Ultimate Litterbox

The ultimate litterbox is not one that you buy; it’s one that you make yourself!

I’ve searched for years for a solution to our cats’ peeing out of the box problems.

One cat is big and tends to lift his back end when peeing, so I needed a big and tall box. Or he stands in the middle and pees over the edge.  All the covered boxes are too small, and some are even made so that pee that’s sprayed against the side would seep out between the bottom and lid mating surface!

Another cat was bullied away from all the boxes, so he’d pee in entirely different rooms and places, such as on my daughter’s desk. (We re-homed him.)

Another cat is just incontinent and can’t seem to wake up and move to the litterbox in time. Or he’s otherwise demented.

The last cat has no excuse. She’s young and healthy, but she just felt like joining in on the pissing contest!

But ever since re-homing the “Pariah Cat” and intruducing the Ultimate Litterbox, we’ve been pee-free (knock on wood).

Here’s what you do (doo):

1. Start out with a Sterilite tote box, one that’s at least 18” inches tall. I got mine at Walmart for a mere $10 or so. (Maybe it was so cheap because they were all out of lids.) Look for a container with as few “ribs” as possible. You want an inner surface that’s easy to scoop and won’t accumulate waste. Also, note that the clear or transparent boxes (such as the one shown on the right) are much harder to cut. They require a coping saw to cut the opening. The one pictured on the left is the recommended type.  It's easy to cut and the used litter slides right off.
2. Use a box cutter or pocket knife to cut an opening in the side that’s about 7” wide by 9” tall and starts about 6” from the bottom. You can adjust this to suit your cats’ needs. A less mobile cat might need the opening to be lower for easier access. You might make it narrower for a normal weight cat; this was made for our big Tom who’s halfway to being a bobcat.
3. Fill with your favorite cat litter. I used nearly an entire 28lB bag of World’s Best.
4. Sprinkle a cat attractant at the far end to entice the cat to move all the way into the box. This should prevent a cat from peeing out the opening.
5. Place the box on a waterproof mat just in case. The mat pictured here is a Litter Mat. Be sure to choose one that won’t let liquid seep through. Most are woven fiber and inexplicably will let pee through and trap it against the floor – a disaster on a wood floor!

Try it and let me know how you fare.  You might even try it with the lid on, too, if you have a cat that's used to a covered box.

Good luck!