The Case of the Cat Litter Arbitrageurs

Strange Happenings at the One-Click Emporium

In December 2018, I ordered some cat litter from Amazon, and for seven months, the world’s largest and most-respected internet retailer, and its partners, consistently and fraudulently failed to deliver. Every single time they failed, and I pushed for an explanation, it got weirder.

It’s difficult to figure where best to start the story, but a bit of background may be helpful. First, the orders weren’t for ordinary store bought litter, I was looking for a fancy-ass cat litter that produces less dust. The brand is hard to find, but not super hard to find, in the usual pet store chains, and is helpful for cats, or humans who live with cats, who have respiratory issues.

My own cat has feline asthma, which is just such an illness. It’s surprisingly common, about 1–3% of house cats have it, and outcomes, even with the best treatment, can vary from “well controlled” like my current cat, to “fatal”, as was the case for one of my past cats. It’s no small thing. Treatment generally involves avoiding unnecessary triggers, such as dust from cat litter, and the use of steroid inhalers — the same inhalers used for human asthma.

Getting a cat to use an inhaler is one part world-class cat whispering, one part treats, and one part AeroKat — a plastic air/medication mixing chamber with a mask that fits over a cat’s muzzle. As it happens, I’ve gotten my feline buddy to come of his own accord for his twice daily inhaler, and I’m grateful…