AMERICAN INGENUITY AND THE CAT GENIE

I don't think we should give up on good old American ingenuity, even though every job we have ever had has been shipped out to China. I was heartened to see a wonderful new invention on TV, and I sincerely hope it is being made in the USA. You know, I believe that we invented the toilet, and now we are following it up with an incredible thing called a "Cat Genie".

This is for cat owners only. You know how hard it is to care for a cat's necessities. Either you let the cat out, which you cannot do where I live because the cat would be eaten by coyotes or bobcats, or you maintain a litter box, cannily placed in the bathroom. This box is filled with expensive cat litter which the cat kicks aside happily. Then you search through the cat litter with a plastic scoop, separating the solid waste and placing that in a plastic Safeway bag, which then must be deposited in the dumpster. If you have two cats, multiply this by two.

But, on a TV show in the middle of the night, I saw this miracle. It is a completely self-contained toilet for the cat. "Never touch cat litter again" said the announcer. The box was an architecturally attractive semi-circle (sort of a Hollywood Bowl in miniature. There was a water supply hooked up. After the cat uses the facilities (which the cat in the ad seemed happy to do) a burst of water pours out and rinses the litter. Apparently something equally sanitary happens to the solid waste - this is the tricky part. It, too, washes away and the original litter remains in the box, ready for the cats next foray. The owner of the cat need not go near this miracle box.

The bad part is that "Cat Genie" costs $360, but isn't it worth it? Has anyone tried this that you know? I don'y have a cat anymore, since Portia went to cat heaven at the age of sixteen, but if she were still with us I would buy her one. Isn't it great to be an American?