No one can deny that having a pet, any kind of pet, enriches your life and makes your home a little homier. And there's nothing like coming home to a furry friend at the end of a long day.
But like anything, having a pet also comes with a unique set of responsibilities. Sometimes that even means making a few adjustments to your home. After all, pets need places to eat, drink, cuddle, and play. And if you have a cat, it also means that you need a designated space for the litter box.
This can be especially tricky for people who live in small spaces. Someone in a larger space can create a pretty swanky cat bathroom from an unused closet, but for apartment dwellers, that's not an option. So what can you do to meet your cat's needs while also keeping your space clean and attractive?
Well, you DIY, of course! Instructables user cchen4 and her boyfriend managed to create a litter box that was not only convenient for their cat, but was also hidden from view and had a special built-in "catwalk" (pun intended) that keeps the rest of the house free of errant litter particles.
Read on to see how they did it, and managed to use almost entirely salvaged and repurposed materials!
[H/T: Instructables]
Instructables user cchen4 and her boyfriend live in a small studio apartment in Brooklyn, NY. That means space is at a premium, especially considering they share it with a cat, two parrots, and three fish tanks.
And that meant that when it came to the cat's litterbox, they had to get clever.
This bookshelf from IKEA, then, appeared on the curb at just the right time.
They took it home, but it wasn't going to stay a bookshelf for long.
In addition to the bookshelf, cchen4 also used a plastic recycling bin, also from IKEA, a pair of hinges, and eight feet of 2×2 pine board.
Cchen4 and her boyfriend are both avid crafters and DIY-ers, so they had a lot of tools at the ready, as well as other materials left over from other projects.
The project started with the dismantling of the found bookshelf. The slats, boards, and cross braces were saved and set aside.
The shelving and the purchased wood were then cut down to size. The box was going to measure 14 inches deep and 20 inches wide to fit into an unused corner of the house.
Cutting wood in a studio apartment is tricky, so the couple ran extension cords out the window and cut the wood outside!
The shelving planks became the walls and floor of the litter box, all nailed together onto a wooden frame.
Inside, cchen4 installed this grate catwalk, cut into an L-shape. The design allows the cat to jump out of the pan, and for excess litter to be cleaned off her feet before she exits the box.
The catwalk leads up to this little entranceway.
The whole front is a door so the humans can access the litter box for cleaning. If you look carefully, you'll see that the plywood door is embellished with a picture frame.
The framed door was attached with hinges. The back of an old bookcase was repurposed for the back of the cabinet.
Some feet were added to the bottom so that the cabinet could clear the baseboard and be pushed right up against the wall. Felt pads protect the wooden floors.
This is what the litter box cabinet looks like on the inside. The cat's litter goes in the plastic bin, and she can jump out and clean off her feet on the grate, then exit through the little window in the door.
A piece of finished wood, left over from an old shelf, was added to the top, making it double as extra counter space.
There was even some room inside left over to stash extra litter and the scoop.
With the door closed, you would never know there's a litter box in here! The door stays closed with a hook latch, but can be easily opened for cleaning.
Naledi the cat approves, we think.
For a studio apartment shared by two humans, two parrots, a cat, and three fish tanks, it looks like space is being managed pretty well!
SHARE this clever DIY project with anyone who needs some logistical help fitting a kitty into their space without the cleanup!
