Those Ikea hackers are a clever bunch who frequently use their hacking talents to improving the state of commercial litter boxes. We've long admired the Kattbank, that lovely litter box bench with the large, large price tag. But for the foreseeable future, Ikea hacks are going to be our saving grace. Here are two options for litter box benches that won't break the bank.
The bench with the door open for easy cleaning. 
For the second option, the front cover is held in place by magnets, and the whole thing can be removed to clean.
Cat detailing.
Check ikea hackerfor complete instructions and more photos.
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you would have to make sure and get very odorfree litter..because that is not the first smell i'd want people to experience coming into my home.
How does the cat open the door on the first one, the second one is quit clever.
oh I see the tiny passage way, looks a bit stressful. Just imagine when you wanted to take a dump and you needed to go through a maze to do so.
you would have to make sure and get very odorfree litter..because that is not the first smell i'd want people to experience coming into my home
I have my cat box in a wood cabinet that has no back panels. The whole cabinet is pulled away from the wall just enough that the kitties can walk right in. I just change the litter out completely once a week...even with two kitties in a small apartment, works wonderfully.
I don't have a cat any longer, but it seems to me the opening going into the litter box area isn't big enough. Cats don't need more room....but they get cranky if you make it hard for them to get to where they want to go.
Other than that, it's a great idea.
I don't have a cat myself, but doesn't the first one seem like the kitty would track litter into the open sided, easily viewed half of the bench?
It looks like they use ripped up newspaper instead of litter, so they avoid the litter track.
Does anyone else do this? Does it work? I'm so sick of finding litter in all the nooks and crannies of my hardwood floors.
Other thoughts for how to avoid litter everywhere?
Not a great place for a litterbox, IMHO. As ashes88 points out, not a welcome smell upon first entering a home. And let's face it, there will be times you bring a friend home and haven't had a chance to scoop out kitty's most recent pungent present. I also wouldn't like the litter that would inevitably be kicked out to be the first sight upon entering either. The first impression being that you never sweep. Something like a litter box needs to be further into the home. Preferably near some sort of disposal area.
I do like the look of the first box holder especially. I just question the placement.
opps sorry for the double post!
Maybe it's just the picture, but the first example seems kind of small and cramped. The cat-shaped hole in the second example is darling, though I'd prefer to have a little flap door or something to keep litter from getting kicked out.
Scooping frequently is really the only way to take care of odors. Having the litterbox near the door is convenient since it reminds you to do it when you're about to go out.
My cat hated the giant covered litter box I bought him, I can't imagine expecting him to crawl into the top one to use the box. I looks like it would create more potty problems than it would solve.
Depends on the cat. Most cats love to crawl into secret spaces like that one, though. I could see them liking it if it looks like a piece of furniture they can "hide" in while they do their business, as opposed to just some giant oversized litterbox with a hood.
A lot of cats like to perch on the side of the box while they do their duty, and most covered litterboxes don't allow for that - another reason why cats don't like covered boxes. These solutions allow for the use of a regular box.
In the past, I have had success just taking one of the cabinet doors off my bathroom vanity and putting the litterbox behind the second door so you couldn't see it. It was very similar to this bench concept and worked great. The "path" for the kitties helped to eliminate most of the tracked litter.
But I definitely agree, an entryway isn't the best placement, unless there are no other options, and frequent scooping would be a must.
We just switched from Feline Pine back to clumping and figured out pretty quickly that the strong fragrance just makes you think "litterbox" even if it's clean. The litter box is down the hall from our guestroom and the smell was overpowering! Yuck.
So we switched to a fragrance-free variety, and now there is essentially no odor at all. But I still scoop daily. I'd definitely recommend fragrance-free clumping litter for small spaces.
This is one of those times where I'm glad that I have a basement!
there's been a lot of complaint (both here and in the linked-to post) about the idea of putting a litter box in the entryway. I *wish* I had room somewhere in my apartment besides the *kitchen* for my litter box! People have to make-do with less-than perfect set ups in small apartments! I love these ideas-- I'm trying to figure out if I can do a similar Ikea Hack and maybe come up with something that would hold/hide my litter box on the bottom and give me room for recycling bins above.... hmm....
I had a tiny studio (probably 200 sf) years ago and got two cats and they had no problem going inside a cabinet. They did it through several moves but eventually as they got older (16 ) it seemed better to have it more accessible. IT's fine for younger cats.
We currently have our litterbox behind some file cabinets in our home office.
I know this sounds absurd, but growing up with my sisters cats, I have a good enough idea on a cats antics, and if I remember don't cats also like to have a little space when they do their business. Some even go into a full arched back mode. The first one is purely cruel. Dark, low and newspaper. There are limits with this and that is too much. It's the easiest thing. Put it in the tub and when you use the shower put it under the sink. Alakazam!
I'd like to ask the community here a question:
Would you be repulsed if you saw an open litter box in the kitchen, next to the refrigerator?
I have a large kitchen (by NYC standards) that gets tons of cross ventilation. It's really the best place to keep the box-- except that it's the kitchen.
What do you think?
I have an even more shocking (?) confession: I got so sick of the cats getting litter everywhere and the lack of a good place to tuck away the box that we started putting their litter box -- a covered, domed one -- in the bathtub. We just take it out when we shower and it seems kind of ideal. You can't see it behind the shower curtain, any little bits of litter get washed right down the drain as the shower water heats up, and it's super convenient to scoop the flushable litter we use right into the toilet. Is that gross?? I feel as if I may have lost my ability to tell...
@ asinner: That's exactly what I did with my vanity (although a standard litter box didn't fit in there, thanks to the open/close mechanism for the tub which is in there on one side, so I used a dishpan). Litter tracking has finally been solved by putting a jute placemat in front of the vanity! I just switched TO Feline Pine from clumping litter, because the clumps stuck to the side of the box and made a mess when they broke apart as I tried to remove them ... and they stank.
@meganbw: I know several folks who have done that!
@maddux: Um ... yeah, I think it would be a real turnoff? Can you use a covered litter box? I know someone who did that in the corner of her kitchen ... and less unappetizing than looking at whatever the cats have deposited.
http://www.examiner.com/x-23517-Manhattan-Cats-Examiner
I found 2 kittens last fall when they were only about 6 weeks old. I swore I would NEVER be a cat person, but they stole my heart and I just had to keep them.
Since they were so tiny when we found them, we wanted to make sure they developed good litter box habits so we kept it in plain view- in the living room. I've been moving it about 10 feet every couple of days towards somewhere else, but I don't know where the heck to put it! The shower idea sounds ideal, since they track litter all over the damn place, and because we only use that shower when there are guests here. But my concern is where to put it when said guests are needing the shower. Oh well, I'll figure it out.
I think the bench idea is wonderful, but it's already a big enough pain to scoop and sweep every morning- I can only imagine that this would make it more difficult.
One of our cats will only take care of business in an open air box. Every time I read one of these posts I sigh with envy of those with more trainable or cooperative furry friends. Fortunately, we have a musroom to stash the box out of site. But it's definitely hideous.