cozy corner cat poop box

My cat uses something called the "cozy corner cat litter box," a triangular shaped box with a domed lid and a little door the cat can enter so that she can enjoy her privacy as she does her business. The closed lid is very important. So it's a better arrangement by far than the normal, open-air cat box, but still, I have to ask how a box full of cat litter and poop and smelling faintly of deodorized urine could possibly be considered a cozy part of anyone's house? For the cat, maybe, but it's not like she spends any quality time in there.

Although maybe she does. My cat has a very special relationship to her cat box. She is a very regular beast, and she has her rituals. Every morning she enters the bathroom just off the garage, where we keep her box, and starts shoving around the litter with her paws until she gets it positioned exactly the the way she wants it. She likes her litter just so before she pees, and this ritual of litter-placement is a highly important part of the event. Then she backs inside, butt first, with her head poking out the little door in front so that she can survey her surroundings as she pees. It's enormously undignified looking. But the cat pretends otherwise, studiously ignoring the sounds of our giggles as this ritual proceeds. Then there is a brief silence--utter, concentrated silence--and she tucks her head back inside the box to clean up, and we hear the audible sounds of cat litter being vigorously shoved into place. If you happen to enter the bathroom at this moment to point and laugh (which is great fun when you're dealing with an animal who takes her pooping so seriously), she will ignore you, with great dignity, a slight sneer on her lips to indicate how completely immature she thinks you are.

And of course, I am. That's the whole point.