I think I'd make my own screen about half that height....will close off the room less and be easier to move to clean the boxes.
Linda C

How about something like this? You could probably get some old used cabinets and make your own, too.

cat washroom

If you google "hide a litter box" and "hidden litter box" and "secret letter box" you will get some great idea! My friend has one which looks like a large potted plant! The back of the flowerpot is a cat door to the box! How about a drop-leaf table? They coukd go under there and not be seen.....

If you decide to move the boxes, you might be surprised how quickly they adapt. I moved ours from the upstairs laundry room (where it was since she was a kitten), to the basement bathroom (no one uses), and she never missed a beat.

My first thought was a screen. I really like the one you posted from Pier 1!

We have the one that looks like a potted plant and love it.

Can you move them? Even cleaned daily, I would not want to spend time in a room with 3 litter boxes ... even new kitty litter has a smell to it, kwim?

If it's not possible to relocate them , the screen is attractive. Would there be a risk they'd knock over a screen?

AJ, it just so happens I got an email from Pate Meadows, and this was one of the patterns...

Here is a link that might be useful:

If you can move them into the corner and put a screen up (not blocking the window), I think that's the way to go. The half height screen Linda suggests would be good if you don't expect people to walk in and look over. If people look over a full height screen, they deserve an eyeful, but a low screen isn't as commanding. :) (Oh! Check out fireplace screens. Maybe not big enough but the vintage ones can be awfully pretty and worthy of display.)

Do test out the screen before loading it into your car and dragging it home. If it's like my old Cost Plus/World Market one, it might be off-kilter. Get a stable one. Mine is heavy enough to take out a cat if it falls.

Good job on having a litterbox-cleaning DH! They are awesome catches.

Instead of hiding it behind something, how about hiding it under something? I was thinking of a trestle table, or an entry table/console would also work.

Here is a link that might be useful:

I like the look and functionality of these...the website is a bit of a pain, but if you can figure it out, it looks like a great solution. Esp with your low windows.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kattbank

I would worry that the screen might fall when brushed by one of the kitties. Also if the screen is placed so that it hides the boxes well, it may prove difficult for your hubby to slip behind to clean. My first thought was along the lines of what Les posted but rather a bench type piece since you have multiple kitties and boxes. Kind of a window seat type thing only not under a window. I think hiding them under a table would also work, as some have mentioned. And the PM cover that patty cakes posted looks cool too.

Did a quick search and found this...
face the open part to the wall with enough
space so the kitties can get in and out.

Also install wheels on the bottom so it can
be rolled out for cleaning.

do a search, I bet you can find a bench you like.

Here is a link that might be useful: bench link

Jen, here's one that's even better, and only 47.00.

Hopefully the back will be stained as well, if not you
can do it yourself. You can get wheels at the big box stores.

{{!gwi}}

Here is a link that might be useful: another bench link

i would worry about the stability of a screen too...i think a bench is a better solution.

if you decided there was another spot to put the litter boxes, i wouldn't worry about moving them and having the cats adapt--most cats have no trouble moving their potty spot.

The bench idea is great and one easily used. Suggestions for wheels and turning it toward the wall would work really well. Wish I'd seen this idea before, definitely go this direction.

I got so tired of having a cat box in the house, was also in my office. There was always a door to the garage they could go through in previous homes.

One day at a reclaim store I saw a garden window which was missing the front glass. Mounted it to a spare room window with doors on both sides, one outside to clean and one inside with a flap for their entry. Still has glass on other sides. Cats love the place. Son added a small outdoor play yard attached to it.

A friend of mine uses an old wooden trunk. She cut an opening in the side for the cats to enter, and she can lift the top of the trunk for cleaning. Another idea I saw in another friend's house is she made her bathroom vanity cabinet accessible for the cats. She cut an opening next to the toilet for the cats to enter and the litter box is in the sink cabinet. She opens the cabinet door to clean the box.

Oh how I feel your pain. Do you need to have all 3 boxes? Asking only because DB customized a builtin (same as shown in your pic next to the desk) in his home office to accomodate their kitty boxes (2). I just saw it over the holidays, and am now thinking where can I do the same in my own home.

My first thought was a screen, but there have been good points about the chance of it toppling over. I love the screen but I guess you would need to see it IRL before making a decision about its stability. Also, you could make a screen pretty easily. A half screen would be ideal for functionality, not sure about the appearance.

Do both doors to the office stay open 24/7 (I am assuming at least 1 to allow the kitties access)? Where was the loveseat situated - in front of the boxes?

What to do with the litter box is always an issue. You don't want to disturb your kitties' good habits by moving the boxes. I guess my vote is for the screen in the event you can't customize the bottom of the built-in.

That Kattbank and the bench ideas are great!

When our box was in the old office I used a short wicker screen from Home Decorator's. It was easy to move a panel to scoop the box.

Btw, why did you stop taking pics with your camera?

Love the bench with cubbies idea.

I love the idea too, Joanie...and also placed in front of
the windows -- the cats have something to sit on while looking out the window!
I bet the kitties would approve too...LOL...

I like the screen idea. The cat banks are nice, but I can see the normal cat missing it's mark and getting urine all over the inside walls which would be a pain to keep clean.

I would scoot the boxes towards the window, and angle the screen in a way that if it tipped over, the walls would catch it. Cats learn fast.

Also, if any of your cat's are like my Lizzie, there will be a ton of litter outside the box and you'd have to keep going in the bank to put it back in.

And keep a broom in the corner. :)

I have seen photos of a small buffet used to hide the kitty litter. The console had doors on the front, and one door was left open at all times, and the interior was painted with scrubbable outdoor paint. If guests arrived, you could shut the door, and close the cats off in a spare room bedroom where the owner kept an extra "clean" kitty litterbox for such occasions.

Just a thought -- what if you got a couple of inexpensive short Billy bookcases from Ikea -- and perhaps added some good rolling casters to the bottom?

Then the viewer would simple see the bookcases -- and the bookcases would roll away for cleaning ....

I think I would keep it simple (since I'm the one that cleans my cat's litter box) by using a backless bench. If what you use is open underneath just set some decorate baskets under it. Then you could put a cushion on top for the cats to lie on while they visit DH, plus give him something to sit on while he cleans the boxes!

Ikea has a few choices.......

Here is a link that might be useful: bench

I have moved my cats' litter boxes several times (also looking for a good place) and they've adjusted easily every time. It's currently in the study, under a table, out of sight. DH won't leave the basement door open for them to go there (Because, Dee we're just heating/cooling the basement) so I used to have it in the laundry but got very tired of loose litter. This is the best place for us.

I scoop at least 3-4 times a day so I need it somewhere easily accessible. (I currently only have 1 cat so 1 box) If I had to move a piece of furniture to scoop, even on rollers, I would quickly become irritated. Does your DH have any suggestions?
Dee

Dee, you're a good cat mama! I only scoop once a day, but I think I'll be a little more diligent when we bring home the new kitty later this week.

I'm in favor of a screen or something like it. Some cats dislike covered boxes, dislike them very much in fact, and we all know what happens if a cat dislikes its box.

I wouldn't worry about relocating the litter boxes as cats are fairly adaptable. We've had to move ours a few times for various reasons and I always carry the cats to the new location to show them and there's never been a problem. I have 3 litter boxes for 3 cats and couldn't bear to have the boxes in a public part of the house. They are currently in the basement altho have had them (separately) in the laundry room, a bathroom, and once in my ensuite when I needed to separate one cat while we had guests (she's nervous about people she doesn't know well).

My first suggestion to reduce the litter dust is to get covered litter boxes. There will still be some litter that is carried on their feet a distance altho there are special mats you can get to eliminate tracking.

If you could incorporate the litter pans in a piece of furniture or vanity cabinet it would be ideal.

I really like the idea of a skirted table such as Patty posted - 3 covered litter boxes would fit nicely under a console type table. I'm keeping that in mind for my own home.

I have a couple of these "rattan" (actually plastic) jumbo sized box covers that have worked out well. They contain any flying litter (my boys are enthusiastic diggers), and the whole thing can be hosed off. It's still a covered cat box, but a least it doesn't look like something from a UFO, like most of them do.

I really like the bench idea, though I think retrofitting one might be difficult as far as finding one with spaces deep enough to hold a box and high enough that the cats wouldn't have to duck. If you don't want to DIY, I bet you could get a handyperson to build one for you to fit exactly.

For whatever reason, GW isn't letting me post the link, so here it is:

www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3261+1926+10276&pcatid=10276

The IKEA hackers website has some good ideas on this...

Here is a link that might be useful: IKEA Hackers litter box hacks

"My first suggestion to reduce the litter dust is to get covered litter boxes."

This is repetitive, I know, but some cats (many) actively dislike covered boxes. Box covers, like scented litters, are designed for people, not cats. (That sounds odd! But you know what I mean.) There is always the possibility that a cat that dislikes its box will find some place not in the box, and after that's happened once, changing its behavior back again might be difficult.

Of course you can easily test a covered box out empirically. Buy one, fill with the same litter as the other boxes, and place next to the others. See whether the cat adapts to it.

I currently have four boxes in a small bathroom, and my solution to litter dust is 1. buying litters advertised as low dust or dust free and 2. sweeping the floors a lot. Current litter is cedar based, and it's not too bad. It also has the advantage of being soft, so that even if it gets tracked onto wood floors, there's nothing in it to scratch.

In the end, litter boxes, litter box locations, and cat litters should be chosen with the cat's needs in mind. OK, I'm getting off my soapbox -- which is actually a covered litterbox. :)

Wow, such good ideas! Thank you all so very much. I absolutely love the Kattbank, but fear it's probably out of my price range. I am going to explore the possibility of creating something myself either out of a bench, or perhaps with a covered table of some kind. I'm still not 100% sold on the screen idea (and it didn't help matters that the one I liked is out of stock at all of the stores in my area). I do worry that the little beasts might be able to knock it over. I definitely need all 3 litter boxes, as we have 6 cats indoors.

I have tried the covered litter boxes before, with disastrous results when my (now deceased) kitty Camille refused to go in anything that was covered. There is the possibility of moving the boxes to the upstairs bathroom, but it's a tiny room and opens onto our bedroom, and I'm not quite sure I want to sleep that close to where the cat potties are. There's just really no good place for a litter box in our house, particularly since we don't have a dedicated laundry room (where I've put the boxes in previous houses). Still ... I will give some more thought to moving them upstairs. Ya'll really don't think the cats would be too terribly disrupted at having their toilets relocated?

I currently have 3 that are 16-20lbs and a 6lb-er.
They poop enthusiastically and bury it deep and carefully.
Sometimes their big butts miss the boxes.

I built a closet where I planned 2 litter boxes to be. I have a French door on it and will knock out a bottom pane. You'd be surprised thru what they can squeeze!

I have 3 in the laundry, 1 in the someday-front-bathroom, and one 2 in a room where I confine my peeing kitty at night.

Some won't go into covered ones. Someone scratches up the wall (covered in sheet plastic) when digging. Another won't use commercial scoopable (gone to pine).

I had 7 cats, hence so many boxes. I'm afraid to reduce the, though, in fear they'll just pee where the boxes used to be. Moving them is one thing, eliminating (no pun intended) is another.

Once upon a time I went through 3 automatic litter boxes. They were fabulous. Everyone would run in to see what it was doing. They wore them out. I'd love to have them again, but $$ prohibit, and IMHO, they require a closet.

I'm looking at all those links, too.
Thanks for the ideas!
Christine

Jen, I moved the box around during the remodel and it goes with us on road trips. Never been an issue.

Heck, they might prefer it in the bathroom upstairs. Would make a much shorter walk for them, since during the winter they pretty much just hang out on the bed anyway! ;-)

Thanks, Natal. New kitten! How exciting! Love that kitten stage.

Jen, we're currently transitioning a stray cat into the household, so we're going to have to add at least one box soon. She stays in the garage right now out of the cold and is meticulously using the litter box. Last night, I let her in as I sometimes do and she came right into the study and used the litter right in front of me, and she'd never been in that room! My experience is they'll find it.

Dee

Jen, I would have no qualms having a litter box in an upstairs bathroom. Company probably wouldn't be going in there anyway, unless it's family and they wouldn't care anyway.

I'm seriously considering getting a covered box to see if Lizzie would go in it. Her box is in the utility room which is large, but the dog bowls are in there too. Which means when the dogs have water dripping from their mouths as they walk away, it touches a piece of litter on the floor and, well...it's not pretty and a pain to keep clean.

At least I have a pocket door to shut when company comes over!

We've moved our cat's litter box more times than I can remember and never had a problem...just showed them, and that was it. My favorite place for the litter box is in the garage. We put in a cat door in the door into the house and even in the winter, we've never had a problem with the cat going out there and using it. Maybe we're just lucky, but the thought of an indoor litter box is not something I find at all appealing now. It's way less mess to clean up, and it's close to the garbage container out there.

Oh, darn cats. They're lucky they're so cute and sweet, else we might not put up with their potties in the house!

DH isn't keen on the idea to move the boxes. I may still try to work that angle, but for several reasons he prefers them to stay in the room where they currently are. I've printed out numerous photos to give him ideas of how we can hide the things. Surely we'll come up with something soon.

I was browsing through the ikeahacker site looking at all the ideas (timely thread, as we are adopting a kitty this weekend) and I saw this one, which I thought would work well for you.

http://www.ikeahackers.net/2010/05/pretty-kitty-potty.html

Here is a link that might be useful: IKEA hacker idea

I think DH is even more eager than I to arrive at a solution, so he encouraged me to go ahead and order something.

We're going to try one of these in front of the windows:
{{!gwi}}
And a couple of these in the corners:

I'll be waiting on your reviews! These look cool.

We have one litterbox in the hall closet that we keep ajar. There are just tools and gardening supplies in there.

I'm loving all the litter box choices.
I'm going to do something myself! I'd really like to downsize from 8 boxes to four.
They say 1 per cat, but it's not like they don't use each others!

Thanks for all the links.
C

Yeah, the "one box per cat rule" is just not gonna happen in my house! My "set of 6" furkids do just fine with 3 boxes. Never an accident, never anyone ambushing anyone else while pottying. I think as long as the boxes are cleaned daily, you can definitely get by with fewer boxes than kitties. At least that's been our experience.

Meow! :-)

We have 5 cats and 6 boxes. And because a couple of our kitties don't get along, we can't put all the boxes in the utility room. We have 2 in the basement, and four in a room that I use as my office/tv room. Three of the four are tucked into corners, and the fourth is this Hol storage cube from IKEA. I cut a hole into the end for easy access and put a blanket on top - and am looking for fabric so I can put a cute cushion on it instead. I put the whole thing in front of a window and the cats do use it to nap on, however, I have to say, it is the least used box in the house. As mentioned by a couple of other people, a lot of cats just don't like to use a covered box.

I also like the looks of the IKEA Hackers Pretty Potty - will have to figure out how I can fit that one in one of these days!

Here is a link that might be useful: Hol Storage Cube