Make your own Litter Box, (From RSS Feed)

Just got this in my RSS feed, thought I share another idea about litter boxes - I know Walmart has these tubs for about $4.00 - a whole lot cheaper than buying a litter box ...
link:
http://cat-care.suite101.com/article...cat-litter-box ..
excerpt: ...
How to make a Cat Litter Box
Using the ruler and marker pen, mark out a rectangle on one end of the storage box –this will become the door to the litter box. The exact size will depend upon the size of the cat using the litter box, but the door should be placed at least 10cm from the base to avoid kitty litter spilling or being kicked out.
Cut out the door. If using a jigsaw, a drill should first be used to create a hole through which the saw blade will fit.
Check for sharp edges and file these down if necessary.
Fill with clay cat litter, litter crystals or homemade cat litter and place the lid firmly back onto the box. Voila -one cheap and simple homemade cat litter box!

I do that. It makes much better litterboxes than those the pet stores sell, and way cheaper. I don't put the lid on, though....my cats don't like covered boxes, and I hate taking them off all the time to scoop. I use a razor knife (box opener) to cut out the doorway.

A friend of mine uses the same boxes, but she doesn't even cut a door in them. She just leaves the top off and puts litter in. Her cats think it's fine. I think I might try it with one of the boxes and see what my cats think.

Originally Posted by Willowy

I use a razor knife (box opener) to cut out the doorway.

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A little tip. A box knife will work better on the solid colored containers than it will on the clear ones. Often the clear ones are made of a slightly more brittle plastic.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

A little tip. A box knife will work better on the solid colored containers than it will on the clear ones. Often the clear ones are made of a slightly more brittle plastic.

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Yes, I found that out. It shattered pretty bad. I don't use the clear ones anymore, LOL. I use the silver-colored 18-gallon Sterilite tubs.

Do you think a hot knife will work on a clear tub?

I have a couple of those silver colored ones, too.

I've found that a dremel tool with a small cutting wheel works pretty well for more brittle plastics.

Past experience with using a hot knife to cut plastic wasn't pleasant - accident prone that I am, my fingers slipped off the knife handle and right onto the hot blade. Plus, it takes awhile to melt the plastic, you have to keep reheating, and once you get melted plastic on the blade it smells terrible when you go to heat the blade again.

Wow. Just looked at the pics and didn't read the text, but wow, they made the edges so smooth. That jumped out at me.

They probably sanded the edges down. I made one of these as a kittening box for my cat but she didn't care for it. I didn't sand mine but a dremel sanding tool or just regular old sandpaper would work fine to smooth the edges. I didn't sand mine, I just put black duct tape around the edges to make it very smooth. I wouldn't do that for a litter box though because litter would be caught in the tape and make it dirty.

Originally Posted by c1atsite

Wow. Just looked at the pics and didn't read the text, but wow, they made the edges so smooth. That jumped out at me.

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That's what mine look like when I use a razor knife. I did use a hot knife on others so they look a bit more "melted". But the razor knife ones are very smooth. I didn't sand them or anything.

Originally Posted by Willowy

I do that. It makes much better litterboxes than those the pet stores sell, and way cheaper. I don't put the lid on, though....my cats don't like covered boxes, and I hate taking them off all the time to scoop. I use a razor knife (box opener) to cut out the doorway.

A friend of mine uses the same boxes, but she doesn't even cut a door in them. She just leaves the top off and puts litter in. Her cats think it's fine. I think I might try it with one of the boxes and see what my cats think.

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Mine too. They just hop in. I have low sided ones too, so they have a choice.





I don't like covered boxes. I think they hold in odors.

.

Originally Posted by otto

Mine too. They just hop in. I have low sided ones too, so they have a choice.





I don't like covered boxes. I think they hold in odors.

.

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I don't like covered because I think it's unhealthy for the cats to breathe whatever dust there might be.

I was thinking that maybe if you did cover it, you could just put a big hole in the lid, too.

I never thought of not cutting a hole, but that's a great idea - then if you need the container later, as a storage bin - like for your litter supply, you'll have it.

These storage containers (gray-Sterilite tubs) are great for for my outside cats' beds - also cutting a hole in them about the same as is described for the litter pan. The cats like the shelter, and I like them because they're easily washed.

This is an interesting thread GloriaJH! I'm glad you brought it up and posted the link. I love hearing of other people's resourcefulness and creativity, and litter boxes are just as fascinating as..say cat trees or outdoor enclosures, don't you think?

Originally Posted by otto

This is an interesting thread GloriaJH! I'm glad you brought it up and posted the link. I love hearing of other people's resourcefulness and creativity, and litter boxes are just as fascinating as..say cat trees or outdoor enclosures, don't you think?

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I'm always looking for a better, and more economical way, to care for my cats - this idea about a homemade litter box was too good not to share.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

A little tip. A box knife will work better on the solid colored containers than it will on the clear ones. Often the clear ones are made of a slightly more brittle plastic.

Click to expand...

Originally Posted by Willowy

Yes, I found that out. It shattered pretty bad. I don't use the clear ones anymore, LOL. I use the silver-colored 18-gallon Sterilite tubs.

Do you think a hot knife will work on a clear tub?

Click to expand...

That was my experience too, when I cut a step-in for my Ootay . It worked out okay though.

Ootay couldn't jump over one of those tall sided ones, but she needed the walls of that kind of box to lean on. She had trouble holding herself in position when her arthritis got bad, especially after her second stroke. She loved her special, just for her, litter box.

The other cats knew it was hers, the litter box in the bathroom was Ootay's only, and didn't use it. That still amazes me.

However, Mazy cat, being the Litter Box Police, did have some problems with it. Litter boxes did not belong in the hoomin bathroom.

^That's what one of mine does. He can make the jump in, but not the jump out. And to make it worse he flipped it over completely on top of himself.

Thankfully he's a cat with no long term memory because that had him spooked pretty bad for a little bit.

My tall boxes have the lids on and my lidless boxes are the rubermaid red "roughneck" ones.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

^That's what one of mine does. He can make the jump in, but not the jump out. And to make it worse he flipped it over completely on top of himself.

Thankfully he's a cat with no long term memory because that had him spooked pretty bad for a little bit.

My tall boxes have the lids on and my lidless boxes are the rubermaid red "roughneck" ones.

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Oh dear, that is funny! I bet he told you he MEANT to do that! Were you home at the time or did he have to stay under there long?

Mazy did that on purpose though. She hated the litter box in the bathroom. The first one I put in there for Ootay was just a small pan, not the big one. Mazy was terribly upset and I caught her, more than once, lying outside the litter box, scooping the litter out of the box onto the floor with her paw.

After a while she came to grudgingly accept that Ootay was having that box there, but then when I switched to the big one so Ootay had walls to lean against, Mazy got all upset again. She especially didn't like the door I had cut out for Ootay.

So she showed her disapproval by tipping the box a few times, before she got used to it. We didn't have Ootay for many months after that, and after she left us for the Bridge, I got rid of the bathroom litter box, much to The Litter Box Police's relief.

I was home. I had just scooped the litter box, thankfully! It had a door cut in the front so he wouldn't have been trapped.

He did it again with a clean empty box, and he's flipped a few cardboard boxes on himself. Maybe he's just a poor jumper or maybe his slightly crossed eyes are enough to throw off his depth perception.