Hiding the Litter Box: Adios, Cat Smell!

I love my cat, Charlie, most of the time. When he's not being totally psycho and licking the top of the toaster or doing some other weird thing. He's great with the kids, he can catch mice (score!), and he's nice to most of our furniture.

But, his pee and poop stink. Blech!!! And a litter box isn't exactly the nicest thing to look at, especially when you have a small home and no place to hide it(as was the case in our California home). What to do, what to do?

I looked up some different options for concealing litter boxes, but none of them had the look (or the low price tag) I was looking for. So I figured I could just make something. After all, that's sort of my M.O., haha! I started by buying a kit to build a plain pine toy box. I don't remember where, exactly, but it was some online seller that specialized in unfinished furniture. It was really basic-- I think I paid $40 for it, and then had to put it together. But it was no big deal, especially considering that most pieces of litter-box-concealing-furniture were at least $150!

Next, we needed an opening so that Charlie could get in. I knew where I planned to put the box, so it was obvious to me which side the opening needed to be on. My hubby did the cutting for me, but he just turned the box on its end and used the circular saw to make a rough, square opening. It wasn't perfect, but I didn't care-- especially since the opening wasn't going to be very obvious. If I had wanted it to be prettier, I could've sanded the edges and maybe glued on some pieces of moulding. But, I didn't. :)

Then it was time to paint it! I wanted it to match our existing furniture, so I picked up some Minwax Polyshades (stain and polyurethane) in the color that I thought matched the best ("Bombay Mahogany"). After several very careful coats with a foam brush, it looked good to me!

I opted not to paint the inside of the box, which I eventually regretted! The wood, since it wasn't sealed, was very difficult to keep clean. And litter boxes are inherently disgusting! So, learn from my mistake: finish the inside of the box, too, even if it's just with some clear polyurethane. You're welcome!

And that was it! I found a litter box that was just the right size to fit inside, along with a little "litter ramp" to clean his kitty paws when he was done. Charlie took to his new bathroom right away, and people never knew it was there until we told them! It also did a fantastic job of containing the smell. Awesome, right?!?

The whole contraption worked well for many years but, like I said, got dirty inside over time. We left it behind (in the trash) when we moved away. I kind of miss it! But plans are already in the works to turn one of our rooms into a fantastic mudroom with a built-in bench and storage, and I am going to sneak a little spot in there to hide Charlie's litter box. I can't wait to get it out of sight again!