Readers Share Options Galore for Cat Litter Boxes
Houzzers recommend their cat box solutions and customized hacks
After we wrote recently about design-friendly ideas for hiding the cat litter box, Houzz readers weighed in with advice, opinions and pictures of their cats’ litter box areas. Below, see their customized litter box solutions for laundry rooms, basements, closets and cabinets, and find some ideas for your own space.
In jmm69’s laundry room, there’s a small entrance for the cat on the side of a cabinet. The wire mesh door is for ventilation.
Atlanta Closet & Storage Solutions designed this cat door and cabinet for a litter box at the bottom of a tall cabinet in a client’s laundry room.
The owner can open the door to clean out the box.
Basement
The basement is another popular option. Commenter indybullterrier writes: “We added this little cut out door to access the basement, which is where the litter box lives. The cat has privacy from the nosy puppies, and the main levels are free from any smells and stray litter. Win win!”
The basement is another popular option. Commenter indybullterrier writes: “We added this little cut out door to access the basement, which is where the litter box lives. The cat has privacy from the nosy puppies, and the main levels are free from any smells and stray litter. Win win!”
A “Beware of Cat” sign in French marks the mouse hole-shaped cat portal in the basement of Mary Modroo, who writes in a comment: “This is an original pantry door in our 1873 house … the cat hole leads to the basement litter boxes. Our cat of 14 years loves her special doorway! And it’s fur lined … I painted it shortly after the carpenters made the mouse hole for me and I didn’t think about the cat using it immediately!”
A cat head-shaped opening in a wedge-shaped door marks the entrance to a hidden litter box in this project from Landis Architects/Builders. “For this litter box under the stairs in the basement, our carpenter cut out a cat shape. He still has to paint the door.”
Closet
Closets are a logical place for the litter box. Commenter dragonfly95354 utilizes a closet in the laundry room for the litter box. The narrow and deep closet that houses a hot-water heater already had a metal screen cutout in the door for ventilation and an exterior screen that ventilated to the outside: “Perfect place for the litter box!” The litter box fit in front of the water heater after the metal screen was removed.
Closets are a logical place for the litter box. Commenter dragonfly95354 utilizes a closet in the laundry room for the litter box. The narrow and deep closet that houses a hot-water heater already had a metal screen cutout in the door for ventilation and an exterior screen that ventilated to the outside: “Perfect place for the litter box!” The litter box fit in front of the water heater after the metal screen was removed.
“Now the boys have a private place for their toilet and I have easy access for cleaning. There is also a motion sensor light that illuminates the interior of the closet when cleaning,” dragonfly95354 writes.
There’s no question who uses this hole. Carol Olson writes in a comment: “We put the cat box in my office in the lower part of a closet with shelves. We had a little fun designing it; I pulled a hunched cat off the ’net and created a grand entrance.”
Who needs to cut a hole in the door when you can just remove the whole door? That’s what swismiself’s husband did with this double-decker cat box setup, with a hole for the cat to enter the top box cut in the side. “We were going to just cut a hole in the door, but elected to just remove the door entirely. Works well!”
A home under construction is the perfect time to create an access hole through a wall into a closet, which is what new1344 did: “When we built our house, we wanted the box to be easily accessible for the cats and the cleaners. Having the entry in the wall allows for the closet door to be closed all the time, but it’s easy to get to the box and clean it. BTW, I have 2 cats and 3 litter boxes total … one won’t do the trick.”
Cabinets
Despite some readers’ hesitancy about putting cat boxes in cabinets, it works for corylkern, who said the conversion cost about $500, a bit more expensive than what was intended.
“I took an inexpensive desk unit, put in a shelf and cut a hole in one end for entrance and exit. I then bought cabinet doors to cover everything and installed a SmartScoop automatic litter box. At the moment, it’s in a closet, but it can also be out in a room without being too offensive. A power strip inside can also accommodate a small air cleaner for odors.”
Despite some readers’ hesitancy about putting cat boxes in cabinets, it works for corylkern, who said the conversion cost about $500, a bit more expensive than what was intended.
“I took an inexpensive desk unit, put in a shelf and cut a hole in one end for entrance and exit. I then bought cabinet doors to cover everything and installed a SmartScoop automatic litter box. At the moment, it’s in a closet, but it can also be out in a room without being too offensive. A power strip inside can also accommodate a small air cleaner for odors.”
Cabinetmaker The Wood Doctor created these handsome cat box portals for a client: “We actually did one of these in Atlanta, Ga! After the cabinet installation, ducting was added to send the odor outside! I thought it was odd at first but it makes great sense for a cat lover.”
Free-standing
Some cat boxes are attractive enough to stand on their own. This one makes a nice perch for watching the outside world.
Here’s what sarahfelldown did: “I purchased an enclosed litter box (ecoFlex Litter Loo) then painted it to match my newly refaced cabinets. It also serves as a nice little sitting area for Luna to stare out the window and bird-watch. I was worried about the durability of painting the ecoFlex material, but 9 months later and the paint is still holding up!”
Litter box: ecoFlex Habitat N’ Home Litter Loo, The New Age Pet
Some cat boxes are attractive enough to stand on their own. This one makes a nice perch for watching the outside world.
Here’s what sarahfelldown did: “I purchased an enclosed litter box (ecoFlex Litter Loo) then painted it to match my newly refaced cabinets. It also serves as a nice little sitting area for Luna to stare out the window and bird-watch. I was worried about the durability of painting the ecoFlex material, but 9 months later and the paint is still holding up!”
Litter box: ecoFlex Habitat N’ Home Litter Loo, The New Age Pet
Mary Jane Rehm writes that while hidden cat box design solutions are creative, her modern orange cube of a box beats “conventional flat boxes.”
“We have a litter box that is so stylish (and functional) that there is no need to hide it. We just put it in a closet and scoop it twice a day. Our litter is not the sandy kind … it’s little pine pellets and they never fly out of the box. The top opens to clean and notice the little scoop attached to the side.”
“We have a litter box that is so stylish (and functional) that there is no need to hide it. We just put it in a closet and scoop it twice a day. Our litter is not the sandy kind … it’s little pine pellets and they never fly out of the box. The top opens to clean and notice the little scoop attached to the side.”
Commenter abog (whose cat, Eli, is pictured here) makes the case for keeping litter boxes out in the open.
“I have one cat and three litter boxes for him. Two are on the same level of the house, but in different rooms. The third is in the basement. Two of them have covers but none of them are ‘hidden.’ He is a big cat, so his favorite box is the one without the lid. He likes to have a lot of room to do his ‘business.’
“I have one cat and three litter boxes for him. Two are on the same level of the house, but in different rooms. The third is in the basement. Two of them have covers but none of them are ‘hidden.’ He is a big cat, so his favorite box is the one without the lid. He likes to have a lot of room to do his ‘business.’
For those who want to keep their cat’s litter box uncovered — because the cat prefers it or so that they can keep an eye on their cat’s toilet habits for health reasons — an open-air litter box shielded from view with a stylish screen might be a nice compromise.
“Here is another inexpensive way to conceal the cat litter using decorative folding screens,” writes Urban Futons - Dr. Futonberg, who says the screens come in 2-, 3- and 4-foot heights and in various finishes.
“Here is another inexpensive way to conceal the cat litter using decorative folding screens,” writes Urban Futons - Dr. Futonberg, who says the screens come in 2-, 3- and 4-foot heights and in various finishes.
Have you found a clever place for your cat’s litter box? Please show us in the Comments.
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Many readers who shared comments and pictures keep the litter box in the laundry room, including T Hill, who writes: “We had a central vac ‘spot hose’ installed in the wall to the left which makes for easy clean up of the litter that strays outside of the box.”