cat litter solution - hidden cat litter box

When we adopted my brother-in-law's cat the first thing I wanted to do was come up with a solution for the litter box. She started out in the unfinished basement, but I hated having the door to the basement constantly open. At first we were thinking of cutting a home in either the basement or garage door for a cat door. I also hated the idea of such a permanent solution.

We then came up with the idea of having a cabinet for the litter box. We found the perfect furniture piece at Ikea for $100. I loved the look, and I LOVED  that I could lock the doors to keep Elle out. This particular cabinet was large enough for the litter box, a box of extra litter, and the scoop. The litter box was out of the way yet easy to access, didn't interfere with the decor of the room, and contained all of the litter sand. It was perfect!

To create our poop palace we cut a hole the same size at a cat door (a six inch square). We didn't want Kitty to get cut on the raw metal edges, so we wrapped the edges a couple of times with white duct tape. To train Kitty we left the doors open and put a treat on the ledge of the cabinet. When she got up into the cabinet I dropped a treat down the hole so she would go down and get it. Once she confidently used the hole I put one more treat inside and closed the doors. It was that simple for us. I have a nightlight plugged in behind the cabinet to help keep the area illuminated. 

The poop palace is a huge hit in our house. We were worried that it would get smelly, but we haven't had any issues. I usually put an scented oil diffuser on the side closest to the couch just to be safe. This cabinet is perfect for those with kiddos or are renting and can't cut holes for cat doors.