There is apparently a silent war going on here. The Roomba usually
chases the cats around, and the cats run away far enough to keep away,
but close enough to keep an eye on it.

Last week, I caught Little Feet sitting on top the Roomba while it was
in its charging cradle. When I told him to get off it, he cussed at
it, and stalked away.

Dulce Mae makes a point of walking *almost* up to it, before making a
change of direction where she can turn her back to it.

Last night, however, I think the cats won a battle.

The little Roomba was making its rounds, cleaning the kitchen, under
the bed and dresser, hitting rooms at random. None of the cats were
running - just watching. Hmmmmm! I didn't think much of it at the
time, but it did strike me as strange.

Later, the Roombas finished its rounds and stopped by the laundry room
door, instead of finding its base unit to recharge. I'm GLAD it didn't
get to its cradle!

Upon approaching it, I noticed a bad smell. I picked up the Roomba to
clean it and empty its dust bin. On turning it over, the smell was
MUCH worse.

The entire bottom of the Roomba was stained. Apparently a fresh "land
mine" had been laid down outside the litter box. The Roomba had rolled
over it and over it again.

I had to take it to the sink and, with a wet cloth, wipe moist cat
sh.t off the wheels, out of the dust bin, off every conceivable part
of the housing (and its myriad small crevices!!!!), a nice thick layer
on the charging contacts (can you say "potential fire hazard"?) and
even had to wipe down the battery pack. When I finished, and turned it
right side up, a small flood of dirty water poured out. All over me.
YUCK!

Well, I let it sit on a towel overnight, in hopes that any moisture
will drain out. I've bought a small brush to finish getting any
remainders out of the crevices. Gee, I hope I don't accidentally put
the brush in with our toothbrushes...

I love my cats. I do. Really, I do (repeat, rinse and repeat).

Hugs and Purrs,
Mark
--
Proof of Sanity Forged Upon Request