DIY Litter Box

This post was previously named “Getting Hit in the Neck with a Dremel Disk Hurts”.

About 6 weeks ago, after being sick for 6 weeks [I’m finally starting to feel better, although I’m still way too tired] I decided I needed to do something DIY-ish.  Birdie was having a love-hate relationship with her litter boxes and usually left me daily “presents” on the girl cave floor.  Turns out it was the litter not the box, but I didn’t know that then.

I did some research online about litter boxes and found this GEM written by a cat consultant [I am SO being one of those in my next life].  The whole article made me LOL – it’s called “The Top 10 Crappiest Litter Box Choices”.  His bottom line is don’t waste your money on fancy boxes when you can just cut a hole in a Rubbermaid storage bin.  I conveniently had a spare bin in the basement:

Once I got it set up on my work table I realized I didn’t know how to cut a hole in one.  More internet research revealed a Dremel tool with a cutting disc is the best way.  Turns out I have a Dremel and it came with cutting discs, so I was in business!

I grabbed a grease pencil and eyeballed a rectangle on the front:

The only time I’ve used my Dremel is to cut grooves in screws.  I’ve never cut plastic before.  I put on my respirator and safety goggles and started cutting:

Then this happened:

       

More internet research.  That’s when I learned about Dremel speeds… I had mine on the highest setting.  D’oh!  I made sure my discs were OK to cut plastic with, and learned they were, but I’d go through about 10 discs.  Apparently they’re prone to snapping, and when they snap they may fly through the air.  Yeah, figured that part out on my own!

I put the Dremel on the lowest speed but that wasn’t fast enough to cut the plastic.  I used trial and error and settled on 18,000 RPMs [right between low & medium]:

I still split discs:

But at 18,000 RPMs vs. 30,000 they gently snapped instead of turning into painful projectiles.  Slowly but surely I made my way around the opening:

And about a half hour later I was done:

The edges were very rough but smoothed down nicely with regular sandpaper:

        

I filled the new box with Feline Pine and placed it in the girl cave.  Birdie was immediately interested:

        

But after a few days the novelty wore off and she started going on the floor again.  That’s when hubby suggested we try a different litter.  We liked the Feline Pine because the pellets don’t get tracked through the house.  But vacuuming up soft litter is well worth the trade off of not having to clean up poo every day.  Here’s the Feline Pine vs. the Wheat Scoop:

        

They’re both compostable, which is awesome, but the Wheat Scoop is awesomer because it’s flushable.  I still compost most of it, but it’s nice to scoop and flush when I’m in a rush.  All 3 cats LOVE it!  No more presents on the floor 🙂