I decided to surprise Matt with a gift to alleviate his anxiety of going on vacation to Maine and leaving the Kitties at home with "standard" litter boxes.
So, I bought him (and the girls) the "Litter-Robot".
We were VERY nervous after setting it up because the girls REFUSED to go near it! It was like... well... like a MARTIAN had come into the house! Granted, it does look like something out of a science fiction movie!
For three days we let it sit in the "kitty room" (yes, they have their own room, with their own couch, toys, and all the fixins) with no litter. We were sure this would allow them to explore it and sniff around and get used to it. So, on day 4 Matt put the litter in and plugged the Litter-Robot in. They didn't touch it all day long. Instead, at midnight I heard, in my sleep, a faint "beep" and then a minute or so later, the very whisper of the Litter-Robot's motor turning it's first "official" cycle of joy.
Well, it was less than a cycle of joy for the girls! Within seconds of the "very whisper" turned into scrambling for lives! Crashing! Banging! Fur was flying! Apparently, the Litter-Robot's subtle sounds were WAY too much for the kitties!
I should have known better. I should have known NOT to plug it in until they were used to actually using it. My bad. So now we are trying to reaclaimate the poor kitties to their new enemy, "Marvin the Martian" as he has become known thanks to Matt's creative wit.
Meet "Marvin the Martian"...