat, a tortie, came up and let me love her and was super affectionate. When it came time to choose, I had bonded better with her, but what about the Loki I fell in love with?

So I asked my roommate and signed the papers for two. That tortie was Lola

A day or so later I asked my dad if he thought I had made a good decision. He said they were very nice cats and that I had picked well but why on earth did I get two? Considering that he had been with me when I picked them out and I had asked his opinion then I found it strange that he hadn't said anything before. His response? He will support me in anything I do, even if he thinks it's stupid. Maybe he sowed seeds of doubt? I don't know.

Then Loki and Lola came home and I set up a super sweet kitty suite in my parent's bathroom/bedroom (hey they were on vacation) and they were adorable and kittenish and then I noticed that after fie or so minutes of heavy play Lola would pant. Now as a rule cats don't pant unless of situations of emergency so I contacted the person (a vet tech) that I adopted her from and told her and the response was "well she's never done that for me and the vet I worked for checked her out several times and found nothing so it's probably nothing."

I took her to my vet anyway, and the diagnosis-ish I got was that Lola most likely has a heart problem (not a murmur) and she will be fine until, of course, she's not.

My dad suggested that I call the adoption place and maybe take her back. But cats are kind of like children, in that you don't adopt a child and take it back because it seems to have a health problem. It's a commitment.

Since coming back from vacation and meeting the kittens, my mum has declared Loki to be a pretty good cat and has mentioned several times that Lola is a bad cat who gets into mischief. Which she does. I'm told that torties as a color type tend to be extremely sassy. She's also asked me several times "why did you get two?". Today Lola scratched her when my mum tried to pick her up (most likely she scooped around the waist, which Lola dislikes). So Lola is on her shit list and the kittens were banished to their basement room for most of the evening.

So here I am, full of doubts. Why did I get two cats? Larry hates them both, and I'm afraid this is causing him undue stress. One kitten is sassy and not completely healthy. Both are a bit stressed after spending so long cooped up away from humans. I'm hoping things improve once they have run of an apartment and are away from Larry and with people more often. But what if they don't?

I don't know. Maybe I'm making too much out of this because I'm stressed and a bit depressed from the move/grad school. Time will tell.

 

In other news, my job is mind numbingly boring, I assembled a dresser today, and I am allergic to Ann Arbor.