apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I ordered the clevercat litterbox to help with this issue. I didn't like the open litter box because litter got everywhere and they gave me the hairy eye when I tried the classic covered litter box. http://www.thepamperedpetmart.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=CTELWL&qts=Affiliate&qtk=6W6wrj6g I love the clevercat, it keeps the litter inside the box and on the surrounding floor. Perhaps you could use some kind of curtain or hanging screen to provide more privacy or for aesthetics.

Maybe your cat doesn't like to go into a tiny, somewhat stinky room to do its business. Here are a couple ideas with ventilation/bigger boxes.

http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/2007/08/simple-ideas-for-cat-litter-boxes.html

I like the second the best, it wouldn't be dark and it would be well ventilated.

Train your cat to use the toilet. It's cool and your cat prefers it, since it's cleaner.

i'm currently on the lookout for a cheap trunk with flip-up lid for a friend of mine. jigsaw a doorway in the side and put in a litter box, voila. scoopin' poop's as easy as liftin' the lid.

i'd rather have a "trunk" somewhere out in the apartment than a big obvious poopy litterbox in my bathroom.

my cats are cool with the enclosed litter boxes, but i've got a HUGE one since i've got two cats. it's really the biggest one they'll sell in target, petco, etc.

I took one of the cabinet doors off from under my sink. Then I put the litterbox under there and hung a nice piece of fabric with a slit in it where the door had been. Presto! Catface hat plenty of space and ventilation and I didn't have to look at his poop all the time. When I moved out it was really easy to just screw the cabinet door back on. My landlord never even knew.

OMG economush I call my cat "catface" too! Is that your cat's actual name?

If you decide to go with the clevercat box above, consider what we did -- making your own out of a file folder box. Very cheap! It's great because our cats don't feel enclosed while using it, as they have their heads sticking up through the opening. It keeps the litter inside pretty easily. If your cat refuses, though, you could always make a short shoji screen just for the area around the litter box. A door sweep attached to the bottom would go a long way toward keeping the litter contained. Good luck!

my cat died on tuesday. :-( sorry to be a downer debbie.

does the clevercat box really work? i love the concept, but i can imagine my cat being unhappy that his litterbox has been reduced to such a small confined space.

sorry to hear about your loss, SD913 :(

I have a cheap old Rubbermaid with an entry hole in the side. Works perfectly, and minimal litter spread.

There used to be a dishwasher in our apartment, so now we have a giant space open under the cabinet. We've used this spot for the litter box with a small curtain covering the space. What's great is that we also use this space to store extra cat litter and the scoop.

I second the removal of a cabinet door to create a space like this. It's hidden but a big enough space for the little one feel comfortable.

lemonpie - I have two cats. One loves it because she's very shy and can hide from traffic (box located near back door in kitchen). The other cat uses it begrudgingly because he's slightly bigger (although not too big for the box) and so I think spinning around in it might be a bit tough for him.

I moved away from the open box because the bigger cat is very long and he kept going outside the box (gross). I thought he might have similar issues with the classic covered box -- ingress/egress problems given his slightly larger size.

the clevercat box is idea for both of us because the poop is contained (he simply can't miss), but he can also just pop in and out. I like to think he doesn't hate it as he'll often "scratch" on the top surface after he's done with his business.

See this link on amazon that made the decision for me: http://www.amazon.com/review/RWNEKWW1K503W/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

i saw this while browsing Instructables

http://www.instructables.com/id/Hide-in-plain-sight-Cat-Litterbox/

i especially liked that the cat has a wire walkway, so the litter on its paws is left inside the box.

I must also say, we scoop every morning and sometimes, if I'm motivated, twice a day. That definitely helps with promoting good litterbox attitudes.

i cannot wrap my head around that instructable heheh

like, it looks smart but a bit overly complicated?
the wire thing, i think, confuses me.

SD913, i too am so sorry for your loss! ☹

i did what economush did as well - roger's litter box is a covered booda loo which is placed under the bathroom sink in the cabinet. i suspended cute cafe curtains from a tension rod to cover where the detached cabinet door used to be. works perfectly!

oh, that was meant to be a sad face after my first line above.

I once took a cheapo microwave cart. Removed the middle shelf, put the pan on the bottom shelf. Turned it towards the wall, threw a pretty piece of fabric over the thing and called it an end table. It actually sat right in my living room and no one was the wiser.

I took one of those plastic storage bins that you can get at target or kmart, and cut a large hole in the side with a straight-edged razor. Then I put a regular plastic litter box inside. It's nice because the top has a flip-off lid that I open when I want to scoop, and I take the whole lid off when I change the litter.

SD913 - I'm sooooo sorry to hear this bad news. I've gone thru it a few times and the absence is overwhelming. My heart goes out to you.

I have always kept the litter box in the tub. I've heard "ewww" about this but honestly, I wouldn't put it anywhere else. It's out of the way, close to the toilet to scoop out the poop and keeps the rest of the apt. clear of excess litter. Each morning I just rinse the "escaped" litter down to the drain where a screen cap catches it and then it's tossed in the toilet. I just can't imagine putting a litter box in the suggested living/dining/bedroom or entry hall.

another vote for the clever cat. we have three cats and they've all taken to using that litter box just fine. there are
"transitional" steps you're supposed to follow to get your cat used to it. (although honestly, it's still not that pretty to look at...i'd love to be able to hide the box even further!). okay...so one cat perches on top and uses it that way. maybe i should just train her to use the toilet :)

It seems to me that one could make a clever cat litter box rather easily. Get a storage box at Target, carve a round hole in the center of the top and insert a litter box. If you want a top surface like the one in the picture, get a door mat. I'm going to try it with my two cats. One is 18 1/2 pounds, so maybe he won't be able to do the requisite jumping. (The other one is a svelte 7 1/2 pounds.)

Try this kitty litter cabinet.

I love the idea of the clever cat box, but my cats are so finicky about their box (location, litter, etc) that I wouldn't want to risk changing it again. But I did just buy a "cat screen" and so far I love it because it's not too big and it hides the box pretty well.

We bought a wooden cat litter box container, which has 2 side doors and 2 swing out front doors. It looks sort of like an ottoman, and we painted it to match our woodwork, so it really blends in. the litter tray slides out on drawer slides so it's pretty easy to clean. Kind of expensive ($200) but it's a great conversation piece

I taught a cat to use the toilet once. As soon as she caught on, she decided that she didn't like it and went back to using the floor where the litter box used to be.

It wasn't much of a 'hide" but I tucked the litter box to the side and under the tank of the toilet. It was mostly out of sight and I used flushable litter so I could scoop it every time I went in there.

In my current place it is in the bottom of the bedroom closet behind the curtain that is up in place of a door.

I live in a super micro flat with two cats. The three of us share a 2m x 1m bathroom. I've found the best place for their cat pan is in the shower. I leave the curtain open about 6 inches and they use a standard cat pan behind the curtain. Every morning I scoop the pan, put it on the floor, spray off the shower floor, take my shower and then replace the cat pan. I'm naturally lazy and this forces me to scoop every morning, plus the shower curtain and bath door really helps keep the smell isolated.

Friends of mine have used the space under the kitchen sink where the U-bend prevents storage for a cat pan area. This does two things gets the cat pan out of the way and catches any leaks from the sink.

Hope these thoughts help.

-R

Check out ikeahacker (under pet furniture) . They have some different ideas for hacking ikea furniture to make kitty boxes. This might also inspire you to make your own hack that suites your needs (and your kittys) the best.

http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com

My friend has a litter box planter right next to her couch. You can't smell a think and it looks like a real plant. No one would ever no...
I found some on this site but I am sure there are others....

http://www.petsbestproducts.com/

This is problem I have also - although, I am lucky in that my two cats use a covered litter box. I moved it to the bathroom last week, and it seems to be working out for the three of us.

The bathroom was my last solution - the box was in the entryway, which was as far away from their food as possible.

I hate "litterbox furniture." A couple solutions I considered were:

- a full size room screen, but cut down to half size - I didn't want my loft overwhelmed by a screen

- putting the box against one wall, and creating another "wall" with a short console table (with drawers) or a short dresser from IKEA

good luck.

Umm....get rid of the cat might solve the problem? :)

(Sorry...I couldn't resist!)

I keep the box (I use one with very high sides but no lid) on the floor below my open shelves across from the toilet. I've installed a bamboo roll-up shade which I keep 3/4 unrolled for privacy. It works fine. When I had a sink cabinet, I removed the doors and replaced them with shutters I had cut and painted to match the cabinet. I placed the box underneath and it was perfect, but now I have a pedestal sink so that's out. I'm still thinking about replacing my bamboo shade with shutters.

My solution was to place the litter box under a small drop leaf side table (Muddus, from ikea) that is basically just a little bit larger than the circumference of the round litter pan. That table is close to the front door in the entrance way. The table doubles as a landing strip and the drop leaf (partiall) obscures kitty's bathroom. No one really hangs out in the entrance way anyway, and people are always asking where my kitty litter is hidden.

My friends used to keep their cat's litterbox in the fireplace. They claimed all smells were drawn right up the chimney.

Hi,
I live in a very small apartment also and have two sweet cats. I have two litter boxes for them and I have it in the bathroom. The minute they use the box I am rught there to scoop the litter out. I have them so trained, that they only use the box when I am home. It is very important to have a clean box for them.

That instructables thing with the wire basket was a little hard to understand. They should've had a good picture of the finished product for reference before they began the instructions.

It's basically the same concept as the Clevercat box, only as though you'd put that box inside a cabinet. Here's my summary:
1. Build cabinet.
2. Litter box goes on the bottom shelf.
3. The second shelf is basically replaced with a wire shelf (or basket, as they used) that has a hole cut in it to allow kitty down through the wire shelf into the litter box.
4. The holes--the access hole into the cabinet should be cut into the side, just above the wire shelf. If the hole in the cabinet is on the left end, then the hole in the wire shelf should be at the right end of the cabinet so kitty has to walk across the wire shelf to get in and out.

In the tub just like Anne. Hidden by the shower curtain. Clean-up is no big deal and The Mu likes his privacy :)

We had the same problems as you and tried to find a litter box cover that was stylish. It seemed like they were all really expensive. Then we found the Designer Catbox and we love it! Our cats always kick the litter on the floor and this box has a separte chamber that the cats have to enter in before they get to the litter box and we have not had any litter tracking problems. Also the price was right and now guests don't even know where the litter box is! Check it out www.designercatbox.com

They have "tents" for those littermaid boxes, they might be light and airy enough for a cat who hates the enclosed boxes.

DWR sponsored a cool cat product show in Portland. Go to www.kattbank.com and check out their katt boxes.

expensive, but really cool looking and functional!

http://www.mythreecats.com/products/refined-feline-litterbox-shown-in-cherry

Here's what I would suggest. And keep in mind, like women, all cats are different.

If your cat's 2 years old, I believe it's too late to start toilet training... However, I just looked this up and apparently I'm wrong. Here's a toilet training kit if you're interested! http://www.citikitty.com/

I vaguely remember my cat having issues whenever I moved or changed her box and what I've always done is lifted her up and gently dropped her in a clean, freshly changed litter box myself. It's kinda like me saying "it's ok, this is your new lady's room". She initially runs away but then slowly walks back on her own. I don't know about other cats by mine seems to have a built in radar for a clean litter box.

Another thing that I've done is placed her box inside a closet and added a curtain divider. That worked out well since I didn't have to see it and I like to believe that she appreciated the privacy as well.

I'm currently using a pet cabinet (google images with 'pet cabinet' for more ideas) which I absolutely love. I've placed it in my bathroom just like this picture shows: http://www.muttropolis.com/products2.cfm/id/6694/name/Cat-Washroom-Cabinet-Litterbox-Cover:-Espresso#

I like it because it provides me with extra surface area for a candle or plant while it totally blends in. If your bathroom is too small, you could easily place it in any other room as faux furniture/litter box in disguise.

According to this website, it's going for $140 but I bought mine from a local Linens 'n Things store which was going out of business for $40.

test

I have two matching trunks (from a Mill Store, unfinished furniture place) to be used as window seats in my "library". One stores paperwork, and the other I cut a hole in and installed a pet flap (painted hammered bronze to blend better with the wood) and that's where the ground floor litter boxes reside. Open the top lid to scoop. I thought about storing the tub of clean litter in there, but decided to have 2 litter boxes instead, since we have 2 cats and they use the boxes a lot. Our trunks weren't cheap because we had them finished professionally and they are relatively tall inside, but the concept is working well for us.

We needed something like this because we were opposed to having a litter box in the kitchen, dining room or lavatory, or the living room, where guests might be put off by any odor. That left the "library" and anything in that space needed to be hidden and enclosed enough to limit mess on the carpet. I do have an odor neutralizer in the trunk (unscented) which helps a bit, but immediately after use, you can definitely tell! Ah, pets.

hi!
my cat adapted to the clevercat box very quickly - he started using it right away and seemed to love it. then, after about 3 weeks, he suddenly stopped using it for poo. instead, he poos on top of the box but still pees inside... i can't seem to get him to go inside the box anymore. i've kept the top off for a few days and he's used the box but would love to put it back on, as it sort of defeats the whole purpose of the box. any ideas?