Saturday I was cleaning out the litter box and Maylee jumped in and started to use it. I ran from the garage to get the camera, screaming "Maylee’s using the litter box!!!" the whole way. By the time I grabbed the camera inside the house and ran back out, she had just stepped out of the box. So I missed the action shot, but I definitely got a shot of her accomplishment, which I'll spare you. I was so proud of her I almost cried. Seriously.

Below is proof that both of my darlings are now litter-trained and ready to move inside the house. (Okay, Maylee is chasing a spider in the box and not actually using it for its stated purpose, but she had just gone and so is thus excused).

Synchronized litter-boxing!

Simon just peed on the floor.

Still no progress with Maylee. I've researched this whole litter thing, and I've read several places that if a kitten is going right next to the litter box, she WANTS to be using the litter box but has found something wrong with it (not clean enough, doesn't like the litter, etc.). Cinderella couldn’t keep those litter boxes any cleaner than I’m keeping them, so I decided to buy a different litter, as an experiment. I went to the pet store today in search for some super-soft velvet-textured litter for Princess and the Pea-type kittens.

The only “alternative” litter they had was recycled-paper pellet litter for environment-conscious hippie cats. It’s scent-free and claims to be soft, so maybe it will do the trick. I’ve already put the new litter in a third box between the other two, so that there is now a frickin' buffet of litter box choices.

Of the seven kittens, all are using the litter box but one. The one that isn’t using the box would of course be Maylee, one of OURS. Seriously, what is that about? I give and give and give to these creatures, gladly and joyfully, and all I ask in return is that they show a little respect by taking a shit in the proper place.

For 6/7ths of them this is not too much to ask. But Maylee is still refusing to use either litter box in the garage, despite the fact that I am keeping them clean in true OCD style and am plopping her in them on a regular basis. She hops right out every time, not even bothering to sniff around or make a polite pretense of interest. She had actually made it all of last evening and overnight without going on the floor, and I had foolishly thought maybe my worrying over this issue had somehow impacted her. However, I checked on the kittens right before leaving this morning and there was her calling card, smack between the two boxes in all its glory. BETWEEN the two boxes, mere inches away from either box. She’s doing this to spite me, I know it. My mom says, with a touch of pity but mostly amusement, "Aw, she's just SLOW."

Here you can see the mark of Maylee's blatant defiance. In the litter box is Hunter Norman, one of the good ones:

But in some sick way, I absolutely love Maylee for being a complete pain in the ass. This may change when she is a pain in the ass all over my hardwood floors, though. What I need is a kitty nanny who’ll follow her every move so that everytime she starts to crouch, she is magically airlifted into the litter box until eventually her own predilection is to head there.