Litter boxes aren’t rocket science. Well, I didn’t expect to start my article with a rocket science joke, but seriously, litter boxes are the most unibody structure you’ll find.

If I try to say in simple words, make a hole in a box, and you have a litter box (pun unintended). Okay, it’s simple, but we’ll follow a step-by-step procedure.

How to Make a DIY Litter Box?

Making your litter box will not only be a fun DIY project but will also get you a litter box around half the price of an actual box.

Step 1: Gather Supplies and Tools

To make our litter box, we’ll need the following items:

• A Tote bin ( size based on your cat, on an avg 70L one)
• A disc/plate (to mark the hole)
• A marker
• A good quality cutter or scissors
• Some decoration stuff based on your choice

Step 2: Measure and Draw Hole

• Place the disc where you want the entry to be
• Trace and mark the hole in the bin with the help of a marker

Step 3: Cut Out the Opening

Carefully cut out the hole following the marker trace using the cutter or scissors.

Step 4: Clean Up the Opening

After cutting the hole, you may notice that the hole isn’t smooth. It can cause some severe cuts. To prevent this from hurting your cat and fix this, clean up the opening with the help of sandpaper.

Sand the opening in an inward circular motion, which will smooth it out. This process will get rid of the sharp edges.

Step 5: Decorate It

This step is optional and based on your taste. You can decorate it by just putting on some cute stickers. There are various ways to do it.

Make sure you do not stick any sharp objects like cheap plastic toys to the litter box while decorating.

Check Out: Types of Litter Boxes: Which One Is Right for Your Cat?

DIY Litter Box Options

Another advantage of this DIY project is that you don’t have any limitations on where you want the litter box entry to be. It’s effortless, as where you put the hole becomes that type of litter box.

Top-Entry Box

To make a Top-entry litter box. Make sure you place and cut the hole from the top of the box. And don’t forget to proceed with the sanding after cutting out the hole.

Low-Entry Box

Top-entry litter boxes aren’t the best option if your cat is old or suffering from joint pain. You could easily place the whole on the downward side and make a Low-entry litter box.

This will not put any strain on your cat’s joints. Again, do not forget to sand the opening you cut to smoothen it out.

Self-Cleaning Litter Box

Now, this is the complicated part. You’ll need some more supplies for this one.

• Two open pans with exact dimensions for the area, but one with a more enormous volume than the other. 
• A drill and 11/64-sized bit
• A ruler and a pen (to mark and align the holes)

Let’s start with the process. 

1. First of all, take the pan which is going to be on the top. 
2. Mark six 3.5-inch squares evenly throughout the pan. These squares will guide you about where to drill the holes.
3. In the marked squares, draw a grid 1.25 inches apart. The part where the lines intersect is where you will drill the holes. This process will require patience. Make sure you take breaks from time to time. 
4. At last, place the drilled pan over the other. Fill the upper pan with pine litter. Place a handful of pellets in the bottom pan. This will help absorb the pee and odor from the top pan, and you’re good to go!

How Much Does It Cost to Build a DIY Litter Box?

DIY litter boxes are cheap compared to buying actual litter boxes. An average quality litter box will cost you around 30 bucks. On the other hand, you can get the pans for as cheap as 5 bucks each.

As you don’t need any extra stuff other than your usual home accessories, there isn’t any expense. So, building a DIY litter box costs around 5 dollars if you’re building a normal one and around 10 bucks if you build a self-cleaning one. 

Conclusion

Building a DIY litter box might not be everyone’s need. Some people want to do it for fun, whereas some people want to save money or reuse the bins they have at home.

Whatever the reason, the process is fun, and seeing your cat relax and play with something you made is a different kind of happiness.

Well, again, it all comes down to priorities. If you have the time and patience to build one, go ahead!

FAQs