Hidden in plain site! Cat litter cabinet

[Casstasstrophie]

So my husband and I just moved into a new apartment. We love it in every way except, we realized in horror after we moved in, that there was no place to hide a kitty litter box.
Our choices were: In the kitchen (ewwww!); In the living room; in the bathroom; or in a closet.

Basically, besides having cat turd smelling clothes and putting it in a closet, there was no where in our new place to put the litter box where it wouldn't be a featured piece of furniture.

Since the bathroom in our new place is pretty large, our solution was to go to the kingdom all things "affordable design" (Ikea) and purchase a washbasin cabinet.



Then we went to the hardware store and got ourselves a nice little kitty door and installed it into the side of our cabinet.



We offset it a little bit by putting the door on the far back side, and putting the kitty litter box on the far front side



THis lovely little design feature forces my kitties to jump out of the box and walk about on a kitty litter tracking mat seen in the picture above. This results in almost no litter tracking out side of the cabinet!!!

My husband and I absolutely love it. It hides the business box so that guest can't immediately tell that it isn't just a nice piece of furniture. It keeps all of the kitty mess contained in a the container (there's room for the scoop in there too!) and there is virtually no smell! Problem solved! The other great thing about this is that if we move into another place where the space in the bathroom isn't so generous, it wouldn't look too bad sitting in a hall or entrance somewhere.

I know that they sell things similar to this online, but the cost is prohibitive and they don't meet all of the requirements I need, i.e. a good looking cabinet, a cabinet that doesn't have to be used in a bathroom, is large enough to store scoop, able to accomodate tracking mat to catch all litter, open from the front (instead of the top) for easier cleaning access.

What do you think? Does it actually draw attention to the fact that it's a kitty litter box and defeat the purpose of hidding it?

Bonus action shot!



Love to hear your comments!
     

[motleycruiser]

I LOVE it!!! I want one now, but I'm sure our little diva probably wouldn't use it if I went to the trouble to make one.

[Trekky]

This is brilliant!  Well done!

[holliet79]

What an awesome idea! I think you just solved all my kitty litter woes! What hardware store did you get the kitty door from?

[lindsycarranza]

WOW I think that is amazing!!!! I can't have cats due to my husband's allergies but I always hate the litter mess at like friend's houses. I think I might have to pass this idea on to a few people I know

Hitting THIS ROCKS!

[Casstasstrophie]

I LOVE it!!! I want one now, but I'm sure our little diva probably wouldn't use it if I went to the trouble to make one.

We did have to "train" our cats to use it. For the first few days, we left the front doors open to the cabinet. Then for a few days, we closed the front doors and moved the cabinet away from the wall. Since the back to this is open, the cats could enter from behind. Then we pushed the cabinet against the wall and taped the door open. Then finally, after about two weeks total, we removed the tape and the cats went in and out without any difficulties.

[pinokeeo]

Fabulous idea!  I love problem solvers.

[Casstasstrophie]

What an awesome idea! I think you just solved all my kitty litter woes! What hardware store did you get the kitty door from?

Home Depot or Lowes. I can't remember which one though. I did some research to find a "safe" one. I guess there are a lot of cat doors that pinch the kitties poor tails in the door behind them. Hasn't happened with this one. The brand of cat door is called "PetSafe" and it's a 2-way Cat Flap. I just got the small size even though the large one was recommended for my cat's sizes. I knew, though, that cats can squeeze themselves in and out of some pretty tight places. My 17 lb cats have no problem using the small size door.

[gamemom42]

This may be the most impressive thing I've seen on Craftster so far.  My 17 year old kitty insist on going in a certain corner of the kitchen whether or not there is a box there.  I will be looking for a suitable cabinet and making one of these!  You should see the horrible face guests make when they see that my litter box is in the kitchen.  Thanks for sharing!

[craftymary]

This is brilliant.  I'm ashamed to say my cat litter box is tucked in a corner, hoping no one really notices it.  I'm sure your cat enjoys the privacy too:)