I adopted my two cats from a swindler who lied to me about one of them being spayed and didn’t inform me that they both had an infection that gave them explosive diarrhea (an infection that eventually went away, but still). That said, he gave me a great deal on a Modkat litter box, and I’m glad he did. This sleek feline accessory keeps litter pellets from escaping onto your floor, comes with a detachable scoop brush, and doubles as a tiny platform for your kitty to chill out on top of. And I can say from experience that it’s surprisingly easy to scrub diarrhea off its walls!

What truly sets it apart, however, is how well it works as a piece of small furniture. Unlike the garish, airplane-hangar-esque litter boxes that occupy the popular imagination, a Modkat box is a stylish, round-edged cube that looks more like a nifty, small table than a cat-waste container. It’s sort of like a squat, large Amazon Echo, in a way, right down to the perforated top. However, the top of a Modkat isn’t a speaker; it’s an easy-to-use, removable surface that your cat hops onto to begin its business. Then it slips down through a larger hole on the aforementioned top and gets to work.

Not to get too personal, but the Modkat’s usefulness for hygiene extends beyond your cat and right up to the owner, if you use it right. I’m a bath enthusiast, and I keep my Modkat in the bathroom, right near the tub. That way, when I’m soaking in my beloved suds, I can put my laptop or tablet on the top of this delightful box and guffaw at some old 30 Rock episodes while I rid myself of the day’s filth. My bathroom is now a happier, better-looking place for all the species in my household.