first off, i live in a small apartment. bed, bath, kitchen, living. there's no great place to put it in the first place [it's in the bathroom rn]
every time i see it it feels like a chore. it gives me anxiety, it is a constant chore, endless, does not stop. it will never stop. i cannot finish the chore, ever.
^ and to that point – if i were to scoop every day or even less frequently, it is disgusting 100% of the time, no matter what. touching it at all is disgusting, putting my face or body near it is disgusting, i don't want to see or interact with it in any way. every time i interact with it, it's a mental barrier to break down. no amount of cutesy names or molded plastic will make it not fucking disgusting.
none of the self cleaning ones really work properly, do they?
it's bad for the cats if you don't maintain it properly
i mean ok whatever. if this is the worst part of their lives, fine, they don't have to work or pay rent or worry.
Cleaning the litter box sucks but it’s something you have to do as the caretaker. It’s ok to vent but I would caution you, as others have, that “if this is the worst part of their lives, fine” is all well and good until the cat is sick due to box avoidance. I’ve struggled with this too and I’ve had to take my cat to the vet because of a UTI she got from not going simply because there was one tiny pee spot in her giant litter box that takes up half my bathroom. Do the right thing and make sure it gets done either by sucking it up or finding someone who will.
If you want some advice, I have a few suggestions. You could pay a friend or relative to do it if they have regular, convenient access. You can also try to wear something like latex gloves while dealing with it and I always wear a face mask because the dust that kicks up gets in my sinuses every time. Some people have even had success teaching their cat to use the toilet
I know the box is the most annoying part about taking care of a cat but it is what it is. Hope you find something that works and I hope your cat stays healthy