First it was Butt Out, then the Litter-Kwitter

[Virtual_Burlesque]

If only they'd learn to put the lid down...
Tue May 3, 2005

http://wwwi.reuters.com/images/mdf550539.jpg

CANBERRA (Reuters) - The line for the toilet is about to get longer.

Fed up with the mess created by kitty litter and inspired by the cat "Mr Jinks" in the Hollywood film "Meet the Fockers," an Australian woman has invented a toilet training system for cats called the "Litter-Kwitter."

Mother-of-two Jo Lapidge is flushed with success after teaching her family's Burmese cat, Doogal, to use the toilet.

"Doogal has fallen in, but he hasn't fallen in by accident, he has done it playing with the water," Lapidge told Reuters.

The Litter-Kwitter (http://litterkwitter.com.au/) is a three-step process, starting with a red toilet seat-shaped disc filled with cat litter and sitting on the floor next to the toilet, like a normal tray. Next the red disc is placed on the toilet so the cat can get used to jumping up onto the seat.

Then the red disc is replaced with an amber disc with a small hole. When the cat is accustomed to the water below, the amber disc is replaced with a green disc which has a larger hole.

The aim is that fastidious felines should eventually be able to use a normal toilet seat.

"Because the water covers the smell, it makes the burying or covering up instinct redundant ... To fully train Doogal it took about eight weeks," said Lapidge, adding that she hopes to start manufacturing the Litter-Kwitter soon.

But, unlike Mr Jinks, teaching cats to flush could be a little harder.

 

[CharleyH]

If only they'd learn to put the lid down...
Tue May 3, 2005

http://wwwi.reuters.com/images/mdf550539.jpg

CANBERRA (Reuters) - The line for the toilet is about to get longer.

Fed up with the mess created by kitty litter and inspired by the cat "Mr Jinks" in the Hollywood film "Meet the Fockers," an Australian woman has invented a toilet training system for cats called the "Litter-Kwitter."

Mother-of-two Jo Lapidge is flushed with success after teaching her family's Burmese cat, Doogal, to use the toilet.

"Doogal has fallen in, but he hasn't fallen in by accident, he has done it playing with the water," Lapidge told Reuters.

The Litter-Kwitter (http://litterkwitter.com.au/) is a three-step process, starting with a red toilet seat-shaped disc filled with cat litter and sitting on the floor next to the toilet, like a normal tray. Next the red disc is placed on the toilet so the cat can get used to jumping up onto the seat.

Then the red disc is replaced with an amber disc with a small hole. When the cat is accustomed to the water below, the amber disc is replaced with a green disc which has a larger hole.

The aim is that fastidious felines should eventually be able to use a normal toilet seat.

"Because the water covers the smell, it makes the burying or covering up instinct redundant ... To fully train Doogal it took about eight weeks," said Lapidge, adding that she hopes to start manufacturing the Litter-Kwitter soon.

But, unlike Mr Jinks, teaching cats to flush could be a little harder.

Cute. If i was not allergic. Story? I have much to say maybe.

 

[Virtual_Burlesque]

Whenever I hear somebody say. "Let the marketplace decide," I think about stories like this.

Thanks to Market Smarts, we've been afflicted by VHS, SUV's and MicroSoft.

 

[Wildcard Ky]

Whenever I hear somebody say. "Let the marketplace decide," I think about stories like this.

Thanks to Market Smarts, we've been afflicted by VHS, SUV's and MicroSoft.

I'm curious as to what is supposed to be bad about SUV's? I keep hearing they are somehow evil, but have yet to figure out why.

 

[LadyJeanne]

I'm curious as to what is supposed to be bad about SUV's? I keep hearing they are somehow evil, but have yet to figure out why.

SUVs are gas guzzlers (bad for the environment and our dependance on foreign oil), and dangerous to vehicles smaller than they are (bad for drivers in cars in an accident). There was also some talk of them having a tendency to roll over in a wreck, which makes them bad for the drivers as well.

Eidted to add: Drivers in SUVs can also succumb to the belief they are invulnerable and, as a result, may lead to more reckless driving.

 

[Wildcard Ky]

SUVs are gas guzzlers (bad for the environment and our dependance on foreign oil), and dangerous to vehicles smaller than they are (bad for drivers in cars in an accident). There was also some talk of them having a tendency to roll over in a wreck, which makes them bad for the drivers as well.

Eidted to add: Drivers in SUVs can also succumb to the belief they are invulnerable and, as a result, may lead to more reckless driving.

Please don't take this personally, but you've been brainwashed. SUV is a VERY generic term that applies to a huge class of automobiles.

You say gas guzzler, but V-6 Ford Explorers or Chevy S-10's get about 20 mpg. They're SUV's, but don't guzzle gas. How can they be evil? I think V-6 Durangos are close to 20mpg as well.

They are also not big vehicles, therefore no more dangerous to other cars.

Bigger SUV's have the same weight, Frame, and drive train as full size trucks. If the SUV's are dangerous gas guzzlers, why aren't the trucks? Everything is the same except for the outer body. A Ford F-350 has the exact same engine as the Ford excursion. They get about the same gas mileage. Why is the Excursion evil, but the Truck isn't?

I drive a V-8 powered Dodge pickup truck. No one has ever called it a bad thing. Had I bought a Durango with the exact same engine and frame, some would be saying how bad my vehicle is. My truck gets 17 mpg, and no one says a word. If my truck were an SUV getting 17 mpg, it would be a gas guzzler. Can you see the hypocrisy in the whole SUV argument?

My truck weighs the same as an SUV. Why am I less dangerous to smaller vehicles?

The danger to smaller vehicles is an unavoidable by product of some people choosing to drive ultra small cars made out of plastic. I do have a sense of security when I'm in my truck. I know that I'm surrounded by steel instead of plastic. Being as I've never caused an accident in my life, should I be made to feel evil? Should I have pressure applied to me to get rid of the vehicle I choose because someone else chose a sub compact made out of plastic?

I'll stop now. I just get so aggravated because certain segments of society choose to demonize certain inanimate objects.

 

[LadyJeanne]

I paint trucks and SUVs with the same brush, dearest. I don't consider trucks any better or worse than SUVs, with the exception that some people do need the trucks for hauling stuff.

I've driven both four-wheel drive SUVs and pick-ups, by the way, and I liked driving them. I liked being bigger and higher than everyone else, and I liked being able to stick my butt into two lanes when there's an upcoming merge so all the people trying to cut in ahead of me couldn't get past. I also liked being able to fit so much stuff into them.

I didn't like how often and how much I had to pay for gas to feed them, and, being a city girl now, finding parking for my car is much easier.

Personally, I hate minivans. You can't see around them and their drivers can't seem to see anythng but what's in front of them.