Who here hates the look of cat litter boxes? Who here has cats that hate not having the privacy or large enough space for cat litter box? Who here has a cat that does not like to use the too tiny litter box and instead uses your furniture or carpet (ewww) as their personal toilet? Well I have a solution for you....read on.
After researching the internet for cat litter box furniture, I realized the price of buying one was not worth the money I was willing to dish out. I also realized that I suck at carpentry and by no means would I be able to create any sort of furniture with my own hands.
So my hunt began, I found a lot of Ikea hacks of furniture on Ikeahackers.net and went looking in the AS IS section of my local Ikea for the perfect cabinet for a cat litter box. I measured the size of the litter pan and went about my search. I looked at many different pieces of furniture; Akrum cabinets (too wide), Besta Cabinets (too narrow) and finally my eye spotted the Galant Roll Front cabinet floor model for sale.
The dimensions were perfect, Width 31 1/2 ", Depth: 17 3/4 " and Height: 31 1/2. A standard larger cat litter pan is about 15" wide so based on my measurement of this unit, it was an ideal solution. This also came with a shelf that was adjustable for height. The roll front door makes cleaning a breeze while keeping odors out. Best thing was it was already assembled and super cheap for $110 while the regular price is $399!
First thing first, we needed to cut a hole in the side for the cat door entry. We have a larger cat about 16lbs who requires a larger opening. We made two door entries in case we decided to move the cabinet from one place to another. Each opening size was about Height 11", 9" Width and was cut out using a hand saw. We lined each opening with blue painters tape to ensure no splinters on their entry and exit.
Inside the cabinet, we adjusted the shelf to the highest setting so it is placed higher to the top of the cabinet.
I placed these newspaper bags in the top shelf for easy disposal clean up, a carbon filter attached to the wall of the litter box and my trusty whitespot light for tracking pee spots. (Please ignore the kitty poop - lol). We have an existing matt for tracking litter on exit but I think we need to get a bigger one that lines the length of the bottom shelf.
I was not complete with this project yet as I noticed that the kitties were flicking litter all over my carpet on their exit. Notice the Dyson hand vac on the top of the cabinet? Off I went looking for a door so that the cats can easily enter and exit and have it closed automatically. After taking the measurements of the entryway I created, off I went to Petsmart.
Here is what I found. Petsafe's replacement flap for medium sized dog door entry. The dimensions were perfect. Height is 11 3/4" and Width is 8 1/8"! This would also fit a larger cat! And so with the addition of a few screws, this is the final product.
Now it may not look all that pretty but it is super functional and even a non-carpenter can do this! The cats are using the rubber flap door just fine and there is less tracking of litter! The best thing about the roll front door is that it makes clean up so much more easier for the human and I can add a vase or a table lamp on the top of the cabinet to make it more decorative. Perhaps add a painting or a large photo to distract from the cabinet in my hallway. For now, it will suffice as a tabletop for my Dyson Hand vacuum until I publish an updated posting on decor ideas.
Thank you and I hope you too can find inspiration for creating a suitable solution for your kitty litter box issues like I did! :)
