Too Good to Be True? The Answer is YES.

Ok, I love my cats, but it is really a love hate relationship. Those of you who have had the honor of meeting Ziggie and Stanley know how lovable and adorable they can be, however you may have noticed Ziggie's allergy problem. That usually perks up when he is nuzzling next to your face. Then there is Stanley - who had a problem with marking in our old house. He has seemed to grow out of it, but I am always watching him like a hawk. So the first time Bruce proposed this automatic litter cleaner I was in, mainly because I love the cats more, it became my job to clean their litter.

So when I read the box and looked at the contraption, I said this makes sense I am sold. However, I quickly learned that it was too good be true. The rake was always getting stuck, so I was let trying to fix it on a daily basis. I wanted so much for it to work, that Bruce finally had to make me throw it away. Well I actually didn't throw it away, I complained to the company that guarantees the product - which sent me a new one which I quickly sold on ebay. So in the end it was like a $30 mistake instead of a $100 mistake.

So then I went back to scooping the litter on a daily basis. Yuck. Then Bruce sees that the litter maid has come out with the elite model. He is convinced that it will work, because of design improvements. I tell him absolutely NO WAY, will I fall for that trick again. However, if you know my cats, then you know Bruce and he is pretty persistent. He eventually persuades me after months of pestering that we should try it. How does he do this, he promises to attend to the litter for 6 months. What I don't have to worry about the cat's litter for six months? You will do all the work, even if the machine sucks and doesn't work? You will check on it daily as a slave to the cats. Well if you put it that way, I am in!!!!!

I must admit, I was fooled, both by my the new elite model and my husband. In Bruce's defense he did look at the litter more than he has ever in the past, but I did not feel that my duty was over. Because I am a type A+ personality as Bruce calls it, and his type not A+ personality does not have the same kitty litter schedule that I have. Which meant, I was still haunted by the kitty litter. And to top it all off the litter maid elite SUCKS just as much as the first one. The rake would constantly get stuck and you would still be left scooping, when it did work it would manage to rake most of the kitty litter out of the it, onto the floor - not into the plastic container as promised. Within a week, I was sorely disappointed in our purchase. I let my disappointment be know in the Holladay household, however Bruce was now the firm believer that this would work. It was the litter maid's fault it was our fault for the type of litter, it was the cats fault for not using it correctly.

I think back to the day we bought it and a friendly Canadian women in the Birchwood Mall Target said to us that she just bought one and it was the best thing ever. I wonder if she had chucked it out of frustration. Yes, I said chucked the elite litter maid, last night after an hour of trying to clean the thing, it just stopped working, with it's rake halfway through the cycle. I will be calling the litter maid customer hot line number to voice my disappointment, with great hopes that we will be getting our money back. Or another new one to sell to some sucker on ebay. This contraption is one of those things that you have to find out for yourself is a piece of junk that regardless of the design will never work.

This morning we headed to Target armed with a $5.00 coupon for the Tidy Cat Breeze litter system (and it came with a $10 rebate so in the end it will cost about as much as a plane jane litter box.) Ok, I know what you are thinking this is a another gimmick that you both will be sorely disappointed with. And you are probably right, however, I hate this cat litter thing so much anything that makes my life easier, in the long run, I am willing to try. I will let you know how long this lasts, however I keep reading about all these cat owners who have trained their animals to use the toilet - I am thinking we are too late for that.