Ben says, "My girlfriend recently moved into my loft with her cat and her great dane. I needed a solution that would both hide the litter box from view and keep the dog out of the cat’s food and litter. I first bought the Ikea PS cabinet, which perfectly fits the alcove inside my front door. Then I used metal snips ($15 or so) to cut out a hole for the cat to enter through the bottom. This was easier than you’d think, because Ikea already has holes punched in the bottom for cords, so it was easy to start cutting. I filed the edges to make sure no metal splinters would harm the cat, and then covered them with red electrical tape. The cat took minimal training before she learned to crawl in and out of the bottom. The litter box is to the right, food bowls to the left.
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seems a bit harsh on your cat to leave the litter and food near each other. i think the food should be far away from its litter. otherwise it is a good hack and it blends in nicely
ReplyDeleteI was going to say what meerkat said. Cats usually have a problem with their food being that close to their litter (especially in an enclosed space like that cabinet).
ReplyDeleteBesides that issue, it looks great! I like how it's raised off the ground and the entry way is hidden underneath. Very nice.
My cats do their business outside, but regarding the food+water, I always just assumed that I had to place it up high (currently on a shelf in the laundry room) to keep it away from the dogs - it never occurred to me to hide it in a piece of furniture! I'm totally going to do this - thanks for the great idea!
ReplyDeleteSuch a great idea! I recently posted a blog about not knowing where to stow my litterbox. Very crafty!
ReplyDeleteI'm jealous - my cat would never do that! Great job.
ReplyDeletei've studied it and now i see that litter is not so close to food and water, for everyone's cat's happyness. litter is in that blue basin on the right, so the animal has all the space needed.
ReplyDeletegreat idea!
I've seen this hacked Ikea furniture, and not only are the dishes and litter box far enough away from each other, but if you knew Ben and his (veterinarian) girlfriend, you'd know that they are very meticulous about keeping bowls and box spotlessly clean at all times. Their cat loves her own secret spot.
ReplyDeleteingenious! i've been wanting to put together a furniture/litterbox hack together for a while.. but was turned off by the wood, laminate or otherwise non-water resistant materials.
ReplyDeletenever would have thought of using a PS unit like this, and thanks for the tips on cutting out the bottom.
looks great, easy to clean, great size.. this is a wonderful hack for a litterbox! thank you!
I always just put my cat's food up on a counter or something (these days it's on top of the recycling bins) to keep it out of reach of dogs and kids.
ReplyDeleteBut when the dog is a Great Dane, you have to get cleverer than that! I laughed out loud reading that part.
I have a question: the hole is on the food side of the cabinet so does that mean there is not a middle divider in the cabinet? And the cat can go back and forth internally between the food and the litter? Otherwise how does the cat get to the litter from the entry hole?
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteHow does the cat get into the litter side, is there a hole in the floor like the other side for food? Thanks
There is no middle divider in the Ikea PS. It does come with adjustable shelves, as seen in the top of the second pic, which are quite useful for storing animal medical records and such. But, the big space is not divided down the middle. The kitty is free to pass back and forth. I'm sorry that is not clear in the pictures.
ReplyDeleteThanks to everyone for their kind compliments.
I'm two weeks into using the PS cabinet as a cat kennel. The cat is not completely pleased with the downsizing from the huge dog kennel she has recently been evicted from.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know off hand if the single door PS cabinet or the two door vertical cabinet line up evenly with the side by side version? I'd like to give the cat more spacious accommodations but not have to revert back to the giant dog kennel for her night time lockdown.
also, if you do not remove the key from the lock, the cat will escape during the night.
Wc
I am very surprised the cat will eat that close to the litter box.I am sorry but that just is not good for the cat. Would you eat that close to your potty? It is clever but it looks hard to get into and out.
ReplyDeleteSome cats don't like using an enclosed litter box. If your cat has never used one with walls & a roof I'd test it out with a cardboard box around the litter pan before you go buy a piece of furniture & cut it up.
ReplyDeletethat must really smell great closed up full time.
ReplyDeletethere are vents for the smell. But lets assume you're scooping twice a day so it doesn't get too bad. And better the smell be IN the box than outside
ReplyDeleteHi there,
ReplyDeleteI love this it's really great...but I have a question! I have a small 7lb dachshund who loves to eat the cat food. What are your thoughts on if she could get in through the bottom entry?
Best looking kitty furniture hack yet. My biggest cat weighs well over 25lbs, so even if I raised the cabinet up high enough for him to get under it, there'd be no floor left by the time I cut a big hole for him to get through! HOWEVER, on further thought.....I could definitely put the food for the other kitties in it so they'd actually get some!
ReplyDeleteI really like the whole idea of the PS Locker for the cat. How were you able to train the cat to come up through the hole in the bottom?
ReplyDeleteHow tall are the legs? Is there really enough room for the cat to squeeze underneath?
ReplyDeleteIf you don't want to cut into the metal, the bottom is actually two pieces so you can remove 1/2 of the floor and use an AS-IS piece to cover 1/4 the bottom to give the cat a platform to use to jump into the litterbox.
ReplyDelete