Cat litter tracking is an issue that all cat owners have to resolve in their own ways. You could purchase cat mats specifically designed to trap cat litter. However, these mats don’t always work because cat litter tracking depends on your cat’s litter box habits and the type of litter you use. So, you may just end up spending a lot of money on a product that doesn’t prevent litter from spreading all over your house.
Fortunately, you can find much cheaper solutions through DIY cat litter mats. These creative solutions can help you design a cat mat that’s customized for your cat and home, and you can also make some significant savings along the way.
The 8 DIY Cat Litter Mats
1. DIY Hardware Cloth Cat Litter Box Runway by Shaun Hautly
| Materials: | Wire shelf, hardware cloth, plexiglass, zip ties |
| Tools: | Wirecutters |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
This DIY cat litter runway has a very clever design that automatically returns loose cat litter to the litter box. Once your cat uses its litter box, it will climb up a second level and walk down a runway lined with hardware cloth. The loose cat litter will fall through the holes of the hardware cloth and land back into the litter box. This DIY plan uses a multi-tier wire storage shelf, so you have extra storage on top that you can use to store extra cat litter or other cat supplies.
2. Carpet Square Cat Litter mat by DIY Designer
| Materials: | Carpet tiles, duct tape, cardboard, glue |
| Tools: | Cutting pat, Stanley knife, cutting straight edge, white marker |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
This DIY cat litter carpet mat is another great upcycling project. If you have any leftover carpet tiles or an old carpet rug, you can follow this DIY plan to create a brand-new cat litter carpet mat. The end result of this plan is a modern geometric rug, which blends in well with rooms with a more modern interior design.
So, if your living space doesn’t match this design, you can always just use the basic instructions for assembling the carpet rug. Then, you can veer off, cut out your own shapes, and create a design that better suits your home’s interior design.
3. DIY Cedar Cat Litter Mat by How to Build it
| Materials: | Cedar board, wood glue, teak oil |
| Tools: | circular saw, table saw, measuring tape, sandpaper, nail gun, paintbrush, rag |
| Difficulty Level: | Moderate |
If you use crystal cat litter or any other types of litter with larger granules, it can be helpful to have a cat litter mat with holes to trap the granules, like this DIY cedar cat litter mat. This cedar cat litter mat has elevated planks with a little room in between each plank. When your cat lands on it, the larger granules will fall through the cracks, which prevents litter from scattering. Just make sure to have another mat placed beneath this one so that it can catch the litter granules. Then, you can easily pour them back into the litter box or toss them away.
4. Garage Tiles by Kraftsy Kitties
| Materials: | Garage tiles |
| Tools: | Hacksaw |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
Using garage tiles with deep grooves can also become effective cat litter mats. This is because the cat litter will fall into the grooves and not be able to resurface. When it comes to cleanup, all you have to do is lift this mat every once in a while, and vacuum up the cat litter trapped underneath.
You can find sample sizes of garage tiles at fairly affordable prices, and they’re usually pretty easy to resize. A cheap hacksaw is sufficient enough to cut this garage tile cat litter mat to the perfect size.
5. DIY T-Shirt Cat Litter mat by The Pet Collective
| Materials: | T-shirts, twine, tape |
| Tools: | Scissors, needle and thread |
| Difficulty Level: | easy |
This DIY t-shirt cat litter mat is easy to create, it’s a great way to upcycle any old t-shirts that you have lying around the house. Just keep in mind that it does take some time to finish this project, so make sure to reserve enough time to get it completed.
The reason why this project takes a while is that you have to braid cut-up T-shirt strips. You also have to sew the braids as you coil them into a circle. If you’re looking for additional traction on the mat, you can weave a string of twine throughout it.
6. DIY Doormat Cat Litter Mat by Life Family Joy
| Materials: | Doormat, fabric paint, tape |
| Tools: | Sponge brush, letter templates |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
Doormats often make great makeshift cat litter mats. So, if you have a doormat that you’re looking to replace with a new one, try using it as a cat litter mat before tossing it out. Different kinds of doormats will have varying levels of trapping cat litter. Carpet-based doormats may not be able to trap cat litter and doormats made with a more fibrous material, like coconut fiber or sisal. However, they usually blend in better with your home, and they are easier to decorate. This example uses fabric paint to add an extra personalized touch to the cat litter mat.
7. DIY Cat Litter Box Ramp by Cat Toy Lady
| Materials: | Cardboard box, cardboard cat scratcher mat, tape |
| Tools: | Boxcutter, hot glue gun |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
Using a cat litter box ramp is a great way to help older cats access their litter boxes more easily. It can also help manage cat litter tracking because it guides your cat to walk out of the litter box in one direction.
If you have a cardboard box lying around, you can shape it into a makeshift ramp by using a boxcutter, some tape, and a hot glue gun. This ramp is also easy to clean. Just use a duster and dustpan to gather any loose cat litter.
8. DIY Cat Litter Box Sisal Ramp by Instructables
| Materials: | Wooden plank, sisal |
| Tools: | Hot glue gun |
| Difficulty Level: | Easy |
This DIY sisal ramp provides a simple yet effective solution for cat litter tracking. All you need is a wooden plank and a tub that is larger than your current cat litter box. One end of the wooden plank should be placed at the top of the tub and the other end should be at the entrance of the litter box.
Once you have the wooden plank sawed to the correct length, you have to wrap it up with sisal so that your cat can grip it easily. After your cat uses the litter box, it will walk along the sisal ramp, which will catch cat litter granules.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many different cat litter mat designs that help reduce cat litter tracking around the house. So, if you find that the traditional cat litter mat does not do a sufficient job of trapping cat litter, try one of these other creative methods to see if they do a better job.
While cat mats can help reduce cat litter tracking, it’s important to clean up the litter box area regularly. So, finding the right type of cat litter match and cleaning routine will be the best way to keep your home clean and minimize cat litter tracking.
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Featured Image Credit: Litter Robot, Unsplash
The 8 DIY Cat Litter Mats
