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Cats love to play with their dry food. They paw a piece out of their bowl, and proceed to toss it around like they’re playing a game of handball. At least my cats do that. Well, actually just one of them. The other likes to use various places around the house as a toilet. But that’s a post for another day.
We tried all sorts of solutions to our messy kitty food woes, but in the end what’s worked for us is a simple cardboard tray. The piece of cardboard that hold the packages of bottled water have proven to be very useful, and also free.
UGLY Cat Food Tray
The only problem with it is that it didn’t look too attractive and because of the dog it sits right on top of our washing machine and we walk by it at least 20 times a day. It’s not that it needs to be fancy, or even permanent – because I love that our cardboard “trays” are disposable, but perhaps just a bit nicer looking and longer lasting.
I purchased a roll of adhesive laminate for about five bucks. That’s all it takes to repurpose the cardboard and make it into a nice looking tray. Using a pair of sharp scissors, cut a piece of laminate a bit larger than the tray you are covering.
I didn’t want to waste it on the bottom since you don’t see that side, so I cut a large enough piece so as to fold over the edge. Start at the outside edge and work the material onto your tray, cutting if necessary and folding at the corners. The nice thing about this material is that it is very forgiving. If you see a wrinkle forming, it is easily removable and replaceable.
Now that my new tray was completed, it was time to visit Stop & Shop and pick up some staples. Winston and Spencer have eaten Purina Cat Chow Naturals since we first brought them home. We also discovered the new Beyond Natural Wet Cat Food. They love their wet food treats! There was a large variety of healthy pet food and treats at Stop & Shop, including Purina DentaLife chews so we were happy to find this $2 off coupon. Check out your coupon insert in this Sunday’s paper. On October 16th you will find money-saving coupons on Purina Beyond products including Buy 5, Get 1 on any Beyond Ground or In Gravy Canned Products, Buy 1, Get 1 on any Beyond Purees, $1 off Beyond Ground Entrees Variety Pack.
this is so creative and looks so much better than the cardboard one before! and this way all of the mess stays in the box instead of having food end up all over the house. how cute!
Our cat will eat just about anything. Now if we could get him to just eat more neatly! :) This is just wha t the docotor ordered.
I definitely need to make one of these for my messy babies. I am not crafty, but I definitely think I could handle this!
That came out really nice. What a super cute idea to make that. My moms has kitties, I’ll tell her about this.
This is a really smart and inexpensive solution to mess cats make with food. You can easily make another if that one gets ruined too.
This is such a cute DIY Cat food tray and makes sense because cats can make a mess for sure. Love that you no longer have to worry about the mess and you get a little piece of DIY decor using this idea!
This DIY cat food tray is indeed so easy to make and I will have to share this post with my brother who has a cat. I have a dog that I would love to make this food tray for too. Thanks for sharing the idea.
Oh I love this idea! It’s so helpful to keep around the bowls tidy.
I don’t own a cat but this is so cute! Absolutely love this DIY Cat Food Tray!
Love this! I need to make one! My cats leave little pieces of cat food all over the kitchen floor!