DIY Cat Litter Ideas – The Ultimate Guide

The only challenge that cat owners have is getting the best litter box.

Given that there are different brands and models out there, the whole process of making up your mind is complicated and daunting.

If you get the right litter box for your feline friend, she’ll do her business happily in the box rather than on the floor.

After a long journey of researching and testing, I’ve presented to you the best double litter box for your cat.

The list is long but the ones explained here are the best and narrows your choice of litter boxes.

Even if you are the best cat lover in the world, you probably don’t like complicated ways of getting rid of the cat mess.

As much as you want to adopt the easiest of all methods of getting rid of the cat litter, you have to consider the Do-It-yourself solutions that can save you money and time.

As much as most of the things are complicated especially when taking care of many cats, with a little creativity and ingenuity, it can be very easy to conceal the litter box.

This part of the post explains perfect DIY solutions to hide your box.

The cons of DIY Litter

Before we delve into this topic, we have to potentially warn you of the likely cons of DIY Cat Litter.

The fact remains that there’s a con for almost all DIY cat Litter.

But the cons will probably not outweigh environmental benefits, costs and little risks of using DIY cat Litter.

If you want to go the newspaper route, you will most probably have to buy a lot of newspapers to keep up with it.

But you can actually buy or borrow newspapers from a neighbor, friend or even other cat lovers.

Moving on, the wood shavings and sawdust have a natural scent that most cats might not like.

When the sawdust and the newspapers get wet, they might take a little more time to dry.

Sand is easily spread but still, it’s not perfect in odor control.

The process of getting sand and making sure it doesn’t carry any bugs is also daunting.

It might also stick to the bottom of your kitty’s paws causing more mess in your house.

Hideaway Kitty Litter box

Over time, we have come across many cat lovers sharing their home with more than one cat.

Each cat owner has their own crazy ways of hiding the litter box.

Most of them concentrate on making their kitty’s presence to look like a serious home décor improvement.

One of these crazy cat owners is Blogger Amy Walton who uses a table and a curtain panel to create a very adorable way to hide the litter box.

With some little creativity, this can look like the best option for people that like crazy home décor.

Take time to figure out beautiful ways of hiding your cat litter box.

IKEA hack Litter Box

Creatively, you can turn a Byholma chest from Ikea into a litter box concealer.

However, you need to be very creative with this and at the same time invest some time creating the concealer.

You will probably need some wire cutters and a glue gun to make this a reality.

Create cat center

If you have more than one cat in the house, you should invest more money and time in creating a cat’s center.

Another cat lover, Lesley Clavijo created an adorable cat center using some old porch boards.

This looks like a very attractive way of concealing the litter box.

Another reason why the cat center is a good place for your cats is the fact that it provides a good space to keep all the cat’s items organized.

Cats, unlike other pets, like spending most of their time in hideouts.

A cat center serves as a nice hideout and a way of taking a break from the rest of the people in the house.

Pellet Litter Box with scoop holster

This is an upcycled design made from pellets that can easily be customized to fit a litter box.

It’s also perfect for people that want a simple but safe place for their cats.

It has a nifty holster to hold the scoop.

It’s very practical but still, you need to be more creative to make it a reality.

Create an under the stairs hideout

If you have upstairs rooms, the under the stairs space works as a perfect hideout for DIY cat litter boxes.

Blogger Mary Ostyn found herself raising more than one kitten and their mother, which meant she needed more space for the cats.

Living in a small space with children and other pets was a little overwhelming.

Sooner, she decided to create an under the stairs hideout for the cats.

The blogger equally needed a space to hide the litter box away from the grabby hands.

Her husband cut a small hole under the stairs and the cats and kittens had a safe hideout.

Hide the litter box inside a large Basket

This idea has been around with us for some time.

Hannah from All the little details is one of the few cat owners that wanted to implement a simple yet safe and actionable idea to hide the litter box.

We agree with her when she claims that the litter boxes are an eyesore.

The blogger claims that she took a long time to search for the best cat litter enclosures.

On her searches, she didn’t like most of the results that came up.

For that reason, she opted to use a wicker basket instead.

Among the many benefits of using this idea is because the enclosure is light and airy.

The top door makes cleaning easy and straightforward.

Mini Cat House Litter Cover

This idea is new but very practical.

It was brought about by the cat tutorial from a Beautiful mess.

The idea is not just functional but also aesthetic.

The idea was brought about by a genius that looked to upgrade the design and interior décor of the house and at the same time have a practical place to hide the litter box.

You can check more of this idea from their page.

Have a litter box bench

What a creative way of keeping all the cat’s items organized and at the same time creates a beautiful space in your house?

A creative cat owner would create a functional and design proof space that combines DIY project.

This creative method creates extra seating especially if you live in a small apartment.

But you have to make sure that the litter box is clean and well organized.

Upcycled Furniture Litter Box

There are probably many old pieces of furniture in your house that can turn out to be pretty cat litter enclosures.

This is one of the easiest cat litter enclose ideas that you can come across any time of the day.

The Upcycled furniture litter box can easily be crafted by removing the drawers from one of your old dressers.

You can eventually combine two dressers to make a door and a fantastic home décor that will be amazingly noticeable.

Always make sure the Litter Box is organized

If you have at least two cabinets that have drawers and no doors, then this is probably the best materials to keep the litter box and all the other cat items organized.

It’s actually a good option to create a concealed cat litter enclosure.

You will not need to remove and concern any drawers, you just have to add a cat door and everything else will fall into place.

I personally love how The Homebody House organizes the cart items and cat Box in such a simple and straightforward way.

On a basic Litter Box cover, Paint a pattern

Sometimes you don’t have to think beyond your capacity to create an awesome cat litter box enclosure.

All you need to do is to paint some awesome patterns on the cat litter box cover.

Immediately after renovating the cat litter Box, what follows is to paint some awesome cat patterns.

This idea has been easily implemented by Sugar and Cloth.

They wanted to make sure that the cat has a simple and very comfortable place to do its business.

To immediately deal with the problems that his cat experienced, Thomas purchased a litter Robot and immediately crafted a box cover.

Furthermore, she suggests that there are covers that are available with different paints.

Some companies will also make it easy for cat owners to order custom paints for their cats.

Hide the litter box under the sink

There’s always a big space under the sinks either in the kitchen or bath area.

As long as you’ll always keep the litter box clean, you can hide the litter Box under the Sink.

But you might end up losing some space in your bathroom vanity.

However, if you don’t mind losing the spaces, you can easily create a space under your sinks.

You don’t have to cut under the vanity permanently, some people just choose to remove the door and add a curtain.

The curtain will ensure that any litter that gets outside the litter Box will be contained inside the sink vanity.

It can easily be vacuumed up during your next cleaning.

You need a little creativity to make it work perfectly well for you.

Use the wardrobe cabinet for a cat enclosure

This is a very simple way of hiding the litter box.

You can just utilize any space in your house including your wardrobe cabinet.

You don’t have to cut the pieces that you already have.

You just have to create a cat door and everything else will fall into place.

How to make your own DIY cat Litter

It’s now time to save the environment, save the cats health and save yourself money that you would otherwise spend in buying custom made cat litters.

There are several cat litter options for homemade cat Litters.

There are countless ways to create your own kitty litters that are environmentally friendly and the ones that can save you a lot of money along the way.

Why is it necessary to make your own litter?

You might be wondering why it’s necessary to create your own homemade cat litter.

There are countless reasons why you should consider making your own litter.

The first reason is to save money and the next reason is environmental concerns.

If you want to get the best alternatives to produce litter at home, then there are countless ways to approach this.

Use newspapers

Now that you have good enough reasons why you should consider DIY homemade cat litters, let’s get into the real business now.

The first method of creating homemade litter is to use newspapers.

I’m sure you already have plenty of newspapers in your home.

If not, you can dig into your junk mail.

This is very inexpensive and plentiful because you just have to check around for the newspapers and cut them into fine particles.

Sand

Sand is naturally adored by cats especially because it feels like litter or because it gives them a nice place to hide their mess.

Sand is a great alternative to the overpriced store brand litter.

It is also easy to apply and is available naturally in the environment.

It’s easier to clean and feels just like store brand cat litter.

Sand clumps very well which makes it easy for extraction.

If you are concerned about urine smell, then sand can be a good solution because it absorbs odor quite well.

Wood shavings and Sawdust

Wood shavings and sawdust are very inexpensive which means they will save you a lot of money.

Its easily found in workshops and feed stores.

It makes a great alternative to store-brand cat litter.

You shouldn’t as well worry about deodorizing the box.

Wood shavings and sawdust have a natural scent, which will most probably cover the ammonia smell.

Chick Feed

Lastly, chicken feed can work as an alternative to commercial based cat litter.

It’s one of the least used DIY cat litter but it can actually work like a charm especially if you want to save money on cat litter.

You can easily combine chicken feed with cedar shavings and baking soda to mask the smell of urine.

Unfortunately, the chicken feed can attract other animals including bugs, rats, mice and chicken.

How to deodorize

Immediately after switching to the DIY litter, you have to make Baking soda your best friend.

But still, deodorizing your DIY litter is an extra step that you need to take.

You can either add soda, odor-relieving powder and a carpet deodorizer.

All the above are viable options and you have to go with the cheapest method that works for you.

Before you invest your time in any DIY litter options explained in this post, you must bear in mind that cats are finicky.

I understand that the process of transitioning from store brand cat litter to DIY litter can take time and cause more headaches.

But instead of attempting each of the methods above day by day, you are advised to be more patient and take time to see whether the cat will eventually like the litter.

You might confuse the cats if you try each of them at a time.

Take time to gauge the one that works for your cat best.

Alternatively, you can provide multiple DIY litter and see the one that your cat will like the most.

Each of them should have different formulas to reduce chances that your cat will do the business outside the box if they dislike any of them.

What Can I use instead of Cat Litter?

Even after reading along, I know you are already wondering what are the best cat Litter substitutes and whether there are any more alternatives.

I’ve often encountered the question of what Can I use to save on Cat litter.

As a cat lover who has been out here searching for ways to save money on cat Litter, I have the top best alternatives to store-brand Cat Litter.

If you are in a dilemma or overwhelmed by the many alternatives that are out there, you have to read and pick the alternative that will work for you.

Alfalfa Pellets

I didn’t mention this alternative above because I wanted to give it a little more weight.

Alfalfa is a great alternative with a couple of benefits to Cat owners.

It doesn’t matter whether you have chickens in your yard, if you have adopted some rabbits and fed them with the alfalfa pellets, you definitely know what I’m talking about.

The first benefit of using alfalfa pellets is the fact that they are biodegradable.

They go through the rabbit’s mouths and for that reason, they are eco-friendly.

The alfalfa pellets, however, have their own share of disadvantages.

If you put too much of these pellets in the litter box, you will definitely notice some dust.

It can as well track easily and cause more mess in your home.

Horse Bedding Pellets

These are made from sawdust and just like wood shavings and sawdust; they are perfect alternatives to expensive cat Litter.

However, the use of horse bedding pellets is very unusual even when it has its own advantages.

The beddings are very absorbent and you can easily mix them with baking soda and little water for odor absorption.

The pellets are also affordable and very effective.

However, there are some noticeable disadvantages of using horse bedding pellets.

The first disadvantage is that they have a tendency to swell up when wet.

They can easily disintegrate into sawdust immediately they get wet.

Moving on, you might have to deal with dust if you put too much of this and some of it can scatter on the floor.

Whole wheat

Whole wheat should only work as an emergency cat Litter.

This means that if you run out of cat litter and you cannot get it instantly, a good option is to use is whole wheat.

The user should grind the whole wheat berries into a coarse powder.

You can even grind them into finer results depending on your specific needs.

They can clump together when wet and can as well be composted.

This is an indication that they are biodegradable and very easy to scoop.

However, very few cats will like the smell of whole grain.

Whole wheat is also not very effective in masking poop and pee odors.

Fortunately, you can add baking soda to mask the odor.

Potting soil

Just like sand, potting soil has its own advantages when used as cat Litter.

It’s very natural and effective when eliminating cat waste.

As long as you have a way of keeping the soil inside the litter box, then you have an effective alternative that can work for both indoor and outdoor cats.

Its main advantage is that it’s available everywhere.

Moving on; there’s no need to spend anything on a bucket of soil.

Cats love the soil texture and natural smell.

But still, soil can be a host to parasites and pests.

The best approach is to bake the soil in an oven for some time before putting it in the litter box.

FAQs

Can I make my own cat Litter?

Yes, there are several methods of making your own cat litter.

As explained above, you can use soil, sand, newspapers, horse beddings, whole grain and several other materials to make your own cat litter.

What can be used instead of cat litter?

You can use shredded newspaper and junk mails, wood shavings and sawdust, potting soil, alfalfa pellets, horse beddings pellets, chicken feeds and several other materials.

Can I use Rice for Cat Litter?

Yes, rice can be used as DIY cat litter because it’s a great absorber.

Unfortunately, rice expands when wet and it can track to cause more mess in your house.

Conclusion

This brief has been very effective and actionable in explaining DIY litter masking solutions and DIY cat litter alternatives.

Not all cats will love each of the solutions explained above.

Consequently, you have to try different solutions until you get exactly what your cat likes.