When you think of owning a cat you might conjure up images of them playfully chasing string or purring away happily on your lap; what you probably don’t think about is being arm deep in a litter box shovelling out the poop with a special little poo scoop. Even if your cats go outside you aren’t necessarily free from this stinking burden, ours like to pop in throughout the day to use their litter trays (cheers boys).

When we brought our sweet little kittens home, we provided them with a little kitten litter box to do their little kitten business in. We had read that by putting the boxes by the cat flap, you can slowly teach them to go to the loo outside. Six years later and my cats will run indoors to use the litter tray and go straight back outside again, so that was a massive fail. So, knowing that we will be using litter boxes for the foreseeable future, we were more than happy to try out the Magic Blue Litter Box Jumbo from Catit.

Chances are that if you have cats, then you have probably already made a few concessions – such as cat hair on all your clothes, chairs, in your meals…and don’t even get me started on the cat litter trays, the last thing you want on top of that is some tasteless bright coloured cat furniture that clashes with everything else in your house. The Vesper series from Catit is an attractive and modern range that looks stylish whilst supplying a comfortable and scratchy haven for your fur babies.

The famous quote, “never work with animals or children”, is usually a warning for people in show-business,  but forget trying to present an episode of Blue Peter, I’ve been informed by a friend that you haven’t experienced stress until you’ve attempted to cook dinner with two pugs and two cats. The Bettacare Gate with Lockable Cat Flap could be the perfect answer to said friend’s troubles, but I do need to make it clear straight away, that Bettacare state on their website that the Gate has not been safety tested for children.

Even though four of my friends also have cats, I have some how wound up with the ‘Crazy Cat person’ title, maybe because I refer to my two as fur-babies; they have a fancy cat fountain and the cattery they stay at costs more than our monthly rent! When the Pawbo+ arrived, I felt I might as well live up to the title and install it.

Anyone who owns a cat knows they are not like the cat-food adverts portray. They are, in fact, furry little gits who enjoy nothing more than destroying your possessions. As a matter of fact, only yesterday did one of my litter-kickers decide to wake me by knocking over an entire pint glass of squash on my bedside table, sending an orange tsunami over my books and phone. Designer Esther van der Wurff also owns hairy little devils, which led her to design the Cat’s Trapeze when her kittens refused to stop using her curtains as a climbing frame.

Ever watched the scene from Meet the Parents where Jinxy the cat uses the toilet? It may surprise you to know that there are cats out there who really do use the toilet, these are not just sophisticated kitties who have abandoned the litter trays from their own accord but they have gone through serious training.