Better kitty solution

Ok. Here’s my problem:

I have too many cats. Actually, my wife turned me into a cat lady. I never was a real cat person, but now that we’re married, we have 5 and I love these little furry terrorists.

I am to think out of the cat box. So, I bought two giant cement mixing troughs and filled them with cat litter. Much better.

Now, while I’m in my hands and knees with my stupid little plastic scoop, I says to myself, "Self? This is for the birds. I wish I had a full sized shovel that I can used standing up. Heck, I want to be as far away from this stuff as possible.

I found this large plastic shovel. I want to cut a pattern in it much like a litter scooper.

IMG_5508

I’m guessing there is no way to get this into my Pro (yet to be received). And cut that pattern. That would be amazing. Still, the handle would be handing out of the lid, but I thought I’d ask.

Any other ideas? A dremmel?

Thanks!

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If you don’t want to wait, I’d get the big shovel and drill holes in it (.5" should do it).
If you want to do it on laser, I’d do it out of proofgrade acrylic in 3 parts (one bottom with slots, two short sides) with finger joints and acrylic cement. Then use a standard wood dowel for handle, or custom engrave it…

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My first thought was a Dremmel but @hansena’s drill suggestion should be easier and just as effective.

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You may want to consider something like this. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/luuup/luuup-litter-box-the-best-cat-litter-box-ever-made

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Even if you could, that shovel is probably made out of PVC which is a no-no in lasers. Your best bet is to create a template to cut some vents with a drill or something.

Very interesting! But my cats like to dribble on the sides, so there will always be extra cleanup. Still, I have that problem now anyway.

For the reasons listed above, I don’t think you’ll be able to laser it on a GF (or any laser if PVC). But a CNC would work great. Maybe your local maker space if you don’t have your own.

BTW, if you want a fun wall-mounted holder for your smaller scoop, I’ll share my files I used to Glowforge our litter scoop :smiley:

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Okay the cat just makes it! :smile:

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Gotta love the internet! :wink:

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I did! I backed that project and bought 3 boxes. They don’t work. I was sad. One way or another, cat stuff is nasty. It was still a mess. And if you lose your focus and stack them the wrong way, you have s super mess on your hands.

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I had tried “the original” version of this over 15 years ago. It worked like junk then, too. From the looks of things, all they did was a metro style reshaping of it. Litter will still leak out between the slats, or you’ll try lifting the top tray out only to really be lifting the top two, again spilling litter everywhere. Ugh.

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If I read the OP correctly, you’re looking at a full size polypropylene shovel to keep away from the litter.
(Polypropylene is laserable, there’s no chlorine in it)
My suggestion is drill holes in the appropriate places, then cut the slots from one to another with a coarse ‘burr’ type drill bit in a Dremel.
You’ll need either a steady hand, or better, a guide to stop the burr wandering.

John

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I only have one little fuzzball, but the day I switched to the CatGenie was the best day of my kitty-owned life.

I don’t miss dealing with litter one bit. To the point when I built my house last year, I had a water and drain line added to a spot under the stairs where the box lives, just for the CatGenie. The plumber looked at me funny when I added it to the plan, but when he saw the website he understood. =P

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One reason to remain proactive with your furbaby’s litterbox is that some of the worst diseases will be revealed by monitoring their output. Things like kidney disease via discolored or misshapen stool and high ammonia crystals in the urea creating painful bouts. Much of which could be easily fixed by changing their diet. Automated solutions are great, but cats are notorious for not talking about health issues.

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After years of therapy mine still refuse to discuss their feelings.

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Mine won’t shut up about his, but he is a teenager.

I just don’t understand his language. =P

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Other choice for zapping this would be to make an acrylic version and then heat it to slumping, or maybe just locally heat to fold the sides close enough for gluing.

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What litter box…?
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Be super careful messing with cat’s diets (without talking with your vet - of course). Cats are obligate carnivores (my wife sees all sorts of super sick cats from clients who tried to give cats “healthy diets” a few have died due to vegetarian owners giving their cats a vegan diet). Cats for instance do not have the carnatine rescue pathway we do as humans so they need to eat it from meat (this was a major surprise to cat food manufacturers in the 1970s apparently). Yes, unfortunately eating large amounts of protein produces a high risk of urinary crystals (due to high protein excretion in the urine) but they need it to live.

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there needs to be an Don’t Like button!

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Yep yep yep. It’s definitely a balance.

Also, can’t recommend this book enough as a Chilton manual for cat mechanics. I had the previous edition, and it’s proven invaluable over the years. Helped keep my babies purring for years.

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