Petmate Purrforma XL Automatic Litter Box

When we got Dipstick, our sweet kitten, my husband arranged for my sister and mother to buy me a "self cleaning" litterbox for my birthday. He thought it would smell better in the house, and prevent us from having to deal with the litterbox every day.



We have had it for about 5 months now, and I have to tell you, while it is nice at times, it totally not worth the money and is pretty much a piece of crap.

The first problem is that it is incredibly loud. We live in a 70's style split level house, and the box is in the lower level. Every time the motor grinds itself down the track moving the rake to push the clumped litter into the bagged reservoir, I can hear it upstairs, even if I am several rooms away. It can even wake me up at night when it goes off. I would never recommend it for anyone living in an apartment or smaller home.

The second problem is that it is exquisitely sensitive to the proper set of the cover apparatus. Even if you think you have seated all of the plastic parts correctly, it still jams an alarmingly frequent number of times, requiring disassembly, adjustment, and reassembly.

Third, the rake frequently breaks the clumps instead of pushing them along, leading to a bunch of pieces of debris too small to be pushed, so that they have to be sifted manually with a little scooper anyway.

Fourth, the box isn't really enclosed, so puppies looking for treats can stick their bodies into the box, get their delicacies, and then come and lick you.

Fifth, you have to buy special bags provided by the company to put in the machine, grocery bags don't work because the cover to the collector has holes in it that are only covered with their special bags. The bags are $3.00 for 4 at Petco, and $1.99 for 4 on Amazon.com. Plus there are also pan liners for the bottom of the machine that they "suggest" be changed monthly, but I have taken to cleaning and reusing since they are $10 apiece and Petco doesn't even carry them, they need to be special ordered and shipped.

Sixth, they advertise that the bags only need to be changed once a week, but my single 9 pound kitten fills the reservoir in about 4 days, so I go through 2 bags a week.

I am probably forgetting more problems, but my irritation was brought to a head at about 2 AM today when the damn thing got stuck and kept trying to complete the cycle, woke me up, and resisted being fixed for a full 20 minutes.

Dipstick, on the other hand, adores the stupid thing. I am afraid we have totally spoiled her now, her litter box never has waste in it (except for the little pieces it leaves behind). I don't know how she would react to a "normal" box now. She loves to make it go off, too. We solved the problem of Abby the puppy getting in (and trapping the cat in sometimes), by turning the opening towards a closed door. There is room for Dippy to get in, but not Abby. To its credit, it doesn't smell at all when the proper bags are used and the reservoir isn't so full that the cover comes off. I just have to remember to check it every day to make sure that it hasn't jammed during the course of the day when nobody is home to hear its sad grinding noise when it is stuck (it does eventually stop trying to unstick itself), and to make sure the bag isn't reaching the too full stage. I just check when I leave in the morning and when I get home at night (it is by the garage door).

My only consolation is that we didn't actually buy the stupid thing ourselves. We'll use it until it breaks, and then buy a traditional covered one, and clean it more often, it will have to be easier than trying to get the cover to sit just so.

Puppies and Kittens Living Together

This is probably even more random than anything that Jamie will ever think of, because I am not reviewing a product, movie, book, or anything tangible like that, but instead am reviewing the relationship between me, a puppy, and a kitten.


For my birthday this past October, my sweet husband gave me a kitten, since I have been nagging him about getting a cat ever since we moved into our house 2 years ago. At the time, we had a very sweet yellow Lab named Sandy. Sandy tolerated Dipstick, our new kitten, and would let Dippy play with her tail, and made the occasional running lunge at her, but all in all, didn't pay too much attention to the new addition. Sandy loved us, of that I am sure, but she was pretty independent unless it was time for her rawhide chew fix.

Well, Sandy died a few weeks ago, she had either a brain or spinal cord tumor. We were both very sad, but I at least had my little Dipstick. Dippy is a very affectionate and, above all, social, kitty. She loves sitting on my chest and purring. She loves all people and is always in the center of any group of people we have over, no matter how large. She makes sure everyone has equal time, as well, sitting on everyone's lap for five minutes before moving on to the next one., purring her little head off.

Husband took Sandy's death very hard, and about a week after her passing, a friend at a local animal rescue place told us of some lab puppies who needed a home, which is how we acquired Abby, a black lab mix puppy who is a very cute bundle of energy.

So, in the matter of 2 months, we went from having 1 old dog who slept 20 hours a day, to having a 6 month old kitten and a 3 month old puppy. What a difference! I was a little worried about how the babies would get along, but I needn't have. They are actually quite good for each other. They love to play together, and while doing so, tire each other out. Abby loves to chase Dippy, and Dippy loves to torment Abby through her kennel cage walls at bed time. They both keep track of where the other one is, even if they aren't plotting their next strike.

The funniest thing, however, is the jealousy for my time between the two of them. Husband travels for work, and therefore I am the sole caregiver for 2-4 nights a week. I walk in the door and let Abby outside, and immediately Dippy is practically standing on her hind legs trying to get me to pick her up, like a child holding up her arms. Abby comes back in and chases the cat up and down the stairs and up to some high perch, then comes over to get her dose of affection. If one is sitting next to me, the other has to start a tussle to pull the rival away. Once one goes to take a nap, however, the other does, too. Can't get caught tired when the next round of battle starts!

Dippy eats Abby's food. Just walks up to the bowl and takes one or two pieces. Abby doesn't care, she's just happy for the playmate. I know Dippy is happier, because she has stopped peeing on the sofa and is purring more than ever. Besides, she instigates at least half of the tussles, I keep a careful eye on them.

Watching these two little animals interact is fascinating, to say the least. Abby started out only a little larger than Dipstick, although that won't be true for long, already Abby has practically doubled in size. I have no doubt that they are going to be best buddies, and I heartily recommend to anyone thinking about getting both a puppy and a kitten that they do so at the same time. Any two animals that grow up together form a bond that is simply amazing to see.