Some Like It Clean

June 25th, 2008 by ComputerBob

This is yet another one of my do-it-yourself adventures.

My wife and I have had Pookie and Petey for many, many years and we love them both very, very much.

But their litter box has always been a hassle. At the beginning, when we only had Pookie, we tried one of those “cake-pan” litter boxes with the sides that were only about 4″ tall, but she would toss litter all over the place each time she “cleaned” the box after she used it.

That short-sided litter box would have been a disaster for Petey. He needs a litter box that’s at least 8″ or 9″ tall to contain his spray.

So, for the past several years, we used one of those 2-piece covered litter boxes that you can buy almost anywhere.

The problem with that type of litter box is that the crack between the top and bottom sections wasn’t quite high enough for Petey. To keep it from leaking, my wife ended up folding up 3 paper towels and inserting them like gaskets in-between the top and bottom of the litter box — twice each day.

Until a few days ago.

I went to WalMart, put one of their 2-piece litter boxes in my shopping basket, and headed for the aisle where they sell plastic storage boxes. By comparing the litter box to each of the plastic storage boxes, I chose a Rubbermaid 21-gallon container that is almost exactly the same size. I think it cost $14 — almost exactly the same price as a 2-piece litter box.

When I got home, I used a box cutter to carefully cut an opening into one end of the Rubbermaid container to create a new, leak-proof litter box. Then I easily removed the two plastic latches that held its lid on, so that it comes off easily for “scooping” and cleaning. Here’s what the finished litter box it looks like: