A little domestic industrial engineering - in support of cats

[Tom Bender]

I may have posted this before but it may be inspiring to post it again.

To keep the mess contained and convenient and to control the odor I built this room under the basement stairs. It required installing risers, a wall and a door, plus some accessories. Here's what's in the room; (dratted sideways pictures)

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Raised platform because we are not getting any younger (and it saves the cats a few steps)

24 x 36 mortar pan is big and has a smooth bottom for easy excavation

Bucket with lid and liner for weekly disposal

Overhead light plus a night light

Glade plug in

Also there is a small exhaust fan that runs 24/7 to keep the odor contained. It's a computer fan connected to a dryer vent. It's good to move a little air thru the house and this is the perfect place to pull it from. (view from inside the room)

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The door

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And the cat's entrance

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This seemed like a lot of work when I did it 10 years ago but it's been great since and we expect another decade of use.

[Thomas Wilson]

That is a lovely cat space. Don’t expect to be thanked by the cat.

[Frank Pratt]

Nice solution Tom. I did a similar thing to a small closet beside the exterior basement door. But it worked a little too well because certain kids of mine (read: all of them) would neglect to clean the litter box & nobody couldn't smell it. Yuck!

Now we use wood pellets for litter. No smell. No mess, No dust. It gets cleaned every day mostly, never more than 2. Oh, and $7 worth lasts about 3 months for 2 cats. The litter box sits in the corner of the kitchen.