Quote:
Originally Posted by Willowy 
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I actually have 3 very similar to this, only my lid is on a long piano hinge. I had another that was just plain wood one time. There are pros and cons to all of these.
Cons:
- if the box is made of wood and the entire inside isn't lined with a plastic/vinyl liner, the wood itself picks up the odor of the used litter and there isn't any amount of cleaning you can do to get rid of the smell. It will last maybe a year before you are disgusted enough with it to throw it out.
- if its too short in height, there isn't enough head room for them in the box and they won't use it. Also, you are limited to the height of litter pans you can use inside, as a cat may not have enough room to clear the height of the pan without having to contort their bodies to squeeze under the lid of the box.
- If a cat doesn't like closed litter boxes, they won't like these.
- Carpeted ones become scratch posts over time. You don't want to reprimand for scratching it, as they might think you are reprimanding them from the litter box in it.
- If it is solid wood, it can be difficult to move it around, and you do move it around to clean inside and under it from time to time.
Pros:
- It does double as a great bench by a short window. I throw cat beds on top of mine.
- If the lid opens easily, it is very easy to clean it out, particularly if the walls are lined in plastic (like mine are).
- You can throw a waterproof liner under the entire box to catch anything from a "high shooter".
- If carpeted on the outside, you can vacuum off the cat hair and use any carpet shampoo on it as needed.
- Most people don't recognize it for what it is (unless you are a cat person).
The 3 that I have are from a rescue person who moved across country and couldn't take them with her. I understand that there is a man who lives in either Minnesota or Iowa that builds them and sells them at his cost to rescue people. I sure wish I had his name to give to you. I also wish you lived closer to me, as I'd give you one of mine. I stopped using one of them late last year after I lost some of my cats. None were using it in that location anymore, so it's now a plant stand in my sunroom.
And btw - they would be incredibly easy to build. They are nothing but plywood sheets (4 walls and 1 top) with a circle cut out of one side. A long hinge for the top. Some plastic sheets (like craft plastic that you use to make stencils) to line the inside walls. Some carpet glued/stapled to the outside.