How to Make an Enclosed Cat Litter Box

Enclosing your cat litter box reduces both the smell and the mess in your home, and keeps it out of site -- yet you need to be able to get at the litter easily to clean it. You can purchase enclosed litter boxes, but low entrances still allow litter to be tracked onto your floor. This simple and effective do-it-yourself project, made by altering a purchased cabinet a bit, will keep the mess to a minimum.

Things You'll Need

  • New cabinet that requires assembly, with doors and one internal shelf (or existing cabinet if you have one already) at least 12" deep
  • Pencil
  • Ruler or measuring tape
  • Work table
  • Clamps
  • Jigsaw
  • ¼" weather stripping tape
  • Piece of carpet remnant
  • Carpet nails
  • 2 L-brackets and screws (optional)
  • Cat litter box that fits in cabinet, or alternate plastic bin (such as a plastic file folder holder or storage bin) if your cabinet isn't deep enough for a litter box.
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Instructions

    • 1

      Choose which side of your cabinet will be out of sight in your home, yet away from the wall, once it's put together. Mark off a square on the top half of that side, approximately 8" square -- your cabinet should be at least 12" deep to accommodate the litter box, so this will give you 2" on each side of the hole. Make the hole about an inch above a set of shelf brackets. This will be your cat's entrance to the box; putting it up high will cut down on the amount of litter she can track out. There needs to be enough room under the hole for her to sit up comfortably in her litter box, which will be in the bottom half of the cabinet.

    • 2

      On the opposite end of the internal shelf piece -- the end that will be away from the side entrance when you put the cabinet together -- mark off a hole the same size.

    • 3

      Secure the side of the cabinet to your work table with clamps so the part that you need to cut is off the edge, and cut the hole with your jigsaw. Do the same thing with your shelf.

    • 4

      Line the cut holes with ¼" weather stripping tape to finish and protect the rough edges.

    • 5

      On the shelf that you cut, place your carpet remnant on the end away from the hole, cut to fit the shelf, and tack on with carpet nails. The carpet should be at the far end of the shelf from the hole, but can extend any length up to the hole itself.

    • 6

      Assemble the cabinet and put the shelf in place; when finished, the carpeted end of the shelf will be under the entrance hole, and the hole in the shelf will be at the far end. Your cat will walk along the carpet to reach the hole in the shelf, and enter the litter box through the hole in the shelf.

    • 7

      Put the litter box in the bottom of the cabinet and add the litter. If the litter box takes up most of your lower cabinet space, put it directly below the hole in the shelf; if you have a large cabinet with extra room, you can move the litter box to the same end as the entrance hole; it will be directly beneath the entrance, but separated a level by the shelf.

    • 8

      If the litter box moves around at all, secure it in place by installing two L-brackets or a piece of 1x2 or 2x2 wood on the floor of your cabinet which will prevent the litter box from sliding around, but still allow you to slide it out sideways for cleaning; if you like, you can also put a second piece of carpet remnant on the floor of the cabinet that your cat will step out onto after using the box.

    • 9

      Lock the cabinet door so your cat won't accidentally open it while using the litter box. (Open the door for cleaning.) Put the finished cabinet in your chosen spot in your home, and show your cat how to get in. After that, it should all be up to your cat's instinct!