{"id":175,"date":"2013-03-23T17:16:40","date_gmt":"2013-03-23T23:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/?p=175"},"modified":"2013-03-23T17:40:08","modified_gmt":"2013-03-23T23:40:08","slug":"superior-cat-litter-box-for-cheap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/?p=175","title":{"rendered":"Superior Cat Litter Box For Cheap!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>So first I have to tell you that we have 6 (SIX!) cats. Do NOT ask me how we came to the conclusion that having this many cats would be a good thing. It is not. None of them have a job. None of them pick up after themselves. All of them leave hair, hairballs, puke, and shredded human items everywhere. The one thing they do NOT leave around the house though is their urine\/feces. This is because for the last ten years or so I have been using my own custom-made litter boxes.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"dumb cats\" src=\"http:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/angry\/pics\/litterbox\/der-cats.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"364\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">We start doing weird, deviant things when Dad is messing with our litter boxes!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I&#8217;ll tell you how to save some money, and possibly make your life easier.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Now, the first thing you want to do is head down to your local Target, Lowe&#8217;s, whatever, and look for the Sterlite 45 gallon bins. They don&#8217;t have to be Sterlite. They can be whatever you want them to be, but keep in mind a couple of things:<\/p>\n<p>1. Make sure the container has a lid. Trust me on this.<\/p>\n<p>2. Make sure the container has wheels on the bottom at at least one end. Trust me on this also!<\/p>\n<p>3. Make sure that on the interior bottom, there is nothing raised like corner reinforcements. There will be raised areas at the back because of the wheels, but this is okay. If the corners of the bin\/container have raised reinforcements, well, good luck doing effective scooping once your cats start using the litter box.<\/p>\n<p>4. You want the container to be made of semi-flexible plastic. If you get the really rigid (usually the see-through) stuff, it will be an absolute disaster because it will not flex properly when you move it around or clean it, and it will lose a lot of strength once you cut it for a hole so your cat(s) can get in and out!<\/p>\n<p>Right. So. First&#8230;the tools!<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Tools!\" src=\"http:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/angry\/pics\/litterbox\/catbox-tools.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Notice the Rockstar energy drink, the coffee thermos, and the BBQ grill brush. Two of these things are important for this job.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I&#8217;m using a Dremel MultiPro and I have the little round cutting wheels. These are best for working with plastic of this kind, but remember to ALWAYS USE THE LOW SPEED. Trust me on this as well. High speed = big pools of liquid plastic (and if this stuff gets on your skin, it makes melted cheese feel like a day at the beach. BURN!). The energy drink and coffee are important tools as well, since Jeff and I just woke up, and it was %#@$@# freezing cold outside (it snowed this day three different times, all with the sun out&#8230;).<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dremel! MultiPro!\" src=\"http:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/angry\/pics\/litterbox\/catbox-00.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"742\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">USE LOW SPEED ONLY! If you have to get skin grafts because you got billion-degree melted plastic on you, do NOT cry to me...<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p>Okay, got your tools? Your caffeine? Your phone with 911 on speed dial? Sweet. First thing you want to do is figure out how big\/fat\/tall your cat(s) are. If you have little cats, like most people, then you can make the hole fairly small, but make sure your cat can get in and out easily! A cat that struggles to get into the poop box will just end up going somewhere else. If you&#8217;ve ever smelled cat pee, you know this will make you have a BAD TIME:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XddfToBTelE\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Now, my cats are huge. Okay, THREE of my cats are huge. The giant black &amp; white cow Jackie is 22 pounds. It is like living with a moose in your house, except this moose thinks he is a kitten still, and he has a genetic or magical superpower that allows him to step on your genitals every single time he thinks he is a kitten and gets in your lap.<\/p>\n<p>So since I have six cats, and three of them are huge, I am going to make 3 litter boxes, and all of them are going to have entrances that are big enough for any of the cats.<\/p>\n<p>Another very important thing to remember when measuring out and drawing the lines for the hole you will cut is that you want to stay at least 5&#8243; above the bottom of the container for your hole. If you cut lower than this, disaster will eventually strike you. Most of the time you are supposed to use 2&#8243; to 3&#8243; of litter in the box, and 5&#8243; before the hole starts gives you some protection against cats kicking\/scraping the litter out of the front of the box. The other benefit is your litter box will last longer. You also want to make sure you do not cut the top of the hole too close to the top, or you&#8217;ll end up with a weak box that will start to come apart whenever you move it.<\/p>\n<p>I move my boxes outside every time I change to fresh litter. I dump all the old\/dirty litter into big garbage bag inside a big garbage can, then prop the boxes up and spray them out really good with the hose. I have a scrub brush specific to this purpose as well, but I do NOT use any cleaners except for some mild dish detergent. Cats do not like perfume\/scents (unless it is catnip or tuna&#8230;).<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Measure! Draw!\" src=\"http:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/angry\/pics\/litterbox\/catbox-02.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Measure twice! Cut once! Also known as: Don&#39;t Do This Drunk!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Measure measure, draw draw. Straight lines help.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"More measuring\" src=\"http:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/angry\/pics\/litterbox\/catbox-03.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Because the last picture maybe wasn&#39;t clear enough that Jeff was measuring and drawing!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Right. So. If you have done a decent job of measuring and drawing, your stuff should look somewhat like this:<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Draw!\" src=\"http:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/angry\/pics\/litterbox\/catbox-01.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Look ma! I kin draws gud!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p>All right. The next trick is to take your trusty Dremel (or whatever you might prefer), and start cutting. Ready? GO!<\/p>\n<p>WAIT!<\/p>\n<p>I mentioned before to use the LOW speed, but I think I will repeat it here. USE LOW SPEED. You don&#8217;t want plasma-hot plastic getting on you. You also don&#8217;t want to end up having to run back to the store and buy a new box because you completely hosed this one&#8230;<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Cut!\" src=\"http:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/angry\/pics\/litterbox\/catbox-05.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"729\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Low speed! Flank ahead! Starboard bow or something! LOW SPEED!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"More cuts!\" src=\"http:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/angry\/pics\/litterbox\/catbox-06.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"770\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Emo boxes cut themselves. Emo humans cut boxes.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>PS: It was REALLY cold when we did this. It looks nice and warm, but like I said, it snowed three times this day, with the sun out and shining each time&#8230;<br \/>\n<!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p>Even with your Dremel on low speed, you&#8217;ll occasionally get a nice big chunk of plastic that builds up under the cutting wheel. After you get done cutting one line, wait for a few seconds then you can usually just carefully grab the little plastic chunk and break it off without destroying the cutting wheel. The cutting wheels are inexpensive, so no worries there, but they are annoying to change out. Not hard, just annoying.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Plastic Candy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/angry\/pics\/litterbox\/catbox-07.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">It&#39;s like cotton candy...except it&#39;s probably toxic plastic!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Now also notice that Jeff is picking\/peeling off the bits of plastic that are still around the edges of the hole. This stuff almost always comes off without any trouble. Just grab and pull, or use a plastic knife or such to help break it off. You are like&#8230;almost done at this point!<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"plastic bits\" src=\"http:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/angry\/pics\/litterbox\/catbox-08.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"715\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">We call &#39;em &quot;boogers&quot; and they are kind of fun to pick off...*ahem*<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p>Okay. Final stretch. Repeat the process as many times as you need. I needed three boxes. They should look pretty much like this:<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"almost done!\" src=\"http:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/angry\/pics\/litterbox\/catbox-09.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Almost ready for pooping!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Clean out the inside of the box (cats tend to like to eat strange things like plastic boogers for some reason that no one has figured out&#8230;which puts them up there with babies\/toddlers as they like to eat weird stuff they find laying around as well). Since my boxes have wheels at the back end on the bottom, you&#8217;ll see in the inside shot where the &#8216;wheel wells&#8217; are. This is ok. Notice the rest of the bottom though, there are no reinforced corners.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"inside!\" src=\"http:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/angry\/pics\/litterbox\/catbox-10.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"517\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">What&#39;s in the box? WHAT&#39;S IN THE BOX? -- Detective David Mills<\/p><\/div>\n<p>You&#8217;ll also notice that the bottom is not perfectly flat. This is sometimes annoying, especially if you only use 1&#8243; or a low amount of clay\/silicate clumping litter, but for the most part, it isn&#8217;t. I do HIGHLY recommend though that your litter scoop is not made of plastic. I&#8217;ve broken about 9 of them over the years, and finally got really pissed and spent the $12 or so for a really heavy-duty litter scoop made of metal. I&#8217;ve had that thing for about six years now.<\/p>\n<p>Right. So. Side-by-side:<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 770px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"side by side\" src=\"http:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/angry\/pics\/litterbox\/catbox-11.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"760\" height=\"403\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">One of these is not like the other...(hint: lid)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>And here&#8217;s a picture of the wheels (and Junior, who is typical of people\/animals named &#8220;Junior&#8221; or &#8220;Tiny&#8221; because he is kind of fat\/big). Junior does not look big in this picture. Trust me. He&#8217;s about twenty pounds.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Junior and the Wheel Man\" src=\"http:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/angry\/pics\/litterbox\/catbox-12.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"628\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Junior and the Wheel Man (points if you guessed American Dad reference)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p>Well&#8230;we are done! Only thing left is to fill it with your favorite litter. I&#8217;m finally sick of all the dust from the litter we&#8217;ve been buying from Costco for years. We&#8217;ve probably put three or four kids through college on the amount we&#8217;ve spent on litter grrrrr.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"litter!\" src=\"http:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/angry\/pics\/litterbox\/catbox-13.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">This is dust-free clay litter...we&#39;ll see how it goes...<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Now, we typically put two of the boxes front-to-front like this next picture, and then the third is somewhere else in the house. It isn&#8217;t a mystery or scavenger hunt, the cats know where it is =). The left box has this Swheat something or other litter that we are testing. Mostly dust-free, made of wheat or something. Sounds gimmicky, but cat nerds on internet discussion sites say it works good. Internet cat nerds aren&#8217;t always correct though&#8230;<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"two boxes\" src=\"http:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/angry\/pics\/litterbox\/catbox-14.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">TWO boxes of litter, ah ah ah! -- Count Von Count<\/p><\/div>\n<p>So, just put lids on, some kind of mat or carpet between them or in front of them to catch the stuff they track out of the box (this is impossible to stop, so you just sort of get used to being an expert with the vacuum ). BLAMM-O! You are done!<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"done!\" src=\"http:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/angry\/pics\/litterbox\/catbox-15.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yay! Lids! Now let&#39;s go outside and play in the sun-snow!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Total cost (assuming you already have a Dremel, marker, tape measure, coffee, Rockstar drink, winter clothing, old paint stir stick to make straight lines, and electricity): about $50 for the boxes. They were $16.99 or something each. The ones we are finally getting rid of cost about the same, and have lasted almost six years. Six years for $50 is a great deal, and these things are nice and large for multi-cat environments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So first I have to tell you that we have 6 (SIX!) cats. Do NOT ask me how we came to the conclusion that having this many cats would be a good thing. It is not. None of them have &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/?p=175\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=175"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":184,"href":"https:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175\/revisions\/184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.angrygames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}