Homemade Hooded Cat Pan

Our geriatric kitty has required a litter box inside the house.  At the age of twenty, he gets a little bit confused from time to time and wasn't able to find his box out in the garage.  He also was having trouble holding it while we were at work and school.  I really hate having a box in the house, but it was necessary.

At first we used our dog crate to help conceal the pan and corral as much of the litter as possible, but it is large and not overly attractive.  With all of the updates we've been making to our home lately I really didn't want that eyesore in the house anymore.  So we headed off to the store to pick up an affordable hooded cat pan for $12.99.  When I got home we went to assemble the silly thing and the lid wouldn't stay on.  I knew that wasn't going to work so we returned it and looked at other options at other stores.  They range in price from $24.99 to $39.99!  I was shocked that they had gone up in price so high.

After a lot of thought, and just before sucking it up and laying out a gob of cash, I decided to make our own instead.  I picked up a couple of storage totes.  One that was large enough to act as a hood with a tray (lid) underneath to protect the floor and another one that would fit inside nicely and was large enough to be the litter pan.  Then home to make it all happen.

I used a sheet of scrap paper nine inches long as a pattern to make an appropriate sized opening and taped it to the side of the bin, scored it with a razor sharp utility knife and then cut along the lines to remove the piece.  It cut easily and I just took my time in order to keep it straight and even.

Once the opening was cut I lined the pan with a kitchen trash bag and added litter to it.  I set the lid from the tote upside on the floor and then the new bin on top.  Then I put the tote over it and snapped it onto the lid.  It took me only fifteen minutes to get it done and it works perfectly.  Both totes were $5.99 each making it very affordable and very effective.

The new pan now resides in our laundry room and Old Man Kitty seems quite pleased with it.  Anything I can do to make his life more comfortable right now I am willing to do for this guy.  Bless his little heart.