WWJD: New Apartment Purchases

The trend in extravagant, truly silly purchases—coupled with our already established pet obsession—continues this week, as I make myself at home in my new apartment. My first big buy—not a flat screen TV, or a Wii, or even a pimped out coffeemaker—was a super deluxe, $200 self-cleaning litter box system, which I brought home from PetSmart before the first box was even unpacked.

This is not the first time I’ve fallen for a stupid pet accessory. Some work (Joanie really does hydrate more out of the bubbling fountain); others don’t (Panic Mouse). And while I don’t necessarily mind litter box maintenance —actually seeing the fruits of the cat’s gastrointestinal labor satisfies something very Italian in me—I reasoned that since my bathroom got an upgrade, Joanie’s should, too.

I have no regrets: Simply put, the LitterMaid Elite Mega Advanced Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box (and detachable Kitty Kabana cover, sold separately) rocks. It detects when the cat has entered and exited the box; 10 minutes after any activity, a rake sweeps through, lifts the top of a disposable “waste receptacle,” and then seals it back up again. A sensor activated “ionic air cleaner” does something, I don’t know, ionic to reduce smell, while a paw-cleaning ramp means what happens in the box stays in the box. And when your cat is 16+ pounds, a lot happens in the box.

LitterMaid Elite Mega Advanced Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box, $159.99, PetSmart, 160 Alewife Brook Parkway, Cambridge, 617-349-3481, petsmart.com