Reusable Litter Tray for PetSafe ScoopFree

Intro: Reusable Litter Tray for PetSafe ScoopFree

I really like my PetSafe ScoopFree litter box, because scooping litter & the odor became a contentious issue at home. I don't like that it uses electricity, though. It uses crystal litter & rakes away turds, storing them with limited odor. The annoying thing is that they sell either disposable cardboard trays (wasteful) or very expensive reusable trays ($50!). I decided to make my own reusable tray. Here's how!

STEP 1: Step 1: Get a Sheet of Coroplast

I found this sheet of 36"x72" coroplast (corrugated plastic) along the back wall of Home Depot. It's like the material used in lawn signs. It resembles corrugated cardboard, but, plastic.

STEP 2: Step 2: Draw Out Lines on Coroplast

1. Use your T-square to cut out a rectangle 18" wide x 25.5" long. (If you buy a 36" wide sheet, you can get two in side-by-side).
2. Trace lines the sides of the box, 1 7/8" (1.875") from each edges of the rectangle you cut.
3. Coroplast is 1/8" (0.13") thick. When folded, you want the shorter sides to cover the thickness of the longer sides. That's why the shorter sides extend out 1/8" in both directions.

STEP 3: Step 3: Score the Inside Edges

• Using your knife, score partially through the coroplast along the edges of the box you traced. You want to get through the ridges so it folds, but not through the other side

STEP 4: Step 4: Duct Tape Together the Box

• Fold up the sides of the box, and duct tape each side together.
• It might help to put something that has a right angle, like another box!, while you're taping
• You may want to tape thoroughly. However, an advantage of this box is that for cleaning, you could easily un-tape it and fold it flat for wiping clean!

STEP 5: Step 5: Add a Bar to Hold the Turds

• Measure & cut another strip of coroplast, 18" long and 3/4" wide.
• Score and bend it to fit inside the end of the box.
• Secure it to the side with duct tape rolls

STEP 6: Step 6: Add Odor Trapping Bar

• Cut another piece of coroplast, 13 1/4" long and 1.5" wide
• Secure that to the inside of the purple hood, to help trap the odors.
• You may want to take out the metal bracket from the cardboard litter tray to re-purpose it for securing this

Comments

[tuhanae]

This is brilliant! I want to use PINE LITTER!!!! I need to drill holes. I am then going to use the reuseable tray as the "catcher' with a pee pad, and leave part up the upper part that lifts up cut out so the poop dumps to the bottom where I will have a fill station that can be emptied weekly. I want to put the litter box on 2*4 raising it up slightly. I am trying to figure out how to keep the cat from falling through??

[jjcha247]

Hi. This is a great idea to use this material.
Does this fit like the original tray? Meaning, does the unit go over this tray and still sit on the floor?

Reason I'm asking is that I was thinking about cutting a whole in this tray and using an underbed storage container, with a whole in it, as a "dumping ground". The storage containter would be lined with a trash bag and have a little bit of clay litter to help with smell. So if I made this tray, it the base would be the storage container, the tray would be ontop of it, then the Scoopfree unit would have to sit over the tray and be supported by the container.

The Scoopfree tray design has a small area for waste and I'm cleaning it out daily with my cat who seems to use it quite often.

[reedmiller17]

Interesting question & idea! Yes, this is basically the same size as the disposable cardboard trays that they sell, so it fits snuggly. Maybe you could create a sturdy box (wood?) for the entire unit and tray to sit on, so that what gets scraped into the end goes down into the box.

[finallya]

Hello! Great idea! Do you throw this away or reuse them? Do you have a hack to keep them clean?

[reedmiller17]

Hi! I reuse them quite a lot. Yes I do have a hack to keep them clean! If you go to Dollar Tree, you can get a roll of contact paper. It turns out that one roll is about the exact right size to cover the bottom and sides of the box. Eventually the cats will shred it while scraping, but you can remove and replace it periodically. It's water repellant so that's a plus.

[TodR]

Thanks! Fit perfectly. For added protection/moisture prevention, I duct taped plastic place mats (DollarTree) to the bottom.

They aren't getting my $20 for a disposable tray!

[Penolopy Bulnick]

Nice job! Thanks for sharing :)

[reedmiller17]

Thank you! Hope it works out for you, too :)