Boys in a box

Judge ye not! Until you've been there you don't know -40  is a life-changing experience....And I don't mean the bitter cold biting at any exposed skin, the fear of the wind, or seemingly menial task becoming a daunting dastardly deed. Everything in life changes and -40 I suppose it's because you're "over the hill" temperature wise. My furry son, referred to as Mr. P, has never had to use a litter box.  With the great temperature "dip" that we just received last week, I decided that it was no longer safe for the cat to go outside and conduct his "business"... Mr. P was in full agreement with me! He had taken it upon himself to start using my bathtub as an indoor kitty potty, which is slightly more convenient than relieving himself  in the corner of my kitchen , in my closet, or in my dresser drawers.... So I set off to "Wally World" in pursuit of finding a kitty litter box and some kitty litter. The kids and I read the labels thoroughly not wanting to introduce any airborne dust to our home with a newborn baby and all... Very curiously, Ash asked me what we were going to use this strange sand for. I'm sure he was looking forward to an indoor sandbox as it's been a number of months since we visited the local one here. Upon explaining to my young boy, that the cats needs to scratch in the dirt before they can pee and pooh, and then they scratch the dirt over top of their "business",  he began to belly laugh hysterically. I could see him playing out the scenario in his head as his laughter got louder and louder. After making our selection, and calming the boy down we returned home with our new supplies.  Although the setup was simple convincing the cat to use the box proved to be much more difficult than I had first thought.... Mr. P, a larger than most, black cat, is not easily purrrrsuaded to do much that isn't his idea first!  After "playing catch that cat" and throwing him into the sandbox repeatedly I almost gave up! I was hopelessly searching for Mr. P once again, when I entered my bathroom to find that the damn cat had snuck into the bathtub and left me a "surprise". Cursing the cat as I cleaned up his mess, Ash wandered into my bathroom. My son had been watching me all evening entertained by my shenanigans... Now he stood over me watching as I scrubbed out the bathtub muttering with frustration... "Why don't you show him how to use it by example?" the boy queried. This hit my funny bone and all of a sudden my evenings events seemed hilarious. I finished cleaning up the mess and went into the living room to enjoy some family time.  Later that evening, however, the boy came running excitedly up to me. "Mom, mom," the boy breathlessly said, "I got Mr. P to use the litter box!" I felt the rush of panic shutter through my body... "dear God" I thought..."what the hell does this boy mean?" Apprehensively I walked toward my washroom not knowing what cat-astrophe lay in wait for me.... I rounded the corner and peered through the doorway towards the litter box....