Purrrrrfect

Genius idea, but I think someone should have researched cats a little more before cutting a "cat-shaped hole"...that cutout looks more like a gargoyle. Also, I wonder if this causes any surprises for the cat if it's in the litterbox when someone decides to open the door. If you're going into the basement I can see just waiting for the cat to finish and leave, but if you're coming back up I could see the cat being in for a rude surprise when his litterbox turns into a port-a-potty!

I myself had been searching for an ideal place for my litterbox. The basement would have been great if I hadn't needed to go through the garage to get to the basement. I park my car in the garage and with the automatic door opener I was afraid the cats would get out. I did a search online and found an Ikea hack that was the perfect solution. I modified it a little bit by actually purchasing a cat door and adding onto my PS Unit. Instead of carving out a hole in the bottom of the locker I carved out a spot for the door on the right side of the unit and it has worked perfectly for my cats. The litterbox sits in the family room and nobody ever knows it's even there. Here is where I got the idea.

http://www.ikeahackers.net/2009/07/ikea-ps-locker-into-litter-box.html

Great idea! So much better than in the bathroom or around the kitchen. My mother has a similar catbox containment system. She had a handyman box-out the bottom of her pantry--to make a 2ft high cubby...completely sealed off from food storage. Her only space sacrifice was the floor of the pantry. She had a cat-door installed in the sidewall...and a sliding panel cut in the back of the cubby (which opens into garage) for access to clean the litter. It is pretty brilliant.

brilliant!

Very clever idea! My Godmother had her handyman create a box on a bookshelf. It has "fake book spines" on the front to make the box look like additional books. This box slides out for "maintenance." The entry is on the side of the bookshelf. A total win-win.

A nice accompaniment to this might be a motion sensor light that turns on when kitty goes in, to alert the humans of the house when kitty is in the box and avoid the surprises Pi brings up.

Not bad although I try to avoid enclosed spaces. Cat's lungs are very sensitive and breathing in those litter fumes is terrible for them. Also it probably smells more. If they still use it it's because they don't really have any other choice.

i was watching a crazy cat show on animal planet this past weekend and i remember some expert saying that you should keep a litterbox open so that the cat doesn't get possessive over it and doesn't use it as a hiding spot. up until hearing that i always planned on making something like this - so to compromise i've put the litterbox in the bathroom and added a kitty door to the bathroom door so my girl can always get in there

This is brilliant.

My cats enjoy kicking litter out all over the floor, so keeping the litter in any frequently-used room can be problematic. This may be a really cool solution, in the long run...

Will not work for my current cat who hates enclosed litter box so much that she "held it" for 3 days until I put the box out in the open. I've since put the litter box in a wine crate so at least it asthetically looks somewhat decent.

This is one of the best posts in months!

Love this!

I prefer a more open box as I remember to keep it clean all of the time, and it's no big deal because I do it so frequently. It's in the bathroom but has a "privacy screen" on two sides - helps keep the litter contained and hides it from immediate view, and I painted the screen to be interesting and coordinate with the room.

But I love the box mounted on the door in a less-frequently used space in the house. Clever and bound to be use for for something in my house!

wowsa. that is freaking awesome and I don't even have a cat!

It might be better if you can slide the litter box out the back of the box instead of lifting it out through the lid. A litter box is nasty however you look at it. Much better to have a cat that goes outside, no litter necessary... Of course, that means you have to live in the country.. lol

Very cool, although I know my cat would hate this. She needs open space. Of course, if I had the luxury of having a basement, I'd just put it down there!

Why would you not just cut a hole in the door and put the litter box in the basement? I'm not sure what the purpose of attaching it to the door is??

I have 3 cats and a regular square hole in my basement door for them, and all the boxes are in the basement. Best part about that is that there are no smells ever creeping into the first floor since the boxes are so far away from the hole.

I can't quite figure out the logistics of how this remains a functioning door, but I'll trust you.

Agree with the comment above that the cutout looks more like a gargoyle than a cat. :)

We can't let our cats down into the basement; they just pee on the floor down there, even when there's a litter box.

@ lisanham - the further the box is from view, the less chance of keeping it clean. In my experience, anyway.

Maybe to avoid requiring the cat to go all the way down the stairs to reach stable ground and to avoid making the human go downstairs to change the litter.

If you look at the third photo, it's clear the box is mounted to the door itself so when it swings, the box goes with it.

My cat doesn't seem to mind the closed litter box. In fact, I notice that whenever he stresses out, he will go to his litter box, does his business there, and when he's done he'll go out happier.

My cat doesn't seem to mind the closed litter box. In fact, I notice that whenever he stresses out, he will go to his litter box, does his business there, and when he's done he'll go out happier.

I've always felt if I were too creative with toileting (e.g., lids, self-cleaning, hidden locations, etc), the cat wouldn't use the litter box so I keep it low-tech with an open box in the bathroom. When I had two bathrooms, kitty had his own but we share one now. I don't like litter all over the floor and tracked throughout the house but it is one of the costs of having a cat and it does not outweigh the benefits.

The litter I use has stepped up its odor control qualities so where we once had to brace ourselves when we heard kitty digging to do #2, there is no longer any odor that goes beyond the box.

We have the first one in this post:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/entryway-bench-or-kitty-litter-85579

And our cats are cool with it. I think we went one size up on the cabinet, because they definitely don't have to crouch down to get in there like the cat in the picture. They go in and out easily, and sometimes I'll see them pop in there just to see what's up (weird) They've had an enclosed litterbox since we first got them though, so there was no difficult transition to this one.

I saw a brooding batman, but I suppose that's not so different from a gargoyle.

We have a finished basement and have one "hidden" litter box per floor of our house.

The basement one has a cat flap from the hallway into the furnace room. We put a cardboard box with the front and top removed to form a little enclosed space to keep litter from going everywhere, and the litter box is in that. (Curious cats sometimes hop over and explore the furnace room, but there is nothing there to worry about.)

On the main living floor, there was no corner appropriate for a cat box (living room, dining room, tiny lavatory, "library"... ) but when we moved in we had a cat with chronic diarrhea, so having something close was essential. We took a wooden trunk, added a cat flap and cushioned top, and enclosed two litter boxes there. It's a window seat as well as a hidden toilet! I lift the lid to scoop, and use very good clumping litter so there is almost no odor except within moments of being used.

On the bedroom level, we would up with a spot where we could make a miniature closet off a hallway. The space is essentially underneath a cupboard off the guest bathroom, although you'd need to analyze the blueprint to really understand that. We had a door about 18" high installed for access to clean, and a cat flap in that. Inside are two small litter boxes.

I guess if we ever downsize, the new owners should be cat lovers!!!

Awesome!

Moving the cat's litterbox around from room to room....glad it worked out, but in general that's a recipe for disaster: confusing the cat and/or making the cat think it's NOT supposed to use the box, regardless of location. Many cats faced with this kind of scenario start using the floor, then get brought to shelters, where no-one will adopt them because they aren't housebroken, etc., etc.

Again, sounds like it worked out fine for this kitty and household, but please be aware that moving the box a lot is NOT a good idea.

Great idea! It's always difficult to find a spot for the litter box in small spaces.
Once my uncle took one of those giant old TVs - you know the ones that were a TV and a piece of furniture - removed the TV, put shutter doors on the front (for easy access to clean), the litter box itself inside and placed it sitting in the living room away from the wall just enough for the cats to scoot in behind and do their business. He never had to worry about an unsightly litter box in his small space plus had a function piece of furniture to pile books, plants and anything else on.

I love the idea, but I have a concern about actually using the door! I looks like the box takes up more than half the doorway walk area. It might be a bit inconvenient and possibly unsafe carrying large items downstairs.

I can't get beyond cutting a hole in that pretty old door.

Um, won't your kids just put their hands throught the cat shaped hole directly into litter?

Might work for them, but I agree with so many of the commenters here that cats don't like to be closed in, it has to be kept scrupulously clean...I'm so glad I have a screened porch where I installed a regular cat door panel in the sliding door on the side that we don't use. It's all locked in place and we can still keep the door locked, yet we can open the other side of the sliding door. Then of course the litter box is kept on the porch and is protected from the elements.

where to put the litterbox...the worst part of having a cat (or in our case, 3)! When we built our house, we were lucky enough to have dead space behind the wall in the powder room. Our builder sealed it off toward the back (so the cats couldn't wander through the infrastructure of the house) and constructed a panel with a cubby hole that lifts up for cleaning access from the powder room. The cats love it but I will admit it is always a surprise if you think you are in the powder room alone and out pops a cat!

I've always loved that Ikea hack, but I have also always been concerned about how to deal with any missed tray incidents ... my fear is ending up with wee or worse permeating all the joins.

Can anyone allay my fears?

LynninDC, what is your odor-control solution? I'm trying to find the best solution as well.

Our litter box is in our main hallway/master (small) bathroom, unfortunately. In Texas, basements don't really exist, so we literally have no other option. We're dealing, but my biggest issue is that when she gets out of the box, she tracks litter all the way into the living room, which is at least 15 feet away. We got one of those mats to put down to catch the litter, but it doesn't work. I can vacuum at night and wake up to a trail of litter into the living room. Help!!!

Many cats don't mind an enclosed litter box. I volunteer for a cat rescue and there are a variety of cats that like a variety of box types. One hint we give people if your cat is not using the litterbox is to either cover it or uncover it (depending on where it was before).

I really don't get this post but glad to see people finding creative ways to live with their furry friends.

We did a cutout in the basement door for the cats the mimicked a Moorish style door in the Alahambra - one of my faves - and all our visitors comment on it.

sure....just buy a box with really high sides. They are everywhere.

I live in a condo so no basement and I'm not very handy so I searched only and finally found The Catbox http://www.catlitterfurniture.com

The boxes are available in a variety of finishes, they are solid wood, you have options as to the size of the entrance hole and if you want one or two openings. I chose to have two openings per box because I have 3 cats so a 2nd exit is important I've seen other enclosed litter boxes with only one entrance/exit and that's not good for multi-cat households.

The front doors open and the tray holding the litter box slides out for easy scooping. I have two in my living room and one in my bedroom. They are easy for me to access and keep clean, but hidden so I'm not staring at an open litter box.

They aren't cheap but when space is at a premium they were worth the investment for me. I know I'll never have to replace them just the plastic litter boxes.

And a bonus is that they are made in the USA.