A
BC
D
E
Fig. A: Mark a plastic bowl for cutting into a litter holder.
Fig. B: Fit the bowl against the back of the toilet seat lid.
Fig. C: Mark bowl position on the lid. Fig. D: Cut a circle
into the lid over the bowl location, small enough to let
MATERIALS AND TOOLS
Toilet seat with lid about $3. Cheap lids may be
better as they’re likely to be thinner plastic,
and hence easier to cut.
Flat-bottomed plastic bowl that can be cut
without cracking. Get one with as short a slope
as possible around its edges — the cat will stand
in the bottom. The bowl must be big enough to fit
inside the toilet seat and have a lip that extends
past the hole in the seat, so that it suspends
inside the seat. Get as close a fit as possible —
the bigger the bowl, the happier the cat.
Machine screws and nuts ( 3)
Large-grit sandpaper
Household glue
Sharpie
Dremel rotary tool
Flushable cat litter World's Best works well.
Cat
Construction
This project is easy; overall it took me about an hour
to set up.
1. Cut off one edge of the bowl in a straight line
across the point where the lip meets the flat bottom
(Figure A). Use a Dremel to smooth the sharp edges.
2. Put the bowl into the toilet seat and close the lid.
Flip the toilet seat/lid upside down (Figure B) and
F
the cat squat in front. Fig. E: Litter holder bowl screwed
securely onto toilet seat lid. Fig. F: Sand the front of the
lid so it takes glue better. Gluing sandpaper back-side
down turns this into a sure-grip platform for your cat.
lift the seat off. Mark where the bowl sits on the lid
using a Sharpie (Figure C).
3. Now you’ll cut a hole in the lid large enough that
the cat can sit inside it and use it as a litter box, but
leaving enough space on the front of the lid that the
cat can squat there when it’s fully trained. Within
the marks you made, trace a circle that you think
fits the bill — I used a cooking bowl as a guide. Set
the circle toward the hinge at the rear to maximize
the standing space at the front of the lid.
4. Using the Dremel, cut the circle out of the lid
(Figure D). Again, smooth the sharp edges.
5. Drill 3 holes through the lid and the lip of the bowl
for the screws— one on each side, and one on the
front (non-hinged) side of the lid. The bowl should
cover the hole you cut in the lid, with its sheared-off
edge facing the hinge.
6. Screw the bowl to the lid (Figure E). Seat it as
snugly as possible; if it wiggles or shakes, the cat
may feel insecure and not take to it as quickly.
Depending on the placement of the screws, you
may have to Dremel off the rest of the screw so the
lid sits properly on the seat.
7. Use a corner of the sandpaper to sand down half of
the topside of the lid, at the front end. This provides
some texture for glue to adhere to (Figure F).
145 Make:
