How To Make Your Own Litter Box For Your Big Cat

Reminds me of Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Sydney is a big 19 lb cat, and for the last few years, I’ve been searching for a litter box that would fit him.  The biggest ones on the market were never long enough, and so he would go in and think his whole giant cat body was in the box… and then he would pee just outside the box right in front of the litter box.  The intent was there, but the execution was off.  Plus, Sydney likes to pee standing up, so he needs an enclosed box.  There was nothing big enough out there, and I knew that I needed a custom solution.  So ever since reading about making litter boxes, I dreamed of making my own.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t quite sure how to cut the box.  At one point I bought a storage bin to start the project, but eventually ended up using the bin for storage since I never got around to cutting it.  It’s just as well, though, since I later learned that that bin was still too small.  However, when I heard that my father-in-law had a Dremel rotary tool, I finally got things started for real.

First I had to assemble my supplies:

• 30-gallon Sterilite storage bin: I got an opaque bin, since I don’t really want to see what’s going on in there. They were on sale at Target for $7 I think.  The dimensions are listed as 32 3/8″L x 19 7/8″W x 17 1/8″H, and it’s enough for my bigger cat to go all the way in and also turn around comfortably.  I think both my cats could probably fit in at the same time, actually.
• Dremel: Use a low speed so you don’t melt the plastic too badly.  Some guides suggest you could use a utility knife, but the plastic is thick and it would be hard to make the cuts.  If you don’t have a Dremel, I think drilling the corners and using heavy-duty scissors/shears to cut the four sides would probably get you good results (and probably straighter lines).
• Sandpaper: Just so kitty doesn’t snag a ton of hair on the sharp edges.
• Flexible Plastic (optional): I just used the existing flap door from my old litter box, but you could probably cut out some heavy duty plastic for a flap.  Alternatively, you could just reuse the plastic piece you cut out, like this person did.
• 3m Mini Hooks (optional): Since I used the old flap door, it already had holes at the top.  The mini hooks hold the flap very securely.

I’ve never used a dremel before, and my father-in-law likes doing projects, so I let him do the cutting.  I took the old litter box lid as a stencil, and traced out the shape on a piece of paper (so that the old flap would fit in the new door).  Then I used painter’s tape to tape under the guide, and then taped the guide to the storage bin (5″ from the bottom).  I don’t know if the painter’s tape was necessary, but I figured it might prevent any splintering, and reduce a little of the dust.

After the hole was cut out, we sanded the edges down.  I took the old door flap, put the hooks in, and then stuck the hooks on the inside of the storage bin (as seen in the gallery above).  The hooks hold the flap better than just tape.  I didn’t drill any ventilation holes, although perhaps I will at a later date.

Both cats figured the litter box out pretty quickly, especially since it had the old door there.  The bin fits in the nook in my bathroom fairly tightly, which forces the cats to turn into the litter box rather than going straight in (and possibly leaving their butts poking out the door).

So far I’m very pleased with how the project went, and it was much cheaper than buying a new litter box!  Also the storage bin is easier to scoop, since the lid is thinner.  Many factory-made litter boxes have seams on the side which are hard to open if you have the length of the litter box parallel to the wall, and generally pee gets in those seams.  The storage bin avoids both those problems!

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