Lofty thoughts on DIY sifting Iitterbox?

IronHippo

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So I made a sifting litterbox out of two 32 quart Sterilite containers after watching a YouTube tutorial. It's so much cheaper than buying a commercial sifting litterbox and best of all, all three cats love it!

...in fact, they love it so much that there isn't enough space to hold all of the sawdust they make! It's overflowing back into the upper sifting box in less than a week. I clean the boxes on the weekend and the overflowing means that it gets messy and I have to dump the whole tray rather than top it off, which wastes pellets sooner than I'd like. I'm trying to figure out the best way to "loft" the upper sifting level about an inch so that there is a bit more space in between the two boxes to catch the sawdust. So far, the only suggestion I've seen is to glue a small stack of water/soda bottle caps to the lower box, but we don't really use single use water bottles or drink soda. Anyone have any suggestions?
 

Norachan

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I can't quite picture what you've made IronHippo IronHippo Could you post some pictures? Or a link to the YouTube video that gave you the idea?

If it's just a case of lifting one box a little higher could you use wine corks or a piece of wooden dowel?
 
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IronHippo

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I can't quite picture what you've made IronHippo IronHippo Could you post some pictures? Or a link to the YouTube video that gave you the idea?

If it's just a case of lifting one box a little higher could you use wine corks or a piece of wooden dowel?
Oh sorry! Here's the YouTube tutorial:
This is when I had just finished the box:
6DB4310E-67A3-4648-8524-5ECDD2BC48B8.jpeg

(The one on the lower right is the Breeze box we'd been using--I have a large litter pan under it and it's lofted pretty high, but it's a bit more expensive than the Sterilite DIY and I wanted to try something else because I didn't like how bits of sediment get trapped in the grill or how urine sometimes pools in the area the tray would slide into.)

For the loft options, I was worried about going with a material that would get waterlogged when I washed the boxes or have the potential to harbor bacteria. Your suggestions might work if I leave the box out in the sun long enough, though, and some seem to come with more plasticky kind corks nowadays. Thanks!
 

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You could clean the litter boxes more often and not have to worry about remodeling them.
 
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IronHippo

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You could clean the litter boxes more often and not have to worry about remodeling them.
Respectfully, I am looking at this DIY box as a side project that can be improved upon to fit my needs as well as our cats' and was simply wondering if fellow cat owners had any insight or suggestions. All things can be improved upon, which I hope you can agree with!
 

kittenmittens84

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Head to the hardware store and ask if they have plastic spacers of some kind, I’m sure you can find some little piece of plastic or metal that’s the right height for less than a dollar each. Spacers for fasteners are generally about an inch so that might work.

Honestly, you could just use LEGO bricks. Stack as many as you want for the right height!
 
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IronHippo

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Head to the hardware store and ask if they have plastic spacers of some kind, I’m sure you can find some little piece of plastic or metal that’s the right height for less than a dollar each. Spacers for fasteners are generally about an inch so that might work.

Honestly, you could just use LEGO bricks. Stack as many as you want for the right height!
The mysterious hardware store...of course! Thank you!!
 

1 bruce 1

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The mysterious hardware store...of course! Thank you!!
IronHippo IronHippo if you fashion something up, please update this. We've been wanting to do a DIY breeze system for months but can't quite figure how to make it work efficiently. We use pellets because that's the one litter everyone agrees on and the asthmatic can tolerate so long as we dump the pellets out every other day. But that does get expensive.
:wave3:
 

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I bought a sifting litterbox (not cheap, as you say). It's great, but I've found it still takes a bit of energy (that I don't have) to use. However, I've now found the perfect clumping flushable litter. It literally dissolves in water! So now I have three of the litterboxes in the bathroom and just sit on the floor and clean them every time I use the bathroom. Stops me forgetting (I'm very forgetful), it's easy, and no smell! Also means I only need the one sifting litter box in another room. Just a suggestion. 😊
 
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IronHippo

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I bought a sifting litterbox (not cheap, as you say). It's great, but I've found it still takes a bit of energy (that I don't have) to use. However, I've now found the perfect clumping flushable litter. It literally dissolves in water! So now I have three of the litterboxes in the bathroom and just sit on the floor and clean them every time I use the bathroom. Stops me forgetting (I'm very forgetful), it's easy, and no smell! Also means I only need the one sifting litter box in another room. Just a suggestion. 😊
Hmm! What litter?
 

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IronHippo IronHippo , we couldn't figure out a way to do what you were talking about so we did something else. We're using an old box with the bottom flaps trimmed back about halfway with a measured grate at the bottom of the box to fit tightly. (The grate holes measure about 1/8 inch). We put the box over a trash can, dump the litter boxes in the sifter box, sift the sawdust into the trash, then pour the clean pellets back into the box. It's like a "reverse breeze system", and so far, it's worked like a charm and saved some cash:wave3:
 
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IronHippo

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IronHippo IronHippo , we couldn't figure out a way to do what you were talking about so we did something else. We're using an old box with the bottom flaps trimmed back about halfway with a measured grate at the bottom of the box to fit tightly. (The grate holes measure about 1/8 inch). We put the box over a trash can, dump the litter boxes in the sifter box, sift the sawdust into the trash, then pour the clean pellets back into the box. It's like a "reverse breeze system", and so far, it's worked like a charm and saved some cash:wave3:
Oh excellent! I ended up buying some spacers from Home Depot and I was going to give attaching them a go when I had some time...but your method also sounds like a good possibility!
 
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