In search of kitty litter
Jul. 15th, 2012 11:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stephbgIt's just struck me that the high point of my day was experienced while shopping for kitty litter. Some might find this state of affairs depressing; I was just glad to get out of the house, albeit with heavy dependence on The Stick.
A long time ago I had to settle for second best in kitty litter - my preferred brand (Purina Clumping Kitty Litter For Multiple Cats) first disappeared from my local supermarket, then all supermarkets, then finally the last stock went from pet and garden shops. I made enquiries. I contacted the manufacturer. Eventually I found out that no one in Western Australia stocked the stuff any more. It was a sad day in mad cat lady land when I was forced to declare defeat and lower my expectations vis a vis the disposal of feline urine.
(Research for old blog links has revealed that this sad event occurred almost exactly 4 years ago, and so my kitty litter struggles were accompanied by Olympian observations. Is there an Olympic cycle in kitty litter too?)
So it was with no great surprise that I saw my next favourite brand (CatSan Ultra) also eventually disappear from the supermarket, but for some time now I've been buying it in bulk from the local City Farmer's. With Husband well enough to drive, and me desperate to get out of the house, we went. No kitty litter there. They had the base level product, but I need the Ultra variety. Clumping is very important to me.
We summonded a shop boy to ask if there was any of the stuff Out The Back. He checked the computer and said no. I emphasised that it was the Ultra product I was after, not the basic. He checked again, and this time came back and said there were a few of the 3.5kg bags available. And then he pointed at the basic stuff we were standing in front of.
Thence followed a brief but frank exchange of views in which I insisted that that was not the product in question, and that perhaps there had been a data entry error in the stock database. He insisted nothing at all really. OK, it wasn't much of an exchange. We left, and drove to the next light industrial area and its Better Homes and Pets. I had little hope, but lo, a miracle occurred, and they had The Stuff.
*sound of heavenly chorus*
(In case you were wondering - this was the high point of my day.)
Stuff acquired we looked at the fish. We're such a wild couple. I was tempted by a Silver Perch, and so I asked one of the frightening cheery and helpful staff if it was frog friendly, pretty much having already decided to adopt (the fish, not the staff, but the latter might have been very useful around the house). There followed the usual long discussion about fish that I find myself having from time to time. He apologied profusely about his lack of knowlege, and confided that people expected the staff to know everything about every product. I soothed his fears. I rather enjoy playing the role of the sane and understanding customer^ - it's a cheap thrill, I know, but it works for me.
The end result was that it's possible that Silver Perch are extremely frog-hostile, which I found surprising. Apparently out of Silver Perch and Pygmy Perch one is frog-friendly and one is frog-hostile. He wasn't sure which. I am - if Western Pygmy Perch are indeed frog-hostile I will be in turn most surprised, annoyed, and disapppointed. No new fish for me. As we left he said he was going to hit google and make sure he absolutely knew the difference for the next customer.
And then we went home. Whew! What an adventure!
(^) Alert readers will note that I chose not to play this role at the first City Farmer's. Of course not, the shop-boy was being an obstructionist idiot and he required educating. I have my standards.
A long time ago I had to settle for second best in kitty litter - my preferred brand (Purina Clumping Kitty Litter For Multiple Cats) first disappeared from my local supermarket, then all supermarkets, then finally the last stock went from pet and garden shops. I made enquiries. I contacted the manufacturer. Eventually I found out that no one in Western Australia stocked the stuff any more. It was a sad day in mad cat lady land when I was forced to declare defeat and lower my expectations vis a vis the disposal of feline urine.
(Research for old blog links has revealed that this sad event occurred almost exactly 4 years ago, and so my kitty litter struggles were accompanied by Olympian observations. Is there an Olympic cycle in kitty litter too?)
So it was with no great surprise that I saw my next favourite brand (CatSan Ultra) also eventually disappear from the supermarket, but for some time now I've been buying it in bulk from the local City Farmer's. With Husband well enough to drive, and me desperate to get out of the house, we went. No kitty litter there. They had the base level product, but I need the Ultra variety. Clumping is very important to me.
We summonded a shop boy to ask if there was any of the stuff Out The Back. He checked the computer and said no. I emphasised that it was the Ultra product I was after, not the basic. He checked again, and this time came back and said there were a few of the 3.5kg bags available. And then he pointed at the basic stuff we were standing in front of.
Thence followed a brief but frank exchange of views in which I insisted that that was not the product in question, and that perhaps there had been a data entry error in the stock database. He insisted nothing at all really. OK, it wasn't much of an exchange. We left, and drove to the next light industrial area and its Better Homes and Pets. I had little hope, but lo, a miracle occurred, and they had The Stuff.
*sound of heavenly chorus*
(In case you were wondering - this was the high point of my day.)
Stuff acquired we looked at the fish. We're such a wild couple. I was tempted by a Silver Perch, and so I asked one of the frightening cheery and helpful staff if it was frog friendly, pretty much having already decided to adopt (the fish, not the staff, but the latter might have been very useful around the house). There followed the usual long discussion about fish that I find myself having from time to time. He apologied profusely about his lack of knowlege, and confided that people expected the staff to know everything about every product. I soothed his fears. I rather enjoy playing the role of the sane and understanding customer^ - it's a cheap thrill, I know, but it works for me.
The end result was that it's possible that Silver Perch are extremely frog-hostile, which I found surprising. Apparently out of Silver Perch and Pygmy Perch one is frog-friendly and one is frog-hostile. He wasn't sure which. I am - if Western Pygmy Perch are indeed frog-hostile I will be in turn most surprised, annoyed, and disapppointed. No new fish for me. As we left he said he was going to hit google and make sure he absolutely knew the difference for the next customer.
And then we went home. Whew! What an adventure!
(^) Alert readers will note that I chose not to play this role at the first City Farmer's. Of course not, the shop-boy was being an obstructionist idiot and he required educating. I have my standards.
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no subject
Date: 2012-07-16 11:25 am (UTC)I'm fairly sure that our goldfish would have nudged frogs often enough to annoy them. And perch are fairly predatory, aren't they?
Well done on the kitty litter.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-16 11:29 am (UTC)Silver perch are an ES variety (not actually perch) that can grow to 2kg, and eat "small aquatic invertebrate prey".
As pygmy perch generally look yellow-silver, perhaps they were being mistooked?
Should you feel the need for more pygmies, the fish pond shop in Midland (actually past Roe Hwy and up a side street) generally has a few.