Here’s 6 GREAT ways to Hide a Kitty Litter Box in a Cabinet. Four are minor changes safe for rental properties. The last 2 are perfect for cat lovers that want a bigger change!! Actually, they’re all perfect for cat lovers. 🙂
How to Hide A Kitty Litter Box in a Cabinet
We brought a sweet, sweet kitty home from a local rescue this year. And, we all adore her. In fact, one of my boys calls her our queen.
Which is a pretty accurate way to describe her.
But, the first few months she was here I had no idea where to put her litter box. Even in our roomy house no space seemed like the right spot for a litter box.
I was already hard at work on building and painting custom built ins for our play room. So, I had to put up with having the litter box in the Foyer and even the DINING Room for a while. Yikes.
Don’t worry, we have one of those waste of space Dining Rooms that only gets used a few times a year. But still, it’s next to the kitchen, so not an ideal spot for a litter box.
Once I finished those built ins I was ready to make a quick and easy change in our small, colorful laundry room.
Our Laundry Room has absolutely no floor space for a litter box, but it does have a few extra cabinets. A few years ago, I turned one of those cabinets into a bench with shoe storage.
This time, I decided to hide a kitty litter box in a cabinet. And, after 2 months of having it in there. I’m LOVING it, guys!
Table of contents
Can I Put a Kitty Litter Box in a Cabinet
Yes, you can put a kitty litter box in a cabinet. Hiding a litter box in a cabinet can be a great way to keep the litter box out of sight while giving your kitty lots of headroom and privacy.
If you don’t have a cabinet that can be converted into a kitty litter cabinet, you can find tons of stylish and affordable cabinets that hide litter boxes on Amazon.
Some of those hidden litter box cabinets can be used as a bench or a place to drop keys and things when you walk in. They’re perfect for entry ways in a small apartment or house.
Or you can hide your litter box in bathroom or laundry room cabinets. I have 6 ways to do that below. 🙂
Benefits of a Cabinet or Closet Litter Box
- A covered litter box or cabinet keeps litter in the box when your kitty is digging it up.
- It looks better than an open litter box.
- You’ll contain some of that smell.
- A cabinet or closet litter box can keep babies and dogs away from the litter box.
- And, some cats need those higher sides on covered boxes to keep pee in the box.
- Most cats like the privacy and are always sneaking off into little hiding spots anyway.
Just don’t forget to keep that covered box clean, or your cat might stop using it. 🙂
Six Ways to Hide a Kitty Litter Box in a Cabinet
OK, let’s get to the 6 ways to put a hidden litter box in a cabinet. The first 4 are perfect for rental homes. They do not cause any permanent damage or changes to the cabinet.
For the last 2 you would have to cut a hole in your cabinet door. But if you always have cats in your house and plan to live in the home for a long time, making a permanent change makes more sense. 🙂
To protect the bottom of the cabinet from all of that litter box “stuff”, I recommend putting some sort of vinyl or rubber mat under the litter box. I used this XL Dish Mat.
Having a removable mat makes it easy to pull out and shake off the litter too.
1. Remove The Door
This is probably the quickest and definitely the easiest way. Just remove the cabinet door to give your kitty easy access to a litter box hidden inside the cabinet.
Just be sure to save that cabinet door to put back on when you move out.
2. Replace the Cabinet Door With A Curtain
You know those cute, short kitchen curtain? You can put one of those up after removing the cabinet door. Use a pressure mounted rod to easily install that curtain without damaging the cabinet.
The curtain looks great, is easy for your kitty to use, and it hides that litter box away.
3. Use a Door Strap to Hold Door Open
Buy a stick on pet door strap that holds the door partially open. You can remove the door strap stickers when you move out without damaging the cabinet or closet door.
Using a pet door strap is a great way to keep babies and big dogs out of the litter box! It’s a door stop and latch that keeps the door open, but only wide enough for your cat to pass through. Genius!
4. Build a Replacement Door with a Hole
This one takes more effort. But if you’re into woodworking projects, you can build a simple replacement door for the cabinet. Then save the original door so that you can put it back on when you move.
Then install a cat door into the new, replacement cabinet door.
5. Install a Cat Door
I installed a cat door into our existing cabinet door. This is a solid wood cabinet door, so it was easy to cut into. And, still sturdy after this big change.
If you have MDF or particle board doors with laminate over, cutting into the door might not be the best idea. It could weaken the door or just make it look bad.
This cabinet door is already 20+ years old. So not new or expensive doors. And, we’ll have the cat for probably 15 years or more, if we’re lucky.
Also, we aren’t planning to move any time soon. So, for those 3 reasons I was OK with changing out cabinet door.
But, I’m also pretty comfortable with designing and building furniture. So, I can always build myself a new cabinet door, if I need to.
6. Cut a Hole and Trim it Out
This is pretty similar to installing a cat door in a cabinet door. But, for this one you don’t need to buy a cat door. Just cut the opening and trim it out with pretty molding.
Again, make sure the cabinet door can handle cutting and changes like this. It probably needs to be a solid wood door, like mine, for this to work.
If you have Shaker Style Cabinet Doors, or similar. The panel in the center might just be 1/4″ plywood or MDF floating in the frame. You can cut it, but you will need to plan out the changes to get the best look.
The Best Litter Box I’ve Used
WATCH THE VIDEO
Seeing something done can help explain things better. Watch this short video for a quick look at 6 ways to hide a kitty litter box in a cabinet.
Where Do You Hide a Litter Box in a Small Apartment
It can be tough to hide a litter box in a small apartment. But here are a few ideas that might work for you.
- In a coat closet or spare closet. You can use a Door Strap to keep the door partially open all the time.
- In a litter box cabinet that looks like beautiful furniture.
- You can also put it in a bathroom. Some people like to keep a litter box right next to the toilet.
- Some small apartments have a biggish pantry/laundry room that can be used to hide a litter box too.
That’s it for How to Hide a Kitty Litter Box in a Cabinet. You might also like these DIY Projects for Cat Lovers on my YouTube Channel.
Looking for another great DIY for your Cat? Here’s how to build a DIY Cat Tree Wood House.
Do Claw Caps for Cats Work? Yes!! Keep your skin and furniture safe from scratching with this easy DIY.
Looking for another DIY project with results you’ll love? Check out my steps for How to Whiten Grout.
This DIY saved my car seats! Check out How to Clean Car Seats at Home here.
And, here’s the 1-Step Fix for a Sun-Damaged, Dry Wood Front Door. I love this DIY!
Here’s how I caulked the backsplash along our kitchen counters too.
Feeling inspired? Now you know how to Hide a Kitty Litter Box in a Cabinet. You can do it too!
Have fun and let me know if you have questions. Don’t forget to sign up for the Abbotts At Home email newsletter to get DIY, Remodeling, and Crafty ideas in your inbox.
Stephanie Abbott has been remodeling homes, updating & building furniture, and working on DIY home maintenance and cleaning tips for over 20 years. Her remodeling has been featured in Better Homes and Gardens Magazine. And, her DIY YouTube channel has had more than 8 million views.
Most of the DIY tutorials and videos on this site focus on beginner to intermediate level DIY Projects that can be done in an affordable way without high-end, expensive tools. All of the cleaning tips on this website have been tested in her home.