Have you seen them on television – those disposable litter sifters that you just lift from the box and throw away? Aren’t those handy? What you do is place the whole stack of the sifters in the litter box, pour in the litter, and that’s it. When it’s time to change the litter, just get a hold of the first sifter, and lift it up. The litter falls back out of a netting-type material, yet keeps the clumps remain encased in the net. With a whole stack of these in the box, you don’t have to actually change the litter for a long time; just add more litter when needed. Yes, you can purchase those litter sifters online and from television but, when you do, you pay a good amount of money for them – plus more for shipping. If you knew how cheap it is to make some of those disposable litter sifters, you might consider crafting them yourself.
The most important step in making a sifter is to find the right netting material. Look at a fabric store to find a lightweight netting that isn’t costly. It’s important that the netting be cheap or you’d just be better off buying the sifters. The perfect netting will have holes large enough to allow the litter to sift through yet be no more than a couple of bucks a yard.
Measure the bottom of the litter box to decide on the size to cut the netting. The netting piece should basically be the same exact size as the bottom of the litter box. Cut as many of these netting piece as you want.
Most any scrap material can be used to create the handles for the sifter. Just cut wide pieces of material, fold them in half, and sew one to each side of the net piece. You don’t have to sew around the corners; just sew one piece on, from corner to corner, and do that to each side. If you have no cloth, you can even use paper towels. Just fold each one and sew it to one side of the net. It might be necessary to sew two or more together, on the long sides. The sifters made with cloth handles can be washed and used again but the ones with paper towel handles are disposable. Whatever material you use, it should be wide enough to reach from the edge of the netting, up and over the top edge of the litter box.
After you have several of the sifters sewn just stack them. Make sure they’re all evenly stacked and lay them in an empty litter box. Position the netting pieces on the bottom of the litter box and pour in the litter. When you’re ready to empty it, grab the handles on just one of the pieces in the stack. Pull the handles together and lift. The clean litter will fall back into the box, and the clumps will stay in the netting. It’s the perfect, cheap way to keep the litter box nice and clean.