Living With Pets (Plus A Simple Pet DIY) Updated from July 31. 2023

 

Back on July 31, 2023 I did a simple pet DIY on the post titled "Living With Pets (Plus A Simple Pet DIY)".  I couldn't find a low sided litter box for my aging cat that was anywhere close to affordable. So, I decided to try making my own using a low sided fruit box and left over peal and stick shelf liner. The only alterations to the box I made was to use an exacto knife to cut and lower the one corner to make getting in and out easier.  

This project ended up turning out pretty well and the best thing was...it didn't cost me a thing.

From July 2023

So, fast forwarding to today and we are now almost at the end of January 2024. It's stood up fairly well despite her regular excessive scratching the one corner. But since she had it so scratched up in one particular spot I was concerned about leakage into the cardboard.  And, now that I know how she uses it and which areas get the most wear and tear I decided to make some improvements. 

I found a slightly bigger box and this time I did a little extra reinforcement in those wear and tear areas using extra layers of shelf liner. I also used clear packing tape to tape up any overlapping areas on the inside bottom of the box. By adding the tape I was hoping this would help prevent the liner from come up as easily when she inevitably scratches the bottom. In total the inside bottom and sides have three to four layers not including the reinforced areas.  

The first layer on the second box.

This time the box fits snuggly into the space, which should make clean up easier than it was before. (No spillage over the back and sides.)  It should also last longer with those extra strategic layers of shelf liner. At least that's my hope anyway. She maybe seventeen but those claws are as sharp as ever.

The finished product fits snuggly into place.