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Keep cat food bowls neat and discreet with this DIY pet bowl organizer

And here she is. Industrial cuteness. Cat food bowls, organized and industrial.

Cat food bowls, in my house anyway, seem to be in constant motion. And then there’s what I’ll discreetly call the ‘halo effect’, as in: How in the halo did their food get that far from their dish?

Cat food bowls organizer taking shape…after dark.

So to keep some measure of order and to get my DIY on, I decided to make a little something for my (wife’s) cat dishes.

And because they’re really her cats, and because they are decidedly un-diesel, I made an industrial-looking platform complete with solder and rust and steel. If you’d like to know how I made it, here it is. Why I made it—partly—is because I’m a Bernzomatic Torch Bearer and we work together. We design some DIY and how-to for them, like this. I’m not their sales manager, so read on for how-to.

Shopping list

I got everything from the ‘steel’ section at the home center.

16-gauge steel welding plate, 6×24-inch
1/2-inch x 1/2-inch square tube
1-inch x 1-inch punched square tube

How to

Cut the steel plate. I made my cat food bowls organizer 14-inches long. As I was making it, I got inspired to do some weird feet, or, if you will, paws (ackkkkk…hairball).

Size it up. I cut the metal plate with an angle grinder. Using a pallet on top of the workbench was helpful making cuts.

I cut the punched square tube at 45-degrees with my angle grinder. An angle grinder is the kind of tool that means business. If you use one, please be careful. Or find another way to cut the steel (gulp, what’s happening to me?!) paws.

Here’s what I look like being serious about my cat dish holder. Here’s what the feet like before I solder them on.

Then, instead of putting them flat side-up, pointy-side down, I inverted them for a splayed (and neutered…I’m really not doing well) effect. I lined them up with the corners of the plate and soldered them in place. Tip: When soldering, make sure the steel is clean and you’ve abraded it a little with some aluminum oxide sandpaper. Before heating things up, I smoothed up all the sharp edges left over from the grinder cut on my bench sander. I like to be careful sanding little pieces. Keep a firm grip and move decisively to keep them from grabbing on the belt. Kind of like not petting your cat’s fur against the grain…Gulp.

Getting cut edges flat and dull. Also, the left side of my face looks like its in a centrifuge. Don’t judge me…

The plate and the tube heated up at different rates and I burned some flux, but I got it hold. Anyone who works with metal for living would have a nervous breakdown (rightly so) looking at my solders, but it worked for the industrial look I was going for.

Next, I cut my 1/2-inch tube. This is sort of the rim of the cat food bowls organizer, they’re the (please help me) whiskers. I cleaned up the sharp edges left over from cutting on my bench sander and scuffed the side that would be soldered to the plate. Then, I soldered it.

Much like with the feet, the two elements heated up a different rates but I was able to get them to stick.

The next thing I did was leave this little gem outside to get rained on. Rust is a natural surface protectant for steel. Then, it’s chow time. I placed the cat food bowls organizer under the bowls. It’s impervious. It catches most spills and is hard for them to nose around. Clean-up is easy.

Check ME-OW-t

(intervention please…)

Soldering the 1/2-inch tube to the plate. Look at those cute little paw feet sticking out (someone, throw me a line). This was a bit of a challenge. The tube heated up slower than the plate but after some back and forth, I got it. Purrfect (I’m in real trouble here…)

Me Posing With my friend Bernzo the Torch Hes wearing his safety glasses These are the parts for the cat bowl organizer And a white 5 gallon bucket I just saw

And here she is. Industrial cuteness. Cat food bowls, organized and industrial. Check ME-OW-t.

Mark

Mark is a licensed contractor, tool expert, wood and outdoor enthusiast, and elite Spartan Race competitor. He writes about home improvement and tools for national magazines and websites, and teaches hands-on clinics for other remodeling professionals. Check out his book, The Carpenter's Notebook.

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