Cat feeding station with splashback

[pintobean]

A cat feeding station made from timber and dowel with a clear PVC splashback.

• The project
• Steps
• Tools and materials
• More inspiration for your pet project

The project

We were sick of tripping over food and water bowls so we made a cat feeding station. We started with two metal pet bowls from the new Bunnings pet selection, and drew up a design that sits flush against the skirting boards and attaches with renter-friendly velcro strips.

It has a lower shelf with adorable cat face cut-outs for the bowls, an upper shelf for kitchen storage and display, and a splashguard to safeguard the walls from messy eating.

We finished by painting it a fun sage colour, and topping it with cat-friendly kitchen herbs. Kitty approves and it looks great.

Steps

Step 1

We started by finding a pair of metal pet feeding bowls from the new Bunnings pet selection. Based on the size of the bowls, we drew up a design and bought a 1800 x 185 x 19mm piece of DAR Tasmanian Oak and a 1200 x 25.4mm dowel to form shelves and legs.

Step 2

We cut the Tasmanian Oak board into 750mm long upper and lower shelves using an Ozito circular saw. Since it will live in the kitchen and we don’t want sharp edges, we rounded off the edges with an Ozito laminate trimmer.

Using an Ozito mitre saw, we then trimmed the dowels down to size to function as legs, keeping the back legs shorter than the front legs to account for our skirting boards.

Step 3

We wanted the bowl cut-outs to have finger holes for easy feeding and cleaning, and thought doing them in the shape of cat ears would be super cute. We used a Ryobi jigsaw to cut a 130mm diameter for the bowls to sit in and little triangular ears for the finger holes.

Dora wanted to make sure we got her head just right.

Dora likes to inspect every step of assembly.

Step 4

To attach the shelves to the legs, we used a 25.4mm IRWIN Forstner bit to drill pockets in the underside of the top shelf, and through holes in the bottom shelf. We then pushed the dowels through to form legs and glued them in place using Gorilla wood glue.

Step 5

Since our cat is a messy eater and we wanted to avoid getting cat food on the wall, we decided to include a splashback. We cut a piece of 3mm clear PVC sheeting using a circular saw and attached it by screwing it to the back of the bottom shelf.

Step 6

To finish up, we painted the cat faces and legs in a fun shade of sage (Classic Calm by Dulux) and attached the top shelf to the wall using 3M adhesive hanging strips.

Step 7

To complete the look, we topped it off with cat-friendly kitchen herbs from the Bunnings garden selection. We chose basil, thyme and rosemary. We use one bowl for food and one bowl for water, keeping the mess off the floor and the wall. Dora the cat loves her new feeding station.

We hope to inspire other pet owners to do something similar, since it works so well. Our advice is to draw up a proper design with accurate measurements before you go shopping and cut anything. And of course, to let your kitty help with/inspect the process as you go. From Lauren and Rob (the owners of/slaves to Dora the cat).

Tools and materials

• Happy Tails twin pet bowl set
     
• DAR Tasmanian Oak 
  
  
• Tasmanian Oak dowel 
  
  
• 3mm PVC
   
• 3M adhesive picture hanging strips
   
• Gorilla wood glue 
  
  
• Dulux Classic Calm paint.
   

Tools used in the project:

• Ozito circular saw 
  
  
• Ozito mitre saw
   
• Ozito laminate trimmer 
  
  
• Ryobi jigsaw 
  
  
• IRWIN Forstner bit.

More inspiration for your pet project

Community member Wayne built this raised twin dog bowl food and water station for his pet Repo.

Workshop community member Shannon built this indoor to outdoor cat tower to create a fun and safe area for his feline friend.

Check out our Top 10 most popular pet projects for more clever and creative ideas from our community members.

[TedBear]

A brilliant and also beautiful project. Making it multifunctional as furniture rather than something else to trip over is genius.

I wish I'd had the foresight to attach a splashback to our dog feeding station ... that would have saved litres of cleaning spray used on the wall.

[Akanksha]

Let me also congratulate you on this terrific project, @pintobean. A perfect blend of style and functionality. Look forward to seeing what you tackle next.

Members reading this project might also be interested in checking out Pet feeding stations for more clever and cost-effective ideas. Let us know if you have any questions.

Akanksha

[KeithH]

Fantastic design and execution. It's clear you really planned it out well right from the start. The finish looks so clean and functional (Quality Control by Dora!) I've only just discovered myself how easy it is to cut accurate clean holes using Forstner bits - they're well worth the investment.

[EricL]

Hello @KeithH 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's wonderful to have you join us.

It's great that you 've been inspired by @pintobean's project. Are you building something similar? If you are please don't forget to post an update, I'm sure our members would be keen to see what you're working on.

I totally agree a new Forstner bit cuts incredibly clean and does not leave a burn mark on the timber when compared to hole saws.

Eric

[KirkyR]

This is a great idea - thanks for sharing. I'm going to give it a go, and I'll be sure to make sure my master (otherwise known as my cat) supervises like yours did.

[MitchellMc]

Keep us updated on your project @KirkyR; I'm sure our members will be keen to see your results. Please reach out if you need any assistance.

Mitchell