Density of lead: Now with Updates!

So, I use Fresh Step cat litter.  It is the only litter I've found that comes anywhere close to containing the litterbox smell of many (many, many) cats.  It's more expensive than some other litters, and it's horrifically dusty, but again, the smell.  The litterbox smell must be conquered.

And Fresh Step has this rewards system, where if you buy so many boxes, you can "earn" things like cat toys and magazine subscriptions and, of course, more litter.

Except the rewards program is rather seriously flawed.

In order to earn points, which can be traded for rewards, you have to cut a panel out of the side of each box of litter.  There is a code printed on the inside of the panel, which you have to enter into a program on line.

Calling NASA!  Sh*t's getting complicated!

Okay, so first off, you have to find a pair of scissors, then you have to cut the box apart, and may I say, boxes that contain heavy, heavy cat litter are rather sturdily built.

Having passed the first hurdle, you now have to enter the code, which is on the inside of the panel, into the reward program's website.

Except the codes are written in Captchas.  Insanely hard-to-read Captchas.  Like, the most blurry, incomprehensible Captchas you've ever seen.

Hey!  Understandable, right?  I mean, they're guarding gold and platinum and the secrets of the universe!  They have to use difficult Captchas!

yeah, no.  It's cat toys and magazine subscriptions and cat litter they're giving away, here.  I'm not sure that fraud is a serious problem.

But.  You've cut the box apart and gone on line and signed in to the rewards program and entered your Captcha code nine billion different ways because you can't READ the damn thing and you finally luck out and enter the right code and you do this, oh, ten or fifteen f*cking times until you FINALLY have enough points built up to earn a reward and hey!  What do you choose for this reward?  This reward you've worked so hard for?

Why, more cat litter, of course!  Did I mention that I currently have *&kh%* amount of cats?

So you choose the litter, not being a stupe, expecting that they'll email you a coupon for a free box of litter, which you will take to the store and redeem.

Nope.

They mail you the box of litter.

ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha *gasp* hahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaa

I'm not even kidding, here.

Fresh Step mails you the box of litter.

Do ... do you know what cat litter weigbs?  It has the density of lead.  Of bricks, squared.  Even the smallest box, the box that I earned with reward points, the box they are mailing to me, weighs fourteen pounds.

They are mailing it.

Dear Fresh Step:  There's an easier way.  Trust me on this.  There's an easier way to do this.


*sigh*


Update:  As evidence that the Fresh Step people have not completely lost their minds, they did send me a coupon for the litter, not the actual litter itself.  There is hope for humanity, after all.

And in other news, I have discovered that the quickest way to make the neighbor girl (who has been visiting with the kittens every night) disappear is to suggest that the next time she comes over,  she will not only be visiting with the kittens, but also helping clean up after them.  *poof!*   I haven't seen her since.