How To Make A Cat Litter Box Stand

Who likes seeing a cat litter box? Who likes cat litter spread from one end of the room to the other? Let me show you how I turned this old TV stand into a hidden cat litter box enclosure.

tv stand turned into cat litter enclosure with lamp and vase with flowers on top

To me, one of the most disgusting feelings is having dirty feet. Something being stuck to the bottom of my foot, for me, is comparable to fingernails on a chalkboard to others. This was exactly why I needed to come up with a solution for our cat’s litter box.

Ever since we moved into this house, we have had the litter box in a high sided tote with a rug underneath, but she still some how managed to fling litter everywhere. She would jump out at mach speed, sending little particles flying into the abyss, just waiting for an unsuspecting, slightly clammy foot to come along for it to adhere to. *Shivers*

And on top of the gag factor, the look of a cat litter box or a tote is just plain ugly.

So, I turned our old TV stand into a hidden cat litter box area.

Tv stand = Cat Litter Box Stand

For way too long I wanted to get rid of this old TV stand. It was cheap, old and not my style anymore. However, it was still in some what decent shape, so I didn’t just want to throw it out. I redid an old dresser to be our new TV stand, which freed up this old one.

Demo & zhuzh up

The base….

I first started by shoring up the base of the stand. The particle board had cracked and became unstable.

I added a 2×4 base to three sides and used the existing front face particle board. I used pocket holes to attach the base to the bottom of the stand and more pocket holes to connect the frame itself.

2x4 base added to tv stand for new cat litter box stand

The Front….

On the front side there were some blocks and column details I knew I wanted to remove. They were a little too early 2000’s traditional for the look I was going for. I also knew I wanted to add some turned legs to the bottom to raise the TV stand higher. Those traditional details just wouldn’t have made for a seamless transition between the front face and the legs.

I was a bit nervous to remove them, because I didn’t want to ruin the whole stand. But after I did I was extremely happy. It didn’t completely falling apart and disintegrating in my hands, which really boosted my confidence. I knew the vision in my head was going to work out.

Cutting the compartment holes….

After I removed those details, I measured and cut where I wanted the opening to be for our cat to get inside the stand.

Since this stand has two compartments, I wanted her litter box to be on one side and her food to be on the other. We have dogs, so keeping her food away from them was also I big reason for this build.

As you can see in the picture, I cut the openings and then with a fine grit sandpaper on a orbital sander, I gave the whole piece a sand. This stand is 100% particle board with a fake wood veneer. In order for the paint to stick, it needed to have something to hold on to.

cat door holes cut into side and inside of cat litter box stand

Adding legs….

Next I went to Home Depot and found the legs I wanted. My husband helped me find these brackets that would help me easily attach the legs to the stand.

I adjusted the brackets to where the legs would align nicely with the stand and look original. If I would have placed them to far back, they would of looked like an after thought.

brackets screwed into place on cat litter stand

Making It Pretty

Now that demo and the shoring up is complete, it’s time for the fun part.

I flipped the stand over onto its feet and gave it a good wipe down.

I wanted to paint the stand, but stain the legs a nice worn medium color.

First, I tested on scrap wood. I tired many different combos and landed on mostly Early American by Varathane with a dollop of Golden Pecan.

Of course, I forgot to take a picture of the legs once stained. You can see them in the end result pictures. I love the color they turned out!

type of stain used on the legs of the cat litter box stand

Next, for the paint color I chose Muted Sage by Behr in an eggshell finish. I used their Dynasty line for the first time and became a fan.

To be safe, I went in with a primer first before paint. I probably didn’t need a primer since Behr Dynasty is slightly thicker than the other Behr paints I’ve used. However, I wanted to insure the paint stuck. It really is a one coat cover. I only needed a sample size to cover the whole stand, with leftovers for touch ups.

I also used a foam roller for a smooth, even finish.

behr muted sage paint sample show on carpet

The final touches

Once the paint dried and cured, I needed to address the holes left in the front from when I removed the traditional column details.

cat litter stand after being painted but before holes were covered.

My thought was to use a nice piece of trim that I could add to cover the holes up.

I landed on this trim here. Simple, subtle and cheap, also the perfect width.

I adhere it to the stand with wood glue and some painters tape.

I waited a couple of days for it to dry and really latch on, before I removed the tape.

trim being held into place on cat litter box stand wit painters tape

The only problem I had with leaving the painters tape on a few days, was when taking the tape off. It ended up pulling some of the paint with it. But no worries, cause I still had a little paint left to do some touch ups.

The last final touches I added, were some cute curtains for the opening of the cat stand and new knobs for the doors. For the curtains, I grabbed some fabric from Hobby Lobby and sewed the smallest curtains I’ve ever sewn. I used a small wooden dowel from Home Depot as the rod and attached it with some basic hooks.