Kitty Bloggy - DIY for kitties

What you Need:

• A store-bought toilet LID cover that will fit your toilet lid, we got this at Wal Mart for about $3-$4. Pick a color you like. You might be tempted to buy the matching rug, but don't do that because kitties like to do the #1 and #2 on bathroom rugs while they are in training. At a place like Target these were around $20, so shop around!! Ours is a very sunny yellow because we have duckie towels in our bathroom. The advantage to this over buying fabric is that this has the rubber backing, already has the proper form to stay on a lid, and is quite cheap.


• Some elastic, about 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick. White is a good pick because it matches the toilet seat. You can get it for $1-$2 at Wal Mart. We got the cheapest we saw, the roll had enough for more than 1 project.


• Some hooks & eyes. We got these also at Wal Mart for about $3. These will not be visible with the seat down, so we suggest getting a color that is different from the seat cover, then it will be easy to attach to the seat. Alternatively you could use any fastener you want, such as buttons, velcro, etc. We found using hooks works well because they are small and don't get in the way of putting the seat down, but on the downside they are hard to fasten on and off.


• Needle and thread, and a pencil and scissors (if you know how to sew you must already have these!) We used heavy-duty thread.


• A tube of glue stuff for hemming without thread (optional) we got this just in case we needed it for about $2-$3 at Wal Mart. (Something like this, but we got ours cheaper than $5, so we aren't suggesting that one)

Steps:

1. Take the toilet lid cover in the bathroom and put it on the toilet seat. Put the seat up, and trace the hole in the seat on the lid cover. Allow some space for the lid cover to overlap the hole, the hole you cut should be slightly smaller than the actual hole since that fabric is going to fold under a little bit.

2. Take the lid cover and cut the hole in it using your drawn hole.

3. (Optional) Use that fray block item to trace all around the area you cut. We did this because we were worried it would fray but now we don't think that fabric would actually fray because of the rubber backing. Alternatively and more cheaply, one could hem it by hand. If you use the fray block, do it from the back side of the cover because it stains a blue color. Also, if you do this step, allow overnight for drying before proceeding.

4. Mark off spots for the elastic. The elastic will be holding the toilet seat cover to the seat. We marked off one spot in the front of the toilet seat (A), one spot per side (B1, B2), one spot directly in the back (C), and also two extra spots, one on each side of the back one (D1, D2). You might want to put the seat cover back on your seat now for this part to customize the fit. Reference the above image for this part - if you click on it it enlarges.

5. Cut about 2.5 inch long elastics. For our toilet, D1 and D2 were slightly longer because of the way the seat is shaped. Sew the end of each elastic to the marked off spots, in the inner part of the toilet seat cover.

6. Hem the ends of the elastics and attach your fastener, we used two hooks, one on each end. We used two because we didn't want the elastic to twist and also we wanted to make sure the full 3/4 inch of elastic was doing its job.

7. Attach corresponding eyes to the outer edges of the toilet seat.

Use:

You are finally done! Attach the seat cover to the seat. We wash it once a week or so in the washer together with a similar rug from the other bathroom. Wash it on cold. We air dry it and also wash it in a baggie, like a lingerie bag, because all the hooks otherwise get twisted up and stuck, shortening the life of the seat cover. Kitties take to this right away because it is so nice and comfortable. It might get wet more so more washing may be needed, if you have a platter for toilet training that is not deep enough, or if your kitty is prone to throwing litter around. In that case, wash more often. Litter also gets stuck in it in which case we use a handheld vac to remove it. Once the kitty is toilet trained though, there will be no litter and you can use this seat too! It is very soft and cushy for a person.