It’s nothing new: in fact, from the looks of things, Fat Cat Creations has made a business out of catering to the discriminating cat. And while I’m sure their furniture is indeed up to par (if not above, provided one happens to know what “par” is), I have this bad habit of partially designing things, beginning construction, and ultimately winging it after the fact.

With predictable results.

Inspired by the folks at Fat Cat Creations, I designed the “cat box enclosure” pictured at right, which, hopefully, will not fall into the “You know what? Forget it” category. I’ve actually researched materials to ensure I’m working with accurate dimensions. I took a bunch of blurry, practically useless photos (yay!) with my mobile phone in order to better model the casters and non-mortised concealed hinges I plan to use. To date, I’ve modeled all the boards (complete with dowel holes!), the casters (albeit somewhat inaccurately), and soon enough, I’ll give the hinges a go.

So will I follow through?

We’ll see. In the meantime, I’m also going to include my Google SketchUp file (cb_enc_012c.skp) for anyone who’s interested. And should someone either build or improve upon my design, I’d love to see the result!

Anyone who’s ever been owned by a cat knows that as cute and precocious as felines can be, there’s nothing cute about the steaming piles they inevitably leave behind. (Especially when those steaming piles end up on the carpet just outside the litter box. Yeah.)

For a long time, our cat Ashe produced the most horrendous smelling poop that I’ve ever had the regrettable fortune to smell. Leaving his litter box for even a few hours without scooping was just begging the house to fill with a fragrance only ogres could appreciate. Ogres with missing olfactory senses, that is.

We tried various versions of your average litter box with no discernable improvements. Our considerable faculties having failed us, we opted to give the LitterMaid™ LM500 a chance — after all, the questionable “couple” in the commercial made it seem like cleaning the litter box would be a retreat — a lark akin to frolicking through the forests as golden beams of sunshine cascaded about your shimmering tresses while bunnies and chickadees serenaded your happiness.

But wait! There’s more! »