Nowby 4 months ago

We then started a frantic search for Nowby, calling her name all around the neighborhood but there was no response. We also put up "Lost Pet" flyers on light poles. Soon we were contacted by our neighbors who've seen Nowby. She was seen eating stale bread meant for deer in one neighbor's backyard, and seen by others running into nearby storm drains.

A Nowby Sighting

I put her food out but it was never touched. But a week ago I started putting out tuna and low and behold it along with dry food were gobbled up, presumably by Nowby. Then two nights ago I devised a "humane cat trap". I opened the garage door partly- just enough so the cat can come in. Then I splattered some tuna juice right outside the garage, and then placed the can of tuna about 15 ft inside. I waited quietly in my car and stared at the side mirror for any sign of Nowby. After over an hour I went back inside the house but left the garage partly open. About half an hour later I noticed Puffy gathered at the door into the garge, so I went back into to the garage and found that most of the tuna was gone! Dismayed I figured that I would try again tomorrow. But just 5 minutes later our dog Penny started woofing quietly as she sat under the desk next to me. I got up and she lead me to the garage door. Convinced that Nowby must be inside the garage, I quickly opened the door into the garage and hit the garage door button. I saw a cat sprint away but the garage door closed just in time. Nowby was home again!

Nowby hiding in the garage

Apparently Nowby was suffering from Lost Cat Behavior- a condition where she would not respond to her name but yet would find shelter nearby the house.

But now I am faced with a huge problem. Nowby is so frightened that she would hiss when we tried to approach her. We were able to get her back inside the house but she refused to eat anything. She would hide underneath couches or behind the toilet. I also noticed that about 1/4 inch of her right year was gone. She must have been through so much outside and her mind tuned into the sole purpose of survival. It was so disheartening to see how the cat doesn't seem to recognize us anymore.

Today in the afternoon we decided we needed to do something to get Nowby to eat. So we got her to run into a bathroom with bowls of tuna and dry food and closed the door. We left her alone in isolation for about 3 hours before she started meowing incessantly. Upon opening the door I was overjoyed to see that most of the food was gone.

Later on in the night I got a pair of thick gloves and managed to pet Nowby for about half an hour. Surprisingly she didn't attack me- a few times she tried to nip at my gloved hand but it wasn't vicious at all. So we were very encouraged by that.

As for Puffy she doesn't seem to recognize her sister and would hiss at Nowby or simply avoid going near her. It was sad to see because they were so close before- plaything together all the time and grooming each other every day.

Right now Nowby is hiding behind a media stand in my office. She is meowing a sad meow incessantly. I just hope she would get comfortable soon enough and don't stay so frightened. Tomorrow we will be taking her to the vet for an exam.

The shape of the Litter Robot is actually not very box-like. The cat enters the Litter Robot via a large opening in a hollow sphere which rests on top of a toilet-shaped bottom. Part of the bottom portion of the "robot" is an extended platform that a cat would step on to climb into the sphere. The platform has a sensor where it could tell if a cat has stepped on it and would shut-off or delay any cleaning process. The waste reservoir consists of a drawer on the bottom of the unit, and you can use any standard garbage bag to line the drawer. This is a money-saving feature that other self-cleaning litterboxes don't have.

The Litter Robot will automatically clean itself by rotating and depositing waste to the drawer seven minutes after the cat has left the sphere. The design is a departure from the moving rakes you see in most other automatic cat litter boxes, but it's been five months and I haven't had any problem.

The Litter Robot works and works great, period. It is more expensive than most automatic litter cleaners on the market but since it works so well I find it well worth the price. In the past I spend an average of about an hour a week cleaning the cat litter box for Puffy & Nowby. Nowadays that has been cut down to roughly 5 minutes a week. Once a week I pull out the waste drawer of the Litter Robot, remove the bag containing kitty by-products, and replace the bag. Then I simply add more litter into the top spherical portion of the LitterRobot and I'm done! It doesn't really get much simpler than that. Not only do I save time I also save my lungs from having to breath in the dust that drift up whenever I used to manually clean the litter box. An additional benefit I've noticed is a reduction in the cat litter odor- not surprising since the waste is enclosed in the bottom drawer rather than exposed to the open air.

The only complaint I have with the Litter Robot is that it doesn't deactivate a pending cleaning cycle when the waste drawer is removed. There was one time when I took out the drawer and the waste bag, but got distracted for about half an hour. Wouldn't you know it one of the cats went into the sphere, did her business, and the Litter Robot cleaned itself and dumped the waste onto the drawer-less bottom of the unit. I learned my lesson and always returned the drawer back right away after replacing the bag. This could have been avoided, however, if the Litter Robot had been designed to pause cleaning when the drawer is removed.

Overall, however, I highly recommend the Litter Robot II. It's a smart, time-saving purchase for any cat owner. There were concerns that my cats would be afraid of the Litter Robot, but Puffy and Nowby became acclimated with it so quickly that I was pleasantly surprised. The Litter Robot definitely deserves a perfect 5 out 5 stars!

Aethestically the toy is not very appealing. The only that I received was beige with a dark blue pseudo-carpety top. It's certainly not something that will easily blend in with your existing decor.

Durability-wise the toy is doing well. After two months the mouse is still firmly attached to the spoke despite countless attempts at ripping it out of the toy by my cats. The left ear of the mouse has suffered a partial tear, but otherwise the overall integrity of its body is fine.

Interestingly despite being sold as the TLC Cat-N-Mouse Cat Toy, the imprint on the bottom of the toy reads "Ziway Inc. Burlington, Ma. 01803 Made in China". Apparently the toy is also sold elsewhere as the Ziway Cat 'N' Mouse Toy.

Overall I was entertained watching the cats batting the mouse inside the toy, and the kitties enjoyed it too. It's certainly worth the ~$12 purchase.

The shiny Mylar ball certainly got the attention of my cats. They take turns clawing and punching at it.

As far as replayability goes- the Wisker City Play Cavern Scratcher does a solid job in keeping the cats (and their owners) entertained. Despite being less enamored with the toy after about a week, they still consistently use their claws on the scratcher. The angled ramp that the scratcher sits certainly helps the "scratchability". And in order to get the kitties playing with the Mylar ball all I have to do is shake it and they would commence the attack.

Durability-wise I am surprised and happy at how well the PlayCavern is holding up, despite the punishment it takes from my two cats, and despite the fact that is pretty much just cardboard. I am also impressed that the Mylar ball string has stayed attached to the top of the "cave" despite admirable attempts by the cats to rip the ball out.

My only complaint is that my cats tend to "disassemble" the Play Cavern Scratcher after some rough play. They seem to enjoy removing the scratcher from the cavern base. Also since the PlayCavern is somewhat light it gets knocked over easily by the cats.

Overall I am impressed with the toy/scratcher- it does a great job at being a primary/secondary cat scratcher and a fun toy to boot, all for under $20.