Life hack from Alyson: What to do with cat litter in your toilet

I still miss Hobbes and Cheddar.

I still miss Hobbes and Cheddar.

If you have a cat (or more than one cat), the chances are that you have litter at least one litter box (one good ‘rule of thumb‘ for these is to have 1.5 boxes for each of your feline friends). Most people I know use clumping litter. If you know how it works, it may make little sense to dump your litter down the toilet. The reason for this is simple; litter turns into concrete when it comes in contact with water.

This actually happened to me so this is a good way to deal with litter in the toilet.

I went away for a business trip and when I got home I learned that the person taking care of my cats, Hobbes and Cheddar, thought a time saving thing would be to pour their litter down the toilet. When I walked in, several days later, this had turned into concrete and my toilet was completely blocked. Or so it seemed. I called several plumbers and got estimates. The bottom line was that it looked like this was going to cost several thousand dollars. OUCH!!!’

Well, that sucked so I went online and looked for DIY solutions. I found one. It suggested using liquid Joy (lemon). I spent the next six hours pouring the dish soap into the toilet with warm (not hot) water, plunging, waiting about 30 minutes and then repeated it about every 30-60 minutes until the toilet was completely clear.

Steps:

  1. Buy lemon dish soap
  2. Add soap and warm water to toilet
  3. Let sit for a few minutes
  4. Plunge for a few minutes
  5. Add more lemon soap and water, let sit
  6. Repeat until drain is clear

I cannot promise this will work for you but it worked for me.

 

Guest blogger: I am a cat and damnit, I am cranky

Guest blogger:  Hobbes the cat

I am a cat and right now I am pretty fucking pissed off.

For years, I have just dealt with it when I heard how “finicky” cats are, how the people we live with are “crazy cat people” and how we make people sneeze.  I have put up with all of these insults and innuendo but now CNN has just pushed me a stroke too damn far.  That’s right CNN, and you know my buttons really have to be pushed when I stoop to blogging at the bottom of the barrel “news” outlet that is CNN.  I would do a better job of hosting news shows than some of the clowns you hire.  Seriously, one woman told Budget Chairman Ryan that she “didn’t want to get into a numbers game with him.”  Jesus Christ, I am a freaking house cat and I know BUDGETS ARE MADE UP  OF NUMBERS.

But even that crap didn’t piss me off as much as this:http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/05/14/why.cats.bite.mnn/index.html?hpt=C2

What the hell?  I don’t have the same right to personal space as everyone else?  Sure, I appreciate the affection and love but they go out all day — sometimes I get left for DAYS and then they come home and I need to be all instantly in the mood?  What if I was sleeping?  Do you know how tiring my life is?

And to add insult to injury, why is it that everyone thinks all cats are girls?  Do I look like a girl to you?  Do I?  Do I?

Yes, yes I do.  Do you know why?  Because one one winter day several years ago, the people I live with cut my balls off.  That’s right.  Just took me away and had it done.  Did they say boo about it?  No, they did not.  Did they ask if I was ok with it?  No, they did not.  I went to sleep and woke a little lighter.  And really fucking sore.  Bastards.

Pre-castration kittyNote the before and after photos.  The photo on the left is what I had as a kitten.

Four year old cats should not be in this state.

Ok, this isn’t the easiest picture to make out but do you know hard it is for cat to take of photo of this? Take my word for it, it is a sad state of affairs.

The right is what I carry around now.  I am four years old.  Seriously, if you cannot see a size difference there, you are not looking.

Ok, that first photo is actually the kitten that lives here now, but it could be me.  You don’t know what I looked like when I was a kitten, I didn’t know I needed to take photos to prove the size of my junk.

Do you see why maybe we don’t always feel like snuggling when you get home from work?  We are proud animals.  We deserve some fucking respect.  And hop to with the litter box, I am no fucking mood to smell my own pee