When we bought this house, it had 3 bedrooms. We thought this was perfect, as we could have one room, the cats could have their own room, and the dog could have his. Max's room has really turned into a catchall room. It's where the pantry lives, the piano and guitars, some commonly used tools, the wireless router and cable modem, and his tunnel frame. It's also the only room that didn't get carpet, wallpaper, or original drapes removed. Poor Max. But really, cats totally rock and deserve their own room ;-)
Our idea in the beginning was to make the cat's room look more like an office that just happened to have cat stuff in it. Then we realized we didn't need an office because we have laptops and can work wherever we want.
Whatever.
So now we just want to make it look less like a cat room. First thing first, hide the box!
Sweetie found the cabinet for free on Craigslist. Her idea was to cut a hole in the side for access. Turns out, the cabinet had a wall on the inside as well. No biggie, just another hole - one that no one will see.
I suggested drilling holes in the top for two reasons.
- To let it "air out".
- To let more light in when the doors are closed.
We borrowed a massive drill bit from a friend of ours. It was brilliant. If the cabinet still seems to be having issues with smell, we'll stuff some carbon filters into some of the holes.
I was concerned that litter and/or the inevitable misdirected pee would end up running down the crevices and cracks and be a nightmare to clean. Sweetie had another flashbulb moment and suggested covering that side with contact paper.
Also, possibly unnecessarily, I was concerned with the exposed cuts of the press board soaking up smells so I painted all of the exposed cuts with the leftover bathroom grade white paint (from when we repainted the bathroom vanity and trim).
Once we've eased Charlie into using his litter box inside of a cabinet, we'll close the doors. At that point, I want to put a carpet scrap on the "walk-thru" side to help get the litter off his paws and hopefully keep less from getting on the floor. I'm not quite sure how that will translate when it's time to clean the carpet though.
Always a work in progress!
Shaina and Ashley,
ReplyDeleteThat is great! I wish we had room for something like that.
-Amanda Steidel
Thanks! We like it. Really you could do it with anything that's a bit larger than the litterbox. You could use an enclosed end-table or nightstand or something. I was originally looking for a small dresser to paint and I was going to take off the drawers and make a door by glueing the drawer fronts to a piece of wood. This just kind of fell into my lap.
ReplyDeleteSo clever! When we lived in an apartment (and had four cats), we really could have used something like this. Now we have an old bar area in our basement that serves as the cat's alcove.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, we also have an old built-in bar in the basement! However, we're attempting to convert it into a mini-kitchen. The goal of the basement is to become a complete guest quarters. I can totally see how the area would work as a cat alcove though - excellent idea!
DeleteThis is really smart--and much nicer than the usual litter box. Hope your kitty appreciates it!
ReplyDeleteRita, I can't tell if he appreciates it but he IS using it which *I* appreciate! We need to fix the magnetic closure. It doesn't stick to the metal on the pan side of the cabinet. He keeps kicking it open. I'd be curious if he continues doing that once the latch is secured.
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