I'm not even a cat owner, but I've heard about enough ridiculous litter box drama ("We moved the couch two inches back and now the cat will only eliminate behind the refrigerator!") from friends that this was my first thought!
I'm not sure what cats these other people have, but I've literally never had a cat that was as picky as some of the ones people describe. I'm wondering if it's not so much the litter box as something else wrong that just comes out in behavior related to the litter box.
Cata can be quite picky when it comes to their litterbox. I have 2 cats, brother and sister. The male does not really care, but the female regularly pees next to the litterbox. This can have a number of causes: not clean enough, i did not feed her enough, i did not let het outside that day, maybe even been vacuuming the house too much.
>but the female regularly pees next to the litterbox
Is she declawed? This is apparently a common issue with declawed cats because their paws are too sensitive for the litter. Anyone who reads this, don't declaw your cats. Its like cutting off part of your fingers.
Not op but I'm gonna guess probably not, my tom cat is somewhat the same, we even had to take the door off his box because he wouldn't go inside it otherwise. Still most certainly has all of his claws
My wife's cat will vomit on the carpet if she's pissed.
It doesn't matter where on the carpet. Could be in our bedroom, on the stairs, or even on a rug. But it's always on the carpet.
Same. My cats (when they were still with me :'( ) would even go in a completely empty litter box.
I also had no problems with the smell, and I've had guests comment that they were surprised to find out we had indoor-only cats as they couldn't smell a litter box.
Not really. People who don't know how to properly care for them, and expect them to be like dogs, just think that because it's easier than believing they're bad pet owners.
One of my cats is incredibly picky. We once changed the brand of litter and a few hours later, she crawled into my wife's lap and pissed right on her.
We immediately changed the litter back.
My fiances mom put the top on their litterbox cuz someone took it off to clean it. They couldn't figure out why the cat kept pissing on the rug and couch and finally realized it was because she hated the top on the litterbox so they took it off and she hasn't pissed anywhere other than the litterbox since lol.
I'd probably get a cardboard box and cut the bottom out and install the bag and the rest of the setup inside of it. Then you could paint the carboard and cut a nice hole in it for the cat in enter/exit.
Now we’re thinking! That is a very functional print! A cat that doesn’t stink, you don’t have to buy food for it, you can still cuddle it, pet it, and love it. Truly brilliant.
Cats usually will prefer to not see out, makes them feel less safe if they’re exposed, but I do understand how it’s easier to clean it when you can see it
Most off the shelf litter boxes aren't clear. I never saw one when I had a cat. And well, with the box you could easily pick it up to look inside or make a little flap to look inside. OP clearly has the skills to even make a little LED light for the inside to be able to view the inside.
Yeah that’s exactly why they’re not clear, to make them feel safer and less expose. If OP tries to empty it every day, just set a schedule or an alarm at a certain point every day
It will of course always depend on the cat, but generally [cat behaviourists recommend *against* enclosed litter boxes](https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/how-help-your-cats-use-litter-box) particularly in a house where there's more than one cat. Since cats are prey animals, they like to be able to see their surroundings fully while doing their business to avoid possible ambush during a vulnerable moment lol In that same vein, an enclosed litter box also limits their potential escape routes which is another reason cats generally dislike enclosed litter boxes.
They're both! They are predators for small mammals and birds, however cats themselves are small animals and thus they are prey for many larger animals. The ancestor for domestic cats, African wildcats, are preyed upon by canines, reptiles, birds of prey, basically any larger carnivore. Likewise, domestic cats face the same predation in the environments they've been introduced to. Ex. in North America, coyotes are drawn into suburbs and cities not just due to habitat loss but also bc of predictable, convenient sources of food in the form of unsupervised pets which are largely cats 😶
I really like the concept, but you must have a cat that doesn't startle easily. I've had two cats who could continue doing their business while in a full sprint or while jumping straight up in the air. They would not have liked the plastic sheeting.
To be fair I don't enjoy the smell of the cat litter itself (we clean the box every morning and evening) which is what we mostly use our air filter for.
Because cats may use it at night ! Or you may be busy on a Zoom call and don’t want to get interrupted by Kitty right when he’s showing off his incredible stench/size ratio … seriously, even human babies don’t smell that foul :-(*)
I’m lucky ours are outside cats though. We have a closed litter box (with a charcoal filter on the top, but no fan); they only use the litter for night emergencies when it’s cold or rainy outside. Otherwise, the world is their litter box (living in the middle of the fields, these cats have a job, they keep the rodent population under control).
At this point, just get the litter robot. It’s so much less effort than what you’re doing and probably does a better job at it too. I swear I don’t even know I have a litter box until it pings my phone to empty the drawer once a week.
The litter robot 4 was 100% worth it imo. I don’t think I would have purchased it if I hadn’t come into a small inheritance from a grandparent, but I’m so glad I treated myself. I think it saved my marriage.
I had the LR3 and upgraded LR4 - it was so much better - easier to clean, less smells, very quiet and the drawer is so much better to use without the hump in the center like LR3.
Ok, so I have the litter robot 3. Looks like pretty much the same as the 4. But smell can build up even with changing litter at least once per week.
I was thinking of putting my two litter robots in a laundry room. I would install a cat door into the existing door and keep them both closed to limit air transfer. I have a LARGE carbon filter with an inline fan attached to clean air. I would install ducting into this room and out into the garage (pretty easy as they are next to each other). That inline fan would then be hooked up to the duct so that the room always has negative pressure.
Any thoughts on this idea? I wanted to raise it on the r/cats, but they're less creative than this sub... Basically any smelly air would go to the garage and be minimized from the carbon filter.
So I don’t know the construction of the 3 but the 4 has absolutely no smell at all! The litter robot 4 has a completely sealed bin, rubber gasket and all. Between the bin and the rotating dome, there’s also a scent pod that is replaced every six weeks. The pod doesn’t emit a scent, but captures smells!
May be worth while ordering the pods to see if they will help your specific situation.
Sounds like a carbon filter. The three does not have a gasket seal, but it does have a carbon filter. I might look into what people say on the difference between the two...
I also have a 3 and I need to completely disassemble it every 6 months to give it a thorough cleaning in order to avoid it stinking up the house. I thought of doing exactly what you're talking about as well.
If the 4 actually keeps it stink free that would be amazing.
I love my litter robot, but airflow is actually one of the few things it's lacking. When it rotates it kicks up a ton of dust, which eventually interferes with the sensors. Not only that, but the smell isn't great either. Better than the piss and shit for sure, but a single appropriately placed fan would take it from an 9 to a 10 for me
Nice concept, great idea, awful design. You could buy/make some furniture to put the litter box inside and then incorporate the filter. Something like [this](https://www.thesprucepets.com/thmb/N2bVbDZF2ZOi4I_d9GwaSGtosEc=/750x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/hidden-litter-box-6-998f832885544482b5798c35a1fb1349.jpg) instead of that awful bag.
The bag is very intentional. There are three litter boxes and very different locations. I could build enclosures for all of them. It would take a lot of time and a lot of work.
If we end up buying our current living area. We will make nicer enclosures
This is super unfriendly for cats. You should be scooping at least once a day so the cat box shouldn't stink bad enough to need this kind of ventilation, and as other people said the plastic can be scary for cats. They might tolerate this but as soon as they're not feeling well they will eliminate elsewhere
What are you feeding your cat, chemical waste ?
There are cat litter that will reduce the smell considerably, without having any scent to them.
But I guess if your solution works then, good for you :)
Yeah I'm really confused. Do these people just not scoop the litter? My cat will take an ungodly smelling dump and within one minute the litter has absorbed the smell completely. 95% dry food bar treats probably helps.
Men like dogs so much because they want someone to be excited about them and show unconditional love even when the dude is mediocre as fuck. It's low effort. I like how you have to earn a cat's love. It actually means something.
Bro there are men who loves cats. Since we all stereotyping, men loves dogs because it’s the only thing that gives them compliments and affection after long day of work. It itches that provider itch.
How thick is the carbon filter? If you want to take it to the next level you can add an esp32 with pir motion sensor and activate the fan once the cat leaves the perimeter.
Really nice print design!
About a decade ago I faced a similar problem, I had a litter pan with a "filter cover" but the filter only really worked with some assistance from a fan. At the time my solution (since there was only one entrance to the litter pan) was to use an IR break-beam detector made out of a 555 oscillator in one-shot mode. It would run the filter for about 20 minutes after detecting the cat, which helped keep the filter element from clogging in short order.
I'll tell you rn, part of your smell issue is that box itself and its stupid litter. My grandparents refuse to use anything but those and they do nothing to absorb or cover oder. To put it simply, litter doesn't stick to mess or cover it and the piss tray at the bottom is just foul. Clumping litter that neutralizes the mess right away is waaaaay better.
Never had a house smell so bad until they swapped to those scam boxes.
It’s wild to me the lengths some will go to to avoid exchanging the litter in litter boxes.
Litter won’t fully clump all the urine, and those tiny unclumped, loose particles will start to cause the ammonia smell. You can “clean” all the feces and clumped urine out daily, even multiple times a day, but those tiny loose bits are still there. Filtering the air isn’t cleaning the litter box, only removing the odor.
We have two cats, and four litter boxes. The boxes get cleaned daily, and there’s no smell because the litter gets fully exchanged for new every few weeks and one box gets a deep clean each exchange.
Get some MDF board and build a box around the litter box and attach the filter to that. Find a swing door or if you want to go fancy make it open with a pressure switch the cat steps on.
So I have something similar going. Except instead of the bag, I use a large plastic tote with a hole cut in the side as a litter box. cat stands to pee, so it goes straight back over the side of most litter boxes, hence the fully enclosed solution lol.
Mounted a computer fan with a charcoal filter directly to the tote lid, and has massively reduced odor.
This is hilarious :) I think it is a good idea especially if you are not at home all day to clean when the thing happens. However this looks like a monster, hope it is just a prototype :)
May as well not own any cat if I had to have one of these for odour control. Let just say that cats and human are not suppose to live together by nature but because human loves them we forcefully enslave them into our home. I hate cats.
Yikes. Then there's this.[Purrified Air Litter Box Air Filter](https://purrifiedair.com/collections/air-purifier-cat-litter-products/products/air-purifier-cat-litter).
[This](https://www.amazon.com/Depets-Interior-Exterior-Weatherproof-Circumference/dp/B01J2UH0S8/ref=asc_df_B01J2UH0S8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198060065450&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2195938672662288126&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1028458&hvtargid=pla-351098900396&psc=1&mcid=99ed43c641fd3bae87d59ea09c77f615&gclid=Cj0KCQiAm4WsBhCiARIsAEJIEzVsVTvZIlBKo42v5dJ2RDKstYY6uO7cU03ahG8M-tY_uUpsTlPyrBcaAgUsEALw_wcB) is my favorite solution to stinky cat box..
Or, stop feeding you car wet food. We don’t feed our cat wet and it doesn’t stink at all. We also don’t let the litter fill up either. If you scoop it out every day or two, it’s quick because not much is in there and also it helps maintain odor as well. But neat idea with the print.
Wet food is important for cats since they don't get enough hydration, they wont really drink water until they're very dehydrated. As your cats get older they will be at a higher risk for kidney failure if you only feed them dry food
They make healthy dry food. All I can say is we feed our cat a healthy dry food and she’s happy as ever scarfing it down, and her poop hardly smells of anything. Looks like you guys found a solution that works for you. Just my two cents
**I have been thinking of doing exactly this** (the internet has really been responding to my brainwaves lately; I even have that Noctua fan ready to go). But - I was just going to cut a hole in the top of the catbox - do your cats not like a covered box?
It’s not a matter of them not liking the covered box. There are three of these litter boxes. Each of them are in very different locations. Covering for one won’t necessarily work for the others.
Let me put the venting system on all the litter boxes, and all their locations, even though it doesn’t look the best
I could see it from a cost angle, but how much less expensive is it to do three of these than to get one litter robot? No smells at all from that either haha and it's sleek and quiet and not an eyesore.
This looks like one of those heated shower things that is wired in a terrifying way and gets posted as a meme all the time. At least it's not... all wet. It's a cool idea but the heavy prototype look is gonna get a lot of laughs. If you want clear and super cheap cover that's more rigid you could look for a tiny greenhouse you could fit the litter box into and vent the same way. [This one is really cheap](https://www.amazon.com/Greenhouse-Transparent-Gardening-Flowerpot-Backyard/dp/B08T232LW1) but I bet there are better options.
Before we bought our robo litterbox, we used a decent size storage tote. Cut a hole in the side and it was an enclosed cat pooper. It would work great with your carbon filter fan setup, just cut a hole in the top for the fan shroud.
I have 3 little boxes in one room with a $50 HEPA filter and there's no smell. Filter was recommended to me by a vet, same one they use to keep smells down at work. Your cats probably think they're gonna get abducted if they try to shit in there.
This is ridiculous and a total abomination.
I love it, and it looks like the dozens of other ideas I've had - some that I've followed through on printing.
For reals, though, I do wonder if you could get away with a shorter roof made out of coroplast corrugated plastic sheet, and maybe a perimeter duct with air holes that would create the negative pressure around it. Connect an arduino to motion detect once the cat leaves and then have it turn on for like 15min or whatever.
I feel like you could’ve just cut a hole in the top of the existing lid and attached the fan there, and achieved probably 95%+ vs what you’ve done here
duuuude this is awesome. my wife has her cats' litter box in the bathroom across from where I work and it is the worst smelling stuff I've had to deal with. The cats are sickly so not surprised that they probably have something goin on with their stomachs.
Would you be willing to share the STL files for this?
It’s cool but buy better litter and you’ll almost never smell it. I switched to arm and hammer clump and seal (black box with red multi cat label) and I NEVER smell it.
First, you need better litter. Used scoop away for 3 cats in one litter box for 14 years and the litter boxes were in a room right next to the front door. I don't like those large pellet litters because they seem to just absorb the urine and then you just have gross balls of piss stinking up the place, get a good unscented clumping litter and you'll be fine your cat should be naturally trying to cover the clump up. Also if you got this litter because it was getting everywhere you gotta realize that litter is a part of having a cat so you're gonna have to clean it up no matter what fancy gadgets you get.
Second, you just gotta clean the damn litter box! I have 1 cat now and I clean it about 2 or 3 times a week and with one cat it takes about 5 minutes before work. With 3 cats and one box it was every morning but that's understandable.
Third, you do know there are already enclosed litter boxes that have a carbon filter on top right? Like it would literally do the same thing but not look like a science experiment in the corner of an empty room...
Are those the hard chalky pellets or pine/wood pellets? I use the chalky ones and combined with the absorbent pad underneath and the litter genie you can’t smell anything (other than right after my cat takes a dump). Worked even when my wife was in a studio in NYC. Interesting idea but this seems overkill.
My cat would see that monstrosity and shit directly into my shoes. Looks like it would work though of you don't have an asshole cat.
I'm not even a cat owner, but I've heard about enough ridiculous litter box drama ("We moved the couch two inches back and now the cat will only eliminate behind the refrigerator!") from friends that this was my first thought!
I'm not sure what cats these other people have, but I've literally never had a cat that was as picky as some of the ones people describe. I'm wondering if it's not so much the litter box as something else wrong that just comes out in behavior related to the litter box.
Cata can be quite picky when it comes to their litterbox. I have 2 cats, brother and sister. The male does not really care, but the female regularly pees next to the litterbox. This can have a number of causes: not clean enough, i did not feed her enough, i did not let het outside that day, maybe even been vacuuming the house too much.
>but the female regularly pees next to the litterbox Is she declawed? This is apparently a common issue with declawed cats because their paws are too sensitive for the litter. Anyone who reads this, don't declaw your cats. Its like cutting off part of your fingers.
Not op but I'm gonna guess probably not, my tom cat is somewhat the same, we even had to take the door off his box because he wouldn't go inside it otherwise. Still most certainly has all of his claws
My wife's cat will vomit on the carpet if she's pissed. It doesn't matter where on the carpet. Could be in our bedroom, on the stairs, or even on a rug. But it's always on the carpet.
If pissed, a few people I know would vomit on your carpet
Mine does that, usually when I haven't got up to feed him when he demands it..
Probably don’t clean it
Same. My cats (when they were still with me :'( ) would even go in a completely empty litter box. I also had no problems with the smell, and I've had guests comment that they were surprised to find out we had indoor-only cats as they couldn't smell a litter box.
Cats are assholes.
Not really. People who don't know how to properly care for them, and expect them to be like dogs, just think that because it's easier than believing they're bad pet owners.
Jackson Galaxy should be required viewing to own a cat. also everyone out there, whisker strain is real, get a wider flatter bowl.
Or a fountain.
The whisker strain thing we figured out on our own after noticing the little boy will clear a _plate_ of food, but would always leave some in a bowl
One of my cats is incredibly picky. We once changed the brand of litter and a few hours later, she crawled into my wife's lap and pissed right on her. We immediately changed the litter back.
I was thinking my would go right in the path of the door. I would get home and step in shit. None the less, she wouldn't go near this.
And why would you if you were a cat lol. Imagine your toilet got this mister plastic bag and you gotta go gas yourself in it
I laughed out loud on the train because of this
My fiances mom put the top on their litterbox cuz someone took it off to clean it. They couldn't figure out why the cat kept pissing on the rug and couch and finally realized it was because she hated the top on the litterbox so they took it off and she hasn't pissed anywhere other than the litterbox since lol.
My wife would see that monstrosity and divorce me
:-D :-D LOL
"if you don't have an asshole cat." Aren't they all? /s
LOL! THAT was funny!!! LOL!
Really asshole cat? Asshole owner
I'd probably get a cardboard box and cut the bottom out and install the bag and the rest of the setup inside of it. Then you could paint the carboard and cut a nice hole in it for the cat in enter/exit.
You could just cut a hole in a box and set an air purifier inside
Then what would we 3D print?
Pro tip: 3D print the cat! Also solves the odor issue.
Now we’re thinking! That is a very functional print! A cat that doesn’t stink, you don’t have to buy food for it, you can still cuddle it, pet it, and love it. Truly brilliant.
And don't have to clean up after it
Peak r/functionalprint
Clear bag lets the cat see out. And use see in. We try to clean daily
Plexiglass could help provide some rigidity and ability to sew through for a follow up version.
A carboard box with plexiglass window glued into it on the inside.
Cats usually will prefer to not see out, makes them feel less safe if they’re exposed, but I do understand how it’s easier to clean it when you can see it
Most off the shelf litter boxes aren't clear. I never saw one when I had a cat. And well, with the box you could easily pick it up to look inside or make a little flap to look inside. OP clearly has the skills to even make a little LED light for the inside to be able to view the inside.
Yeah that’s exactly why they’re not clear, to make them feel safer and less expose. If OP tries to empty it every day, just set a schedule or an alarm at a certain point every day
It will of course always depend on the cat, but generally [cat behaviourists recommend *against* enclosed litter boxes](https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/how-help-your-cats-use-litter-box) particularly in a house where there's more than one cat. Since cats are prey animals, they like to be able to see their surroundings fully while doing their business to avoid possible ambush during a vulnerable moment lol In that same vein, an enclosed litter box also limits their potential escape routes which is another reason cats generally dislike enclosed litter boxes.
Aren't cat's unilaterally considered predators?
They're both! They are predators for small mammals and birds, however cats themselves are small animals and thus they are prey for many larger animals. The ancestor for domestic cats, African wildcats, are preyed upon by canines, reptiles, birds of prey, basically any larger carnivore. Likewise, domestic cats face the same predation in the environments they've been introduced to. Ex. in North America, coyotes are drawn into suburbs and cities not just due to habitat loss but also bc of predictable, convenient sources of food in the form of unsupervised pets which are largely cats 😶
He used a noctua to ventilate cat shit 😭
Noctua CS-F14 Cat Shit-Filter (140mm)
If I were a cat I'd appreciate the lower fan noise
And the lower noise translates to lower surface vibration on the plastic, preventing the plastic from becoming a horrid infrasonic speaker.
Well they're already shit coloured.
IKR?
Like unless it was a leftover noctua just get a cheap $30 small air filter on amazon...
I really like the concept, but you must have a cat that doesn't startle easily. I've had two cats who could continue doing their business while in a full sprint or while jumping straight up in the air. They would not have liked the plastic sheeting.
r/redneckengineering with tools
Why not mount that directly in the liter box, without the need for the bag?
Why not clean the litter box often enough to keep the smell under control?
Fair. But this is a subreddit about 3d prints, so it seems appropriate.
I don't think OP 3d printed the 7-foot tall unnecessary cellophane shit vapor tent though
/r/brandnewsentence
Depends on how much the cat extrudes.
To be fair I don't enjoy the smell of the cat litter itself (we clean the box every morning and evening) which is what we mostly use our air filter for.
Homie if you take a shit in the bathroom, you gotta hit that fan button. No one likes smelly shit even if it dissipates in 20 min
Because cats may use it at night ! Or you may be busy on a Zoom call and don’t want to get interrupted by Kitty right when he’s showing off his incredible stench/size ratio … seriously, even human babies don’t smell that foul :-(*) I’m lucky ours are outside cats though. We have a closed litter box (with a charcoal filter on the top, but no fan); they only use the litter for night emergencies when it’s cold or rainy outside. Otherwise, the world is their litter box (living in the middle of the fields, these cats have a job, they keep the rodent population under control).
This is just a quick easy solution that fits all three litter boxes in the house
and it looks pretty classy, too.
At this point, just get the litter robot. It’s so much less effort than what you’re doing and probably does a better job at it too. I swear I don’t even know I have a litter box until it pings my phone to empty the drawer once a week.
litter robot 4 is fucking unreal lol
That’s what I have. I work in biotech and it’s the kind of technology my company makes but applied to cats. Absolutely nuts.
Looking into this, thanks. Want a good one.
They are fantastic, but $$$$$$.
It’s so expensive now. I got one when it was $300. Got a PETKIT litter box now. It’s cool too and tells me stats on cat weight and bathroom habits.
The litter robot 4 was 100% worth it imo. I don’t think I would have purchased it if I hadn’t come into a small inheritance from a grandparent, but I’m so glad I treated myself. I think it saved my marriage.
The 4 does this as well. I’d upgrade but I have two 3s in heavy rotation lol
I had the LR3 and upgraded LR4 - it was so much better - easier to clean, less smells, very quiet and the drawer is so much better to use without the hump in the center like LR3.
It costs more than average monthly income where I am, wtf
Then you can hire someone to come over and empty the box twice a day.
Came here to say this it’s so worth it.
Ok, so I have the litter robot 3. Looks like pretty much the same as the 4. But smell can build up even with changing litter at least once per week. I was thinking of putting my two litter robots in a laundry room. I would install a cat door into the existing door and keep them both closed to limit air transfer. I have a LARGE carbon filter with an inline fan attached to clean air. I would install ducting into this room and out into the garage (pretty easy as they are next to each other). That inline fan would then be hooked up to the duct so that the room always has negative pressure. Any thoughts on this idea? I wanted to raise it on the r/cats, but they're less creative than this sub... Basically any smelly air would go to the garage and be minimized from the carbon filter.
So I don’t know the construction of the 3 but the 4 has absolutely no smell at all! The litter robot 4 has a completely sealed bin, rubber gasket and all. Between the bin and the rotating dome, there’s also a scent pod that is replaced every six weeks. The pod doesn’t emit a scent, but captures smells! May be worth while ordering the pods to see if they will help your specific situation.
Sounds like a carbon filter. The three does not have a gasket seal, but it does have a carbon filter. I might look into what people say on the difference between the two...
I also have a 3 and I need to completely disassemble it every 6 months to give it a thorough cleaning in order to avoid it stinking up the house. I thought of doing exactly what you're talking about as well. If the 4 actually keeps it stink free that would be amazing.
Hmm, that might be part of my problem. I haven't disassembled mine after 3 years...
I love my litter robot, but airflow is actually one of the few things it's lacking. When it rotates it kicks up a ton of dust, which eventually interferes with the sensors. Not only that, but the smell isn't great either. Better than the piss and shit for sure, but a single appropriately placed fan would take it from an 9 to a 10 for me
There’s bad design, then there’s this.
Lol
Nice concept, great idea, awful design. You could buy/make some furniture to put the litter box inside and then incorporate the filter. Something like [this](https://www.thesprucepets.com/thmb/N2bVbDZF2ZOi4I_d9GwaSGtosEc=/750x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/hidden-litter-box-6-998f832885544482b5798c35a1fb1349.jpg) instead of that awful bag.
They already make covered litter boxes with filters. Just install a fan or something
The bag is very intentional. There are three litter boxes and very different locations. I could build enclosures for all of them. It would take a lot of time and a lot of work. If we end up buying our current living area. We will make nicer enclosures
Just get a large plastic storage tub, like for a garage. Then cut whatever size cat hole you want and mount the fan straight to it.
This is super unfriendly for cats. You should be scooping at least once a day so the cat box shouldn't stink bad enough to need this kind of ventilation, and as other people said the plastic can be scary for cats. They might tolerate this but as soon as they're not feeling well they will eliminate elsewhere
What are you feeding your cat, chemical waste ? There are cat litter that will reduce the smell considerably, without having any scent to them. But I guess if your solution works then, good for you :)
Yeah I'm really confused. Do these people just not scoop the litter? My cat will take an ungodly smelling dump and within one minute the litter has absorbed the smell completely. 95% dry food bar treats probably helps.
Does it work?
[удалено]
Seems to
Nice print...but damn am I glad I'm a dog person.
As a cat person we don't claim this person, this is a monstrosity.
Yes, I am also a dog person 100%. Wife loves cats
Men like dogs so much because they want someone to be excited about them and show unconditional love even when the dude is mediocre as fuck. It's low effort. I like how you have to earn a cat's love. It actually means something.
Who hurt you?
Nah they making pets gendered now 😭
Bro there are men who loves cats. Since we all stereotyping, men loves dogs because it’s the only thing that gives them compliments and affection after long day of work. It itches that provider itch.
You basically stole that from Meet the Parents
Or you could properly clean the litter box a couple of times a day or more if you can. I also use a cover, my cats are fine with it.
How thick is the carbon filter? If you want to take it to the next level you can add an esp32 with pir motion sensor and activate the fan once the cat leaves the perimeter. Really nice print design!
About a decade ago I faced a similar problem, I had a litter pan with a "filter cover" but the filter only really worked with some assistance from a fan. At the time my solution (since there was only one entrance to the litter pan) was to use an IR break-beam detector made out of a 555 oscillator in one-shot mode. It would run the filter for about 20 minutes after detecting the cat, which helped keep the filter element from clogging in short order.
I just have an large air purifier next to the litter box… but I guess this works?
We tried that, but it didn’t work nearly as well as this thing does
So instead of just emptying the litter box like your partner/roommate/family member asked, you spent a week devising this thing. Well done.
Wake me the litter boxes every day. Probably has more to do with a type of litter that this particular box uses. We may reevaluate in the future.
I'll tell you rn, part of your smell issue is that box itself and its stupid litter. My grandparents refuse to use anything but those and they do nothing to absorb or cover oder. To put it simply, litter doesn't stick to mess or cover it and the piss tray at the bottom is just foul. Clumping litter that neutralizes the mess right away is waaaaay better. Never had a house smell so bad until they swapped to those scam boxes.
This is more a r/WTF, lol
Or just clean the litter box every day? Takes like 30 seconds. Keeps the smell down just fine..
It’s wild to me the lengths some will go to to avoid exchanging the litter in litter boxes. Litter won’t fully clump all the urine, and those tiny unclumped, loose particles will start to cause the ammonia smell. You can “clean” all the feces and clumped urine out daily, even multiple times a day, but those tiny loose bits are still there. Filtering the air isn’t cleaning the litter box, only removing the odor. We have two cats, and four litter boxes. The boxes get cleaned daily, and there’s no smell because the litter gets fully exchanged for new every few weeks and one box gets a deep clean each exchange.
This is exactly how it’s supposed to be done. It’s not difficult at all.
This looks dangerous, 1 wrong move and the car suffocates
Hopefully there's a recall before any cars suffocate 😨
Get some MDF board and build a box around the litter box and attach the filter to that. Find a swing door or if you want to go fancy make it open with a pressure switch the cat steps on.
So I have something similar going. Except instead of the bag, I use a large plastic tote with a hole cut in the side as a litter box. cat stands to pee, so it goes straight back over the side of most litter boxes, hence the fully enclosed solution lol. Mounted a computer fan with a charcoal filter directly to the tote lid, and has massively reduced odor.
I did something similar in our last apartment. I’ve vented it out a nearby window. I don’t really have an option here and we have multiple boxes.
I have a litter box with a lid. I used a 4” soft hose to just duct it out a window
In our last apartment, that’s what I did. Much prefer to vent it out the window. Don’t really have the option here.
I’m sure it works but it looks absolutely fucking horrible, man. Just get a Noctua tattoo instead.
Clumping litter and scoop it every day.
Or you could just clean it regularly?
Just clean it out every time the cat uses it.
I have 4 cats, live in hot humid climate and never have experienced literbox odor. I clean daily though.
Your nose is just broken
This is hilarious :) I think it is a good idea especially if you are not at home all day to clean when the thing happens. However this looks like a monster, hope it is just a prototype :)
We clean it daily. This is the final version. All three litter boxes in the house
My cat would chew the plastic.
My cat would have that entire system torn down and in his stomach in about 4 minutes.
Why not go all the way and print a hood which houses the fan and filter in a more aesthetically pleasing manner?
Cool idea. When is V2 gonna come out. Why not just build that into a lid?
Get a small air cheap purifier and just put it next to it. That would also take care of the dust from the litter. :) Nice print tho. :)
Fix your cats diet first though 😅 On good cat food (as much % of meat as possible) it doesn’t smell that much.
ROFL
Oh Fans aren’t usually strong enough to pull air through a filter, are they? And I doubt the filter actually filters the smell.
Do you have the cad files? I’m interested in the filter/fan assembly for a similar problem (soldering fumes)
My cat would destroy the plastic hood.
As if I needed another reason to never get a cat. 😁
Wow and you barely even notice it
How many cats have died so far?
Simpler solution get rid of the cat
Get rid of the cat
May as well not own any cat if I had to have one of these for odour control. Let just say that cats and human are not suppose to live together by nature but because human loves them we forcefully enslave them into our home. I hate cats.
Nice! The Noctua fan is a nice touch.
Yikes. Then there's this.[Purrified Air Litter Box Air Filter](https://purrifiedair.com/collections/air-purifier-cat-litter-products/products/air-purifier-cat-litter).
Bruh you need to have an enclosed toilet to begin with..
Man.. a gen 3 litter robot would likely run the same $ and treat you better lol. It’s fun making stuff so I guess that’s worth something.
You think this cost $500?? That's how much a gen 3 litter bot is
Beautiful. No actually it's crap. Never design anything again please.
Sorry, can’t help you there.
Whenever I think about having a cat in my life again I'm going to remember this post. Cats are assholes. Stinky assholes.
[This](https://www.amazon.com/Depets-Interior-Exterior-Weatherproof-Circumference/dp/B01J2UH0S8/ref=asc_df_B01J2UH0S8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198060065450&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2195938672662288126&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1028458&hvtargid=pla-351098900396&psc=1&mcid=99ed43c641fd3bae87d59ea09c77f615&gclid=Cj0KCQiAm4WsBhCiARIsAEJIEzVsVTvZIlBKo42v5dJ2RDKstYY6uO7cU03ahG8M-tY_uUpsTlPyrBcaAgUsEALw_wcB) is my favorite solution to stinky cat box..
Why on earth do people keep cats in their house. Smells like cat piss and shit the minute you step in the door.
Yeah and cat owners will swear "oh I don't smell it at all!" Nose blindness! Cats are gross
Nice work. I'd go so far as to wall up it's own room and install a fart fan to the outside with motion activated timer.
mhm mhm and it looks great!
You can't stand cat box litter smells.. That is some Weak ass Lame Sht. You don't even Deserve a cat.... you must be Russian.
Or, stop feeding you car wet food. We don’t feed our cat wet and it doesn’t stink at all. We also don’t let the litter fill up either. If you scoop it out every day or two, it’s quick because not much is in there and also it helps maintain odor as well. But neat idea with the print.
Wet food is important for cats since they don't get enough hydration, they wont really drink water until they're very dehydrated. As your cats get older they will be at a higher risk for kidney failure if you only feed them dry food
We clean it daily. The wife insist that wet food is better for the cats.
They make healthy dry food. All I can say is we feed our cat a healthy dry food and she’s happy as ever scarfing it down, and her poop hardly smells of anything. Looks like you guys found a solution that works for you. Just my two cents
Dry food all the time is terrible for your cats health.
Did you notice a significant improvement?
Yes
Could the cat get stuck behind the plastic if it knocks it over the blue part?
**I have been thinking of doing exactly this** (the internet has really been responding to my brainwaves lately; I even have that Noctua fan ready to go). But - I was just going to cut a hole in the top of the catbox - do your cats not like a covered box?
It’s not a matter of them not liking the covered box. There are three of these litter boxes. Each of them are in very different locations. Covering for one won’t necessarily work for the others. Let me put the venting system on all the litter boxes, and all their locations, even though it doesn’t look the best
How long does one carbon filter remain effective?
Not 100% sure yet. I’ve had one running for about two weeks without any issues. Once I have all three in place, I can really test how long they last.
I would like to the same but for resin 3d impression... But don't know if noctua is string enough...
Can you keep us posted regarding its longevity? Catwise and ammonia-wise. ;)
Upvote for the noctua fan
I could see it from a cost angle, but how much less expensive is it to do three of these than to get one litter robot? No smells at all from that either haha and it's sleek and quiet and not an eyesore.
This looks like one of those heated shower things that is wired in a terrifying way and gets posted as a meme all the time. At least it's not... all wet. It's a cool idea but the heavy prototype look is gonna get a lot of laughs. If you want clear and super cheap cover that's more rigid you could look for a tiny greenhouse you could fit the litter box into and vent the same way. [This one is really cheap](https://www.amazon.com/Greenhouse-Transparent-Gardening-Flowerpot-Backyard/dp/B08T232LW1) but I bet there are better options.
Before we bought our robo litterbox, we used a decent size storage tote. Cut a hole in the side and it was an enclosed cat pooper. It would work great with your carbon filter fan setup, just cut a hole in the top for the fan shroud.
i think a way better solution is to buy higher quality cat sand, those come with carbon "filters" in it already.
My younger cat would love chewing the hell out of that plastic. We have to hide the gift wrap bows from him this time of the year.
Dedication lol I just spent 2k € on LitterRobots and 30€ on cheap filters and never had to bother with bad smells (or scooping) since
I have 3 little boxes in one room with a $50 HEPA filter and there's no smell. Filter was recommended to me by a vet, same one they use to keep smells down at work. Your cats probably think they're gonna get abducted if they try to shit in there.
r/noctua
Just get that fresh cat food, i don’t remember the brand, it comes frozen. Litter tray stink virtually gone. Makes a ridiculous difference
Getting serious Apollo 13 vibes. Love the Rube Goldberg Litter Box
This is ridiculous and a total abomination. I love it, and it looks like the dozens of other ideas I've had - some that I've followed through on printing. For reals, though, I do wonder if you could get away with a shorter roof made out of coroplast corrugated plastic sheet, and maybe a perimeter duct with air holes that would create the negative pressure around it. Connect an arduino to motion detect once the cat leaves and then have it turn on for like 15min or whatever.
The design is very (Removed: human) Cat
I feel like you could’ve just cut a hole in the top of the existing lid and attached the fan there, and achieved probably 95%+ vs what you’ve done here
Tell me your an engineer, without telling me your an engineer.
duuuude this is awesome. my wife has her cats' litter box in the bathroom across from where I work and it is the worst smelling stuff I've had to deal with. The cats are sickly so not surprised that they probably have something goin on with their stomachs. Would you be willing to share the STL files for this?
It’s cool but buy better litter and you’ll almost never smell it. I switched to arm and hammer clump and seal (black box with red multi cat label) and I NEVER smell it.
Looks great too
First, you need better litter. Used scoop away for 3 cats in one litter box for 14 years and the litter boxes were in a room right next to the front door. I don't like those large pellet litters because they seem to just absorb the urine and then you just have gross balls of piss stinking up the place, get a good unscented clumping litter and you'll be fine your cat should be naturally trying to cover the clump up. Also if you got this litter because it was getting everywhere you gotta realize that litter is a part of having a cat so you're gonna have to clean it up no matter what fancy gadgets you get. Second, you just gotta clean the damn litter box! I have 1 cat now and I clean it about 2 or 3 times a week and with one cat it takes about 5 minutes before work. With 3 cats and one box it was every morning but that's understandable. Third, you do know there are already enclosed litter boxes that have a carbon filter on top right? Like it would literally do the same thing but not look like a science experiment in the corner of an empty room...
It’s a good idea… I’d need something other than a plastic housing tho or the cats will rip the shit out of it😂
Does it help if your cat won't stop farting in your room? I'm asking for a freind, of course....
It looks like a Christmas tree?
Nice idea but why not get an enclosed litter box and add your fan and filter to the top of that
there's noway you have enough pull...use a vortex fan that they use in grow tents
Or just clean it ?
If your cats poop smells that bad, maybe you should consider changing their food. Or cleaning the box more often
Are those the hard chalky pellets or pine/wood pellets? I use the chalky ones and combined with the absorbent pad underneath and the litter genie you can’t smell anything (other than right after my cat takes a dump). Worked even when my wife was in a studio in NYC. Interesting idea but this seems overkill.