Adventures

My Sweet Semi-Professional Gig As A Pooper Scooper Extraordinaire

Shelley

Well, folks, I may have sunk to a new low by hitting the sweet spot at the bottom of the litter box. Mind you, I did so with the best scooper ever made in the whole wide world.

It’s a Professional Pooper Scooper Extraordinaire super duper pooper scooper beaut . . .

That’s just ONE of the litter boxes full of semi-scoopable glue-like stuff. Ew, yuck, right?

Before you click to leave, please hear me out. After all, you stopped here, you might as well join me for a brief tale about our two cats and their poops that greet me here on this rug

and sometimes there (in the gray litter box #2)… (I thank the bladder powers above that at least they pee in there and not somewhere else) if not here, there’s always…

Option #3, in the original blue litter box #1 which has been in that spot for years! In the cozy, secluded area, out of the way – for those private cat moments in the laundry room.

Being the professional that I am, I have become extra good at turning the light on in the hallway before proceeding to the cat-xing feeding throne, especially as the not-what-I-‘d call sweet smell whiffs in the air as I approach the room.

I step carefully over the rug, feed the cats the food that creates the poop in the first place, and then I get busy with my part-time gig as a Professional Pooper Scooper Extraordinaire.

The original pooper scooper pictured on the lower right in the picture above has been a good and sturdy plastic model. When we I started noticing that the clumping factor of the Tidy Cats brand seemed to be more of a mud-slide super glue formula, I was afraid it was going to break. Mr. searched the web and found the new scooper that makes my job less of a struggle as I grumble while I work.

We’re not quite sure what happened, but all of a sudden about the time I noticed the litter scoop-ability changed, our cats – who we’ve had for 13+ years, who have always shared just one litter box, suddenly have not been happy with their litter as Tidy Cats brand would like us to believe they should be. Poops pop out in random spots semi-close to the litter box.

The urine sticks-to-the-bottom-of-the-litter box factor is phenomenal though. Just saying…’cuz you can’t really see it, but my grumble and groan about how stuck it is to the bottom of the litter box as I go professional technique leaves the litter almost pristine when I’m done.

So seriously, there should be NO reason the cats can’t poop in the litter box as they should and have and sometimes do. The misses are a non-scoopable mystery.

Although, in reading the package instructions further, I may have made a mistake in the depth of the litter I put in the box. Hmm…? It hasn’t stopped me from the scooping and refreshing routine performed multiple times daily. Apparently, as a Professional Pooper Scooper Extraordinaire, I can follow easy-to-use instructions, except for maybe steps 1 and 3 and maybe 4. 🤔🙄

Meanwhile, cat #1 nibbles without clearing her bowl and has already moved on to another room, leaving this oh-so-hungry cat #2 here to finish off the other’s bowl and make more poop for me to scoop. Take note of how Dessy’s collar is hanging on her less fluffy neck.

I must tell you, though, that’s a sweeter than poop story about Miss Dessy. It’s true, she’s always hungry, has been from day one, but now that I’ve been in control of the litter box scooping role, and the Head Chef role, I’ve helped her along the path of less redundant fluff.

Remember how big she was? Her collar was snug, she had chubby rolls on her back, and her cheeks were extra plump.

Back on 10/17/2021, she weighed 14.7#s, on 8/22/22 she weighed 13.5#s, and on 2/12/2023 she was at a healthier weight for her of 11.4#s. Her sister Tizzie weighs a steady 10.5#s. Dessy is more playful, and energetic, and loves to nap near me while I work. She’s almost Copper-size now, except he was closer to 7-8#s.

Dessy is a sweetie even if she and her sister poop where they shouldn’t. Maybe they’re taking messiness pointers from the birds and squirrels? Hmm…? (Also for my astute followers, you have likely noticed the snow on the deck has mostly melted, just in time for us to get maybe up to 12 – 18 inches more snow this week 🙄)

Anyhoo, Dessy and Tizzie make my semi-professional cat-corralling gigs worth every stinking moment.

Time for a brief commercial break. This just in (7 days ago) for those who have a sweet tooth and love chocolate…I knew there was a reason I should give it up again as I did back when I gave it up. 🤔🙄 I also just read this week that dark chocolate is high in oxalates. I wonder, is this news going to stop you from enjoying your Valentine’s treats?
From random news that you have to subscribe to read (I hate that…!)
And now welcome back to the blog post where subscriptions are always optional and always appreciated.

And…just like that, I’ve run out of news to share. Folks, that means, this week’s show is over, poop must be scooped, and the rug must be washed.

As a non-professional photographer and blogger, I’m signing off knowing that my semi-professional gigs don’t all end with random poop sightings…you could call me a Cat Mess Clean-up Prognosticator though. Yeah, that works! 🤣

Post Inspiration: Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday: Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “starts with pro.” Find a word that starts with “pro” and use it any way you like in your post. Enjoy! And Terri Webster Schrandt’s Sunday Stills for February 19 Sweet.

PS – What household tool have you found that you are super impressed with and can’t live without? Are you a chocolate fan, if so, why? If you’re not, what makes you not like chocolate? When you were young did you enjoy Valentine’s day at school? Do tell us about the most creative box you made for the holiday. What do you think of news sources that require a subscription before you can read for free for 30 days before you have to subscribe to continue reading?

Published by Shelley

Letting my quirk out one post at a time.

43 thoughts on “My Sweet Semi-Professional Gig As A Pooper Scooper Extraordinaire”

  1. Well, I chuckled as I thought how sweet this isn’t, Shelly, LOL! I’m sure your kitties appreciate all your hard work cleaning up. There sure seems to be an endless supply of products to make cat parents lives easier. When my Leon passed away in 2018, we didn’t get more cats (two dogs are enough). Once we moved to our rural area, we vowed not to subject a cat to being forever stuck indoors. Your posts are always fun to read with your tongue-in-cheek humor!

    1. LOL, yes, it isn’t the sweetest post I could’ve written. The cats do seem to appreciate my efforts, as soon as I clean out the litter box they run right in it to use it again. It’s our mutual exercise routine.
      I’m feeling as though we won’t have pets once our cats leave us. We can take longer day trips than we could with Copper behind, so that’s nice, but finding someone to care for them when we’re gone isn’t as easy. Their sweet welcomes at the door when we return remind me of how much they love us.
      Glad you enjoyed the post. Sometimes I just have to look at the humor in my situations. 🤣
      I enjoyed all the colors and sweet photos you shared today. Aero’s adorable face made me sniffle just a little. 🤗

  2. That latest dark chocolate news stopped me cold. In fairness, I wasn’t eating any dark chocolate, so there is that. LOL. I was most depressed by the inclusion of Tony Chocolonely. I love those. But TBH, chocolate causes me other problems that I won’t get into. The struggle is real. 🤣

    1. Hi Laurel!! I know…I was, like, wait…experts have been telling us the dark chocolate is good for us! I’ve never had Tony Chocolonely. We’ve been eating Lily’s and the Alter Eco brands. But, like you, I was noticing I didn’t feel so great after eating it. I haven’t had any for months and feel better. I gave it up after ODing on it when I was pregnant with my youngest. I thought I was allergic to it, and gave it up for 20 some years. Why did I start again? Silly me!
      I hope your struggle is solvable!

      1. It is. Thank goodness. My digestive system is very tender and includes all kinds of organs. LOL. For whatever reason, chocolate irritates me. But I do indulge randomly (and usually regret it). Milk chocolate is better, but none is best. 🥺

        1. That’s good it’s getting better and that you know what to avoid.
          I’m guessing you’ve done lots of research, but if you haven’t heard of oxalate dumping and oxalate overload, you might find Sally K. Norton’s book Toxic Superfoods a clue as to stomach issues (and a lot of other ailments) that are caused by the oxalates in foods like dark chocolate. She recommends white chocolate over dark. I’ve learned a lot from the book and notice now some of the ‘healthy’ foods when eaten definitely give me flare ups! 🤷🏻‍♀️

  3. I think the litter boxes are a bit small for the girls, just a guess. A metal scooper is always better than plastic. I haven’t scooped cat poop in years! Copper was such a cute little guy. ❤️

    1. We couldn’t find a bigger litter box. It’s just weird how it was fine for over 12 years then all of a sudden it wasn’t. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Don’t worry, I’m doing your share of poop scooping! 🤣
      Yes…Copper was such a cute and sweet little guy. We all still miss him!

        1. Me too…so far, 12 hours in and the rug is still clean, so maybe it was the depth of the litter after all? I’m not holding my breath that it’ll be the last of the surprise landings. 😂

  4. I have to ask, when you had Copper, was he “interested” in the random poops lying around? One of the gates we had to have closed at all times was the one keeping Maddie out of the room with the litter box. Otherwise, it became sorta self-cleaning.

    I’m a little jealous of the snow in your forecast. We still haven’t had any since mid-December. The household thing I never thought we’d care so much about is an instant hot water dispenser. I installed one as a gift for my wife years ago (yes, I am just that romantic). I use it for tea. She uses it to warm her cup before making tea with water from a kettle. We use it often for other things, and when it finally died, we replaced it quickly,

    1. Copper preferred bunny nuggets to cat poop, but he did go for it if it wasn’t in the litter box. Our Golden Retriever would eat it right out of the litter box so we had a gate too. LOL – self-cleaning but then the dog breath was even more horrible! Ugh.

      I’d gladly send you some snow. We’re hoping the forecast is off as it often is. Our driveway is a slick ice rink that doesn’t really need another coating. 🙄

      We have an electric kettle to heat up our water – I would LOVE an instant hot water dispenser. That’s an incredibly romantic gift!

      Mr. gave me an upgrade of parts (that I can’t remember the names of, RAM, SD, etc.) for my computer to make it fast again – he’s that romantic and I adore him and my computer that can finally keep up with my typing!!

        1. Maddie was wise, I never understood the idea of eating bunny poop other than the pre-processed grass factor.
          You’re welcome 😍

  5. Good humorous thoughts for my Sunday morning. We used to own cats, so thanks for the memories. But, I you deserve credit because probably is the first post I’ve ever read featuring a popper scooper. I must admit – you have an impressive one!

    1. Hi Frank! I’m glad as a cat-owner you no doubt understand the silly things cats can do. I figured, if I loved the pooper scooper that much, there had to be others who would enjoy the story of how well it works 😉 🤣😂😻

  6. Shelley, a few things from a fellow pooper scooper:
    1) I buy Fresh Step simply unscented cat litter because I can’t stand the perfume scents. This one works really great for me if you need to consider something else other than Tidy Cat.
    2) I bought the biggest litter boxes I could find. They say there should be one litter box for each cat, plus one more, but I found the two extra large boxes work well. And I have the hard plastic bottom of a dog cage underneath in case of a poopy “oops.”
    3) I have had a heavy duty scooper for years, after I broke I-don’t-know-how-many plastic scoopers.
    4) I call scooping “praying to Jesus.” It makes the job feel a little less dirty. :-p
    5) Good job with the Dessy diet! I’ve had to do that twice with cats who wondered why I was starving them. Now I have to feed Hoshi behind a closed door and Gibbs in a different room (it was the same with Ziva) because the girlies in my life have been piggies with food. Why is that?

    I hope you are getting sunshine and nice weather today and I hope those silly weather people are wrong!

    1. Hi Mary, I’m so glad you stopped by to share your tips. You have many tales and tips to share about kitties, so I appreciate your words of wisdom.
      I’m with you on the scents…this brand of Tidy Cats is quite strong. I’ll have Mr. buy the Fresh Step unscented and make a transition to that. We couldn’t find any bigger litter boxes at the time we bought the second one. It’s so odd that for 13 years, the one small one was sufficient. Maybe when Copper was around they didn’t want to leave any of their treasures out of the box so they made extra efforts to hit the spot?
      🙏🏻Oh, yes, praying to Jesus that’s a good way to look at poop scooping.
      I’ve been impressed with Dessy’s weight loss. I think she ate a lot of Copper’s food and also was a stress eater when he was around whining and getting all the attention.
      We’ve had male cats early on (we both brought them with us into the marriage, surprisingly they got along!) and one was extra heavy and the other two were thin. I wonder if it’s a competition kind of deal for some cats? Nibblers versus Graizers. That’s what we have no – Tizzie versus Dessy!
      We didn’t have much sunshine, the clouds are rolling in and snow/rain is supposed to start later this morning and be on/off for the next 4 days! 😣🙄
      Hopefully you have sunshine and nice weather this week!!
      Thanks again for the kitty tips, I appreciate hearing your thoughts!

  7. Wish they had the metal scoopers back in the days when we had a bunch of cats.

    We had a cat who would scratch through the box several times, get herself in position, and miss the box entirely. And yes, we had a lot of “accidents,” usually the #1 type. Finally, we got rid of all the carpet and went with vinyl floors…

    There was an episode of “CSI:” where a guy was eating a lot of chocolate during a card game and dropped dead at the table. Turns out, it was from a country that still allowed leaded gasoline, and the chocolate was loaded with lead…

    1. Oh, you would’ve loved this pooper scooper then!!
      Your description of your cat’s position fits Dessy well. We’re thankful they mostly stick to the vinyl floor for easy clean up. The rug is a cheap one that can easily be washed.
      Wow – I haven’t seen that show – that’s a revealing CSI show. 🤔😏

  8. Ahhh…Shelley, can rely on you to talk all things poo but I haven’t had breakfast.
    When you throw in dark chocolate and poo in the one post I am wondering about how you are going? I didn’t really want you to be known as the Poo Queen which I though was a title that would wane since our adorable little Copper has gone.
    I will have to mark this as the shittiest post I have read all morning 🙀😹😹

    1. Hi Brian!! Yikes, sorry for my delay in replying. I guess WP thought your reply was as poo-worthy as my post – I had to rescue your thoughts from the sh*tty trash folder. I don’t know how the re-routing happens, it’s a mystery to me. I was delighted by your witty reply. I’m glad you still come back even if I have been leaning toward the rightful owner of the Poo Queen title of late. As always, I appreciate your sense of humor!!

  9. Well, I have to admit, I had to scroll quickly through your post so I’m not sure what it had to do with sweet 🙂 But, I did read your questions at the end: I’m not a big chocolate fan but I have to admit that I prefer milk chocolate to the dark kind. I subscribe to a couple of news sources because I believe in good journalism and they need to be able to pay salaries and keep the lights on. Quality news reporting isn’t cheap.

    1. Thanks for scrolling, Janis, it was more of a cat-lovers kind of post. We love our cats despite some of their not so sweet moments.
      I was surprised to see how many articles were written about the heavy metals in dark chocolate!
      That’s a great point about the quality news sources and the need to keep the lights on for the journalists. I like the sources that allow you to read at least one article or more before having to subscribe. I don’t like to assume I’d like their writing style just from the title of the article.
      Thanks again for scrolling and sharing your thoughts, I always appreciate hearing from you.

    1. Why, thank you, Rebecca, oddly it was kind of fun to write about it to release the emotions I was feeling EVERY morning! 🤣 😻
      I don’t think you’re alone in feeling sadness about the chocolate. It wasn’t my favorite thing, so I’ll be okay going without it, until we discover something else that’s bad for us. 😂

  11. We had two cats and near the end I felt that I was running a Geriatric Cat Nursing Home. There were endless issues with what went in, and then came out, of each cat. I wish you well. Bummer about those *healthy* chocolate bars.

    1. I remember those GCNH stages too. I’m hoping we’re not there yet, but I suppose we could be. Thank you for the well wishes.

      I keep learning more and more about the ‘healthy’ foods. Sorry if I rambled too much on your post!

  12. Wow – where to start? Having never had a cat, I’ve not had the day-to-day issues of dealing with poop. But we did have a poop-eating poodle … does that count? My mom saw Peppy do that and told my dad who said “Peppy wouldn’t do that – you’re crazy!” To which she responded “well do you have to clean up dog poop before you mow the lawn?” I was around nine years old and remember that conversation. Peppy ran away, slipped under the fence and got into poison and came foaming at the mouth and was put down. No more dogs after that … birds were safer.

    But, back when friend/neighbor Marge was still healthy, before COPD ravaged her very existence, after her husband died, she took many trips and I took care of Missy, her cat at Marge’s house. Missy was already getting on in years and didn’t like anyone but Marge. I went over every night after dinner to feed her, give her water, deal with the litter box and give her treats and try to interact with her. She didn’t like me and I took her “Pounce” cat treats and tried to play tiddlywinks with her and she swiped me with her paw and scratched the h*ll out of my hand. That was the end of fun and games – I threw them into a pile and huffed out. Poor Missy got dementia and did not recognize Marge and hissed and arched her back at her and took to peeing against the couch – no … not a puddle of pee, no … not peeing in the litter box, but spraying the couch. Marge took her to the vet and they discovered the dementia and Missy was euthanized that same visit. Marge then got a shelter pet (cat) who liked to climb and spring down … Marge came home from work one evening and there was Sassy (aptly named) who had climbed up her living room sheers, torn them down, climbed onto her tall Victorian-inspired Christmas tree, toppled it over, breaking bulbs and ripping the ribbons to shreds – exit Sassy, relegated to shelter pet once again.

    1. Oh, my, thanks for sharing your tales. Those pet tales top my pooper scooper issues!! Pets can be such a fun blessing or they can be our worst nightmares! I’m pretty sure Mr. and I will be done being pet owners when our two kitties cross the rainbow bridge. They still have a lot of happy years ahead, we think/hope. 🥰

      1. After the poop-eating Peppy was gone, my parents sat me down and said “no more dogs … we’ll buy you a pair of dogs when you get your first house as your house-warming gift, but no more while you live under our roof.” No more “indoor pets” for me. Marge also got a shelter pup, a Maltipom (Maltese and Pomeranian mix), who was a little h*llion as well. He spent all his time in his crate, even when Marge was home, so he didn’t last too long either. She switched to fish after that.

        1. Oh, my, that’s a rule we tried with our kids too, but broke ourselves 🤣
          Marge sure gave many animals a chance, glad she switched to fish eventually.

          1. She had a time she had a couple of parakeets and took them outside for a breath of fresh air … her daughter was living there at the time and tripped over something, fell on the cage and the door flew open and they escaped, never to return. Fish were better, but I’ll give you a laugh for the day … she got a small tank and said she came home from work and talked to them and they came to the front of the tank as soon as she walked in the door. My mom and I never would have said they were likely looking for food. 🙂

          2. Oh, my, Marge’s tales could be a book about what not to do with pets.
            You and your mom are right – fish just look for food! 🤣

          3. She had a good heart but she bought a canary and then went on vacation to visit her mom for three weeks. She asked me to come feed Missy (the cat with an attitude) and her new canary … it was too cold in the house so we brought him home. We had said no pets after Joey, our parakeet died in 1983, but we doted on this little bird, spoiled him and he sang so much. When Marge came home, she took him back … he moped in his cage and didn’t sing when she was home. She worked and was gone more than she was home … visiting her two sons’ homes for dinner or out with friends. So she gave him to us for good. We were ecstatic … he perked up once he got attention again. Yes, but we decided not to break it to her about the fish!

Comments are closed.