? Slightly off topic but need help (litter box)

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johnt

johnt

Member Since 2016
I'm trying to find a gigantic litter box.

I had one at one time. it was big enough for my monster cat to go inside, do his kitty business, clean up and leave.

he's very big. 21 pounds, but he's also very LONG. i have the biggest box i can find right now. 22.5" x 18" x 17" but he's so big almost half of him sticks out of the box when he's peeing.

The biggest problem is since he's so cramped he can't cover his mess well, which sucks for everyone.

I searched google, amazon, chewy etc and I can't find a litter box any bigger than i have. but at one time i know i had a bigger one. just can't remember what it was.

Anyone have a suggestion? if not I'm going to be resigned to building one, and that's gonna be HEAVY.

thanks!
 
Cherish Gallagher said:
Cheaper too!
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Absolutely. I am so happy now!

I actually dedicated my walk in closet in my office to two litter boxes, and the third is in another bedroom. I'm going to take the two out. Put one somewhere else, trash the last, but get a tub big enough to hold two of the 42 pound bags of Fresh Step which I just went back to.

That should give him plenty of room.

It's funny, i don't know if anyone else's cat does this, but when wilbur poops, right after he gets really friskie and runs all over the house playing. I used to think something might be wrong, but he's done it for all 9 years now
 
OK so here's the next question. i'm going to wally world to get one tonight.

But how do you all cut yours? when i made the outside insulated box for Pickle before I adopted her, I tried a dremel... melted it. a saw, melted it.

How are you guys cutting them?
 
Jigsaw, make sure to round the edges. There's a hand powered drywall saw that's cheap. Big yellow handle and interchangeable blades, should be less than $15
 
I was going to suggest the playing
johnt said:
OK so here's the next question. i'm going to wally world to get one tonight.

But how do you all cut yours? when i made the outside insulated box for Pickle before I adopted her, I tried a dremel... melted it. a saw, melted it.

How are you guys cutting them?
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Big box cutter might work, but a jigsaw would be easier.
 
Noah & me said:
Jigsaw, make sure to round the edges. There's a hand powered drywall saw that's cheap. Big yellow handle and interchangeable blades, should be less than $15
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That would work. someone else mentioned a box cutter. Got plenty of those.

I think the jigsaw sounds like the least possibility of nasty cut. I'll try that one. Thanks!@
 
johnt said:
That would work. someone else mentioned a box cutter. Got plenty of those.

I think the jigsaw sounds like the least possibility of nasty cut. I'll try that one. Thanks!@
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Jigsaw - problem you will have is the thin plastic will vibrate like crazy. If you just have to use a power tool... (...humph...men... :) ), how about a cutting wheel on your dremel?

(I must admit, I'm the one with all the power tools here...)
 
Squeaky and KT (GA) said:
Jigsaw - problem you will have is the thin plastic will vibrate like crazy. If you just have to use a power tool... (...humph...men... :) ), how about a cutting wheel on your dremel?

(I must admit, I'm the one with all the power tools here...)
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that's what I used when I made this (pics below) and it melted more than it cut. it wasn't a huge deal on this because it was just a hole. but cutting the whole thing would leave melty sharp scragg;les (technical term)

the jigsaw sounds like the best option. i built a huge workbench in my garage and I have clamps, i could just clamp it to the table and figure out a way to hold it sturdy, but you make a very good point I hadn't thought of.

Thank you

Pics from my last plastic tub project:

here's the short story.

Pickle, my little stray that I cared for, was getting really cold at night. it was nearly 0 farenheit at night. I bought a cruddy heated house but it.. well sucked.

So i built this. that's paper insulation, 1.5 inches deep on the bottom, sealed all sides around the inside tub, then put 1.5 inches over the lid and sealed up the top.

For monitoring i put a wifi security cam in it, a pressure sensitive heated cat pad, and a wireless thermometer so I could monitor temps. (kept it a nice 50 degrees regardless of the cold).

so I had to cut 4 holes, then I taped them to seal the holes, and cover the sharp shards.
mmAwm.jpg


iYHUL.jpg


after I put it outside, within 4 or 5 hours, pickle had moved in. here's a still I took her first night.

qDAWL.jpg


there's no way a rotary blade on a dremel would work without melting i think. but you could be right.
 
johnt said:
that's what I used when I made this (pics below) and it melted more than it cut. it wasn't a huge deal on this because it was just a hole. but cutting the whole thing would leave melty sharp scragg;les (technical term)

the jigsaw sounds like the best option. i built a huge workbench in my garage and I have clamps, i could just clamp it to the table and figure out a way to hold it sturdy, but you make a very good point I hadn't thought of.

Thank you

Pics from my last plastic tub project:

here's the short story.

Pickle, my little stray that I cared for, was getting really cold at night. it was nearly 0 farenheit at night. I bought a cruddy heated house but it.. well sucked.

So i built this. that's paper insulation, 1.5 inches deep on the bottom, sealed all sides around the inside tub, then put 1.5 inches over the lid and sealed up the top.

For monitoring i put a wifi security cam in it, a pressure sensitive heated cat pad, and a wireless thermometer so I could monitor temps. (kept it a nice 50 degrees regardless of the cold).

so I had to cut 4 holes, then I taped them to seal the holes, and cover the sharp shards.
mmAwm.jpg


iYHUL.jpg


after I put it outside, within 4 or 5 hours, pickle had moved in. here's a still I took her first night.

qDAWL.jpg


there's no way a rotary blade on a dremel would work without melting i think. but you could be right.
Click to expand...
Omg I love that you put a security cam in it! Tell me more about that!
 
Squeaky and KT (GA) said:
I have to laugh...we call this the 'happy crap dash'....
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All six wait until I come up the basement stairs, then they rush down. It's not "happy crap dash", it's the FESTIVAL OF DOO-DOO.
johnt said:
OK so here's the next question. I'm going to wally world to get one tonight.
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Okay, I've heard lots of code words I don't get yet but Wally World?
Walley-World.jpg
 
A little sandpaper cures any rough edges. A dremel even on slow with a spray bottle will probably still melt the plastic. If you want to use power tools, a dremel multi-max would work good, it just vibrates. They have cheap knock-offs at harbor freight. I've always just used a box cutter myself for the thin sided totes. Careful where you cut the holes, my first tote was a little flimsy and I put the opening near a corner... should have thought about it more as the tote is now more picasso shaped then square shaped.

Noah & me said:
Okay, I've heard lots of code words I don't get yet but Wally World?
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The nice euphemism for Wal-Mart, there are others, but not as print friendly:D Thanks for the Griswald pic though, always puts a smile on my face.
 
You'd be surprised and shocked what you can find on Google Images. The worst is accidental porn. After 911 I downloaded tons of pics that weren't in newspapers or magazines. I tried the same after Katrina but I didn't say "Hurricane" Katrina. You can't even imagine what popped up. The stuff on YouTube, even little 60 second bytes of your favourite movies are there. Major copyright infringement. I had a friend who was doing some Hocus Pocus downloading and instead of a call from the cable company he got a registered letter from Sony!
 
There's also a way to copy stuff from YouTube. Don't bother with the paid-for software, there's a free way to do it. All your favourite SuperBowl commercials are there, everything. Now... I know I've blabbered on endlessly about Border Collies but this Subaru ad came on TV just after Hannah died. Still brings my wife to tears. For anyone who doesn't know, Border Collies don't want to help you, they HAVE to help you and HAVE to be with you all the time. Thinking of getting one? After Pit Bulls they are next in line for dogs returned to breeders from people get driven nuts by the dog. OCD, too smart, you name it, they have it.

 
SORRY, what a waste of bandwidth. Wrong commercial and one is in French. This should be it, dog with broken leg. let's try again, for the LAST time, promise!
 
JanetNJ said:
Omg I love that you put a security cam in it! Tell me more about that!
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Well there's not really much to tell, i did most of it with the pictures.

Poor little pickle, i have a hard time looking at those photos. she was rough. she'd been abandoned. but was so hungry when i fed the other strays she would dart over to me and be eating before i put the bowl down.

I have a really hard time telling this story too.

she came around more and more and started letting me pick her up. she drooled REALLY bad and it stunk really bad.

When i put that house outside, i also put 4 or 5 little toys I got from walmart. she moved in that night, and the next day I noticed she had taken all the toys inside her little house.

I watched her through the video camera, and one day I saw her run top speed into the box. thought she was playing. The next morning I went outside to pet her, and she could barely move. She had been attacked by something. she had puncture marks all over, a tendon hanging out and was just beat up bad. She had fought so hard all her rear claws had been pulled out. I took her to my vet and boarded her for 10 days to recover. While there I had her checked and found out she had stomatitis. where the gums treat the teeth like they're foreign bodies and it rejects them. the drooling was because she had open sores all over her mouth and apparently it hurt too much to swallow so she'd drool. it stunk because of the rotting flesh.

There's no real cure. but I could give her steroid shots which would help for a while. problem is, it would return, and doing the steroids over and over sooner or later would stop working. So it's a matter of quality of life then.

I didn't know what to do, but i found a vet that said there's one other option. Remove her teeth and see if that resolves it. What else could I do? I got her the surgery and she spent a few days in the vet again.

When it was over, i simply couldn't just plop her outside. So she became our third cat.

I'm happy to say within the month she was healed and the sores didnt come back (the surgery could have failed to stop it). it's now been 5 years and no problem!

her eye is permanently messed up. not sure how, and something is wrong with her sinuses. she doesn't have dripping but she uses her mouth to breath a lot. it's loud enough that i know when she's in the room.

she's such a sweet girl! it's a good ending
 
You're an Angel for even caring. Once a year someone hits a cat on our street and just keeps on going. We adopted an escaped house cat that was hanging with some ferals. Two months and two mortgage payments later and Alvin was gone. This is what we do I guess.
 
johnt said:
Well there's not really much to tell, i did most of it with the pictures.

Poor little pickle, i have a hard time looking at those photos. she was rough. she'd been abandoned. but was so hungry when i fed the other strays she would dart over to me and be eating before i put the bowl down.

I have a really hard time telling this story too.

she came around more and more and started letting me pick her up. she drooled REALLY bad and it stunk really bad.

When i put that house outside, i also put 4 or 5 little toys I got from walmart. she moved in that night, and the next day I noticed she had taken all the toys inside her little house.

I watched her through the video camera, and one day I saw her run top speed into the box. thought she was playing. The next morning I went outside to pet her, and she could barely move. She had been attacked by something. she had puncture marks all over, a tendon hanging out and was just beat up bad. She had fought so hard all her rear claws had been pulled out. I took her to my vet and boarded her for 10 days to recover. While there I had her checked and found out she had stomatitis. where the gums treat the teeth like they're foreign bodies and it rejects them. the drooling was because she had open sores all over her mouth and apparently it hurt too much to swallow so she'd drool. it stunk because of the rotting flesh.

There's no real cure. but I could give her steroid shots which would help for a while. problem is, it would return, and doing the steroids over and over sooner or later would stop working. So it's a matter of quality of life then.

I didn't know what to do, but i found a vet that said there's one other option. Remove her teeth and see if that resolves it. What else could I do? I got her the surgery and she spent a few days in the vet again.

When it was over, i simply couldn't just plop her outside. So she became our third cat.

I'm happy to say within the month she was healed and the sores didnt come back (the surgery could have failed to stop it). it's now been 5 years and no problem!

her eye is permanently messed up. not sure how, and something is wrong with her sinuses. she doesn't have dripping but she uses her mouth to breath a lot. it's loud enough that i know when she's in the room.

she's such a sweet girl! it's a good ending
Click to expand...
Omg that poor soul. I've taken in a few dumped ones myself. One had a sinus infection and am absess on her leg. Another dumped as a kitten with a flea collar which was stick around her waist and dug into her fur. Another couldn't walk.
 
Noah & me said:
You're an Angel for even caring. Once a year someone hits a cat on our street and just keeps on going. We adopted an escaped house cat that was hanging with some ferals. Two months and two mortgage payments later and Alvin was gone. This is what we do I guess.
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WEll thank you! But honestly, i love all animals. it just really bugs me when people move and just put their cats outside and drive away.

I really took good care of the strays there but Pickle is the only one i adopted. the others were healthy and seemed happy. I think cats born outside that stay outside are just fine. the cruelty is when you bring a kitten home, raise it for a couple years then jsut throw it outside. ugh I get angry thinking about it.

I've done a lot of helping and love every minute. i fostered pregnant cats in phoenix for several years, I also did a lot of TNR stuff. But i never once felt like it was work. When you love them so much it's so gratifying seeing them happier, healthier, or when kittens go to their forever phone there an incredible feeling of satisfaction.

I remember the last time i did fosters I was even able to interview and pick the new owners. I always thought I'd be really bummed when the kittens were 10 weeks old and adopted out. but i found it really made me happy to see them going to explore a new home.

It's really fun
 
JanetNJ said:
Omg that poor soul. I've taken in a few dumped ones myself. One had a sinus infection and am absess on her leg. Another dumped as a kitten with a flea collar which was stick around her waist and dug into her fur. Another couldn't walk.
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oh man that's awful. i would have a very hard time with that.

so good of you to take them in!!!
 
johnt said:
oh man that's awful. i would have a very hard time with that.

so good of you to take them in!!!
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The one who couldn't walk was a little 2 month old kitten... She was dragging her back leg and couldn't keep up. She was left behind when the mom and other kittens went for a walk. I thought she must have broken it. I picked her up and plead for help on Facebook. A friend stepped up and took her and the next night found a permanent home. Vet thinks she had nerve damage from a bad fall or something and eventually she recovered 90% use of her legs! You'd never know now. :)
 
johnt said:
WEll thank you! But honestly, i love all animals. it just really bugs me when people move and just put their cats outside and drive away.
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There's a thread I started called "Yipee, Neighbors finally moving" because two of our boys came from this house of horrors; un-neutered, left out in the cold, not being looked for but NOTHING like your story. I could just whack these people with a stick treating these beautiful animals like stuffed toys from Goodwill. They're not disposable! Even my favourite pet food store that does adoptions sells cat collars but they don't recommend the tear-away ones. Very hard for me to keep my mouth shut. You're still the Angel of the month! These are our boys, right after one walked on the keyboard and another pooped in the tub. The one on the right looks like @JanetNJ I think.
Angels.JPG
 
Oh, that was when Janet and her kitty were on TV. I think it was Jeopardy or maybe Wheel of Misfortune. Or maybe "Lifestyles of the cat-hair everywhere". She's famous now but still pretty down to Earth. Probably drives a Prius!
 
Noah & me said:
There's a thread I started called "Yipee, Neighbors finally moving" because two of our boys came from this house of horrors; un-neutered, left out in the cold, not being looked for but NOTHING like your story. I could just whack these people with a stick treating these beautiful animals like stuffed toys from Goodwill. They're not disposable! Even my favourite pet food store that does adoptions sells cat collars but they don't recommend the tear-away ones. Very hard for me to keep my mouth shut. You're still the Angel of the month! These are our boys, right after one walked on the keyboard and another pooped in the tub. The one on the right looks like @JanetNJ I think.
View attachment 28053
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I wonder why it chokes me up to think about when she was so sick? I mean it's over, she's surely feeling better now than she did her entire life without those sores, but it still just breaks me down when i think about it. it's a happy ending story.

I can't believe people can take in a cat, or any animal and be so heartless as to just get rid of it. not only dumping it, but just abandoning it. they could AT LEAST give it to a shelter
 
johnt said:
Absolutely. I am so happy now!

I actually dedicated my walk in closet in my office to two litter boxes, and the third is in another bedroom. I'm going to take the two out. Put one somewhere else, trash the last, but get a tub big enough to hold two of the 42 pound bags of Fresh Step which I just went back to.

That should give him plenty of room.

It's funny, i don't know if anyone else's cat does this, but when wilbur poops, right after he gets really friskie and runs all over the house playing. I used to think something might be wrong, but he's done it for all 9 years now
Click to expand...
Lol Sammy did that too -even when he was 17 yo.
 
I'm not kidding when I said I thought he was sick. i thought maybe he'd been constipated and finally felt good. but as time went on i figured it out lol
 
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