If you have an indoor cat, you know the struggle: where do I put the litter box? And if you live in a city like New York, where a small apartment is the standard, your options are probably limited. You also probably don’t want a cat toilet clashing with the rest of your decor, or taking up precious real estate that could be used for a more functional item - like seating.

In an attempt to solve all these problems I made a bench to hide Mr. Minkleton’s litter box and litter genie, that also serves as seating (or a place to put my bag when I come home from work).

The litter box I bought is the Modkat Flip Litter Box, so I made the bench to fit around that, with enough space for a little “ante chamber” for Minkle, as well as room for the litter genie I use (this one) and extra litter etc.

Dimensions of my bench: 39” length x 17 11/16” depth x 18 1/8“ height

These aren’t the easiest dimensions to work with, I ended up with these because I originally used metric measurements and then had to switch.

If you want easier dimensions, change it up! To figure out the measurements use this guide (works for metric and imperial):

• Decide on you final measurements of the piece: A (length)x B (depth) X C (height)
• Decide on the thickness of your plywood: this will be X
• the top/lid of your finished box will measure A x B. You will need 1 piece.
• the front & back of the box will measure A x (C-X), so subtract X (the thickness of your plywood) from the height of your box to find the height of the front and back piece. You will need 2 pieces of this size.
• the sides of the box will measure (B-2X) x (C-X). Meaning these pieces will have the same height as the front & back pieces you just calculated, but we have to subtract the thickness of the plywood (X) twice, as these side piece fit snugly between the front & back pieces. Makes sense?

Supplies:

• top: 1 piece. I used 11/16th in plywood - 17 5/8th” x 39”
• front & back: 2 pieces (11/16th in plywood - 17 7/16” x 39”)
• sides: 2 pieces (11/16th in plywood - 17 7/16” x 16 5/16th”)
• 2 (or 3 if your bench is very long) no-mortise hinges (I got these) - it’s important to get the right hinges, as the no-mortise hinges will ensure the top of your bench opens and closes properly, and lies flat. Make sure the hinges fit over the thickness of your plywood!
• Jig saw
• Wood filler
• Wood glue
• Wood stain or paint
• Optional: felt floor protectors

Instructions:

1. I started by marking the “mouse hole” for my cat to enter the box. I made this 10” high and 6 1/4” wide, with a rounded top. I cut out the shape using a piece of paper folded in half, to ensure the shape is symmetrical.
2. I used the jig saw to cut out the shape (after securing the wood to my kitchen counter because my apartment is small and I had not furniture when I was working on this haha)
3. After sanding the edges, I glued the front/back & sides together using wood glue and clamps to hold the pieces in place while they dried. Once they were dry, I pre drilled 3 holes along the front/back edges, and connected the pieces using countersunk screws.
4. Note: if you plan to stain your box, make sure to sand away any excess glue! I didn’t do this, since I originally planned on painting it. Then months later when I used stain, I got some discoloration (as you can see in the photos) in the areas where there was glue, as I’d forgotten it was there!
5. I covered up the screws using wood filler, which I let try and then sanded flat. You can still see where I used them since they absorbed the wood stain differently.
6. At this point I attached the no-mortise hinges and top/lid of the box. My piece of wood had warped slightly by the time I did this, so you can see it doesn’t sit flush with the box in the right hand corner (for weeks I just placed the lid on top of the box which worked fine until I got the right hinges to finish the project).
7. Then I sanded everything until smooth, and (months later) finally stained it! I had originally wanted to paint it crazy colors, but opted for stain to keep our living room a bit more calm and chill. I could still paint over this in the future though, so maybe I will someday when I get bored of it :)
8. If you have wood floors like I do, don’t forget to add felt protector pads! I used ones from a multipack I got at IKEA.

More Ideas:

• Paint the bench a fun pattern to create a statement piece!
• Paint the inside a contrasting color.
• Sew a seating pad or pillows to add to the top of the bench.

I plan on eventually painting the inside a fun color and adding some padding to this, to make it more comfortable to sit on. But I have enough other projects lined up for now, and I want to get back to sewing garments! :)