I love having someone solve problems for me! This year at Global Pet Expo, I met the folks from Gamma2, and they reminded me that if enough minds work on them, there are better solutions than the ones I have come up with on my own.
Here’s the thing: I’m not using their products the way they probably envisioned things at all.
Vittles Vault Solution 1: Leftover Litter
We only use corn-based litter. I believe it’s safer than clay for the cats to ingest when they inevitably lick some off of their paws, as well as safer for all of us to breathe the dust.
The problem with corn-based litter in my house is that when I clean and refill our litter boxes, I have litter left over. You can leave clay litter in an unsealed container for a length of time with no problems. Open corn-based litter has to be stored in an air-tight and insect-proof container, especially here in Florida.
You probably saw my previous solution in the background of blog posts already. A 5-gallon bucket.
Finding one with a screw-top lid was really hard, and as you can see from the photo above, it never closed properly. I had no idea until Global Pet Expo that Gamma2 makes a lid that converts press-to-seal lids into screw-tight lids with gaskets to make sure they are airtight. I wish I had known back when we had to search for our old bucket! Most buckets are press-to-seal, it took a lot of time to find the screw-top bucket that never really threaded properly.
An even better solution than a bucket is the Vittles Vault. Airtight, pest-proof, and made of a BPA-free, food-grade plastic, these containers are intended for holding cat or dog kibble. But the light bulb that came on over my head when I saw them was for solving our cat litter storage problem.
Sorry, Newton, there’s no kibble in there, just corn-based litter that’s going to stay fresh until it’s time to top off your litterbox.
Bins in the Vittles Vault Home Collection line all have a label you can use like a whiteboard to indicate the contents, and they have curved bottoms so they can be stacked. The bin I’m using holds about 23 lb. of litter or kibble, and it is sized so you can put it on your counter and have it fit under the overhead cabinets. That’s clever! My favorite part about how it is sized is that it is narrow, meaning I could slide it into the gap behind the sofa in my sunroom.
Pierre: What’s in the middle of the cat superhighway?
Well, the boss says I can’t keep it there, so we’ll have to negotiate about that.
There was even a handy scoop that came inside the bin. I’m not using the scoop for the litter, but that would be really useful for portioning out daily kibble from the bin. For litter, I just pick up the entire bin and pour it into my litter boxes. Because of the bin’s compact size, I have a lot less trouble controlling the flow of litter. I haven’t had any incidents of dumping litter onto my own feet, something I did several times with the old bucket.
The Vittles Vault is a big win for storing leftover litter from my unsealed bags securely until I am ready to use it.
Vittles Vault Solution 2: Treat Break-Ins
There are days that I think Ashton may be a pig disguised in a cat suit. She is part of the reason we continue to use keep the bifold door on our pantry barred It’s really annoying to have to un-bar the pantry door countless times a day to get out a package of pasta, box of baking soda, or any of the other things stored there. But if we don’t, Ashton’s super-nose for food will lead her straight to the treats.
The Vittles Vault Jr. is a good answer for this problem. I know it’s intended for 6 lb. of cat kibble, but it’s a great size to hold multiple bags of cat treats tucked safely out of reach.
Made of the same material and with the same thoughtfulness of its larger cousin, this smaller version of the Vittles Vault reminds me a little of a half-gallon of milk. That makes it a good size for the fridge or freezer, if you had food or treats that needed to be temperature-controlled.
As long as you keep the air-tight lid sealed, the most determined cat isn’t going to be able to get into it. They won’t even smell that there are treats in there.
The Vittles Vault Jr. also comes with what they call a scoop, but it’s actually just larger than the lid and fits snugly over it like an extra cap for the container. It is so well-disguised that I have tried to pick up the whole container by the lid several times and accidentally only lifted the scoop off the top instead.
Since the scoop is larger than the lid, I don’t think you can actually scoop with it, but you could use it as a bowl. This would be a nice way to set up travel kit or even an emergency evacuation kit, since the bowl and container would fit together.
Both the Vittles Vault and the Vittles Vault Jr. are thoughtfully made. Most important, they’re useful! They are important parts of our everyday storage, keeping our food and litter fresh and safe from paws that shouldn’t get into them.
FTC Disclosure: The Vittles Vault and Vittles Vault Jr were provided free of charge, but the opinions in this review are my own and not influenced by any outsider. I receive no additional benefits for talking about the product or company.
This post contains affiliate links, which means we get a small commission for our cat treat fund if you purchase after clicking the link on this page.
These are great! Fortunately, we don’t get bugs in our corn litter… but still, it would be nice to have it stored in a better looking container than just the bag.
What great solutions to these problems. We don’t normally have issues with our litter, but for the treats…that’s a great idea because sometimes the packaging never closes properly and the treats go stale. Thanks!
that is a great “thinking outside the box” use for those. mom stores our treats in a plastic jar with a screw on lid too….something about certain cats chewing on the bags
Such pawsome products and ideas! I love finding new ways to use things that were meant for something else 🙂
guyz….thanx for de share; we will hafta chex theeze out; de kibble round heer kneadz stored a way nice N tight coz we haz antz, sum timez even in winter ……noe unclez….just antz…..
🙂 ♥♥♥
Well now, that is totally thinking outside the ‘vault’, isn’t it? very clever. Although Ashton wants you to know it is totally okay to leave treats out these days.. totally..
I tend to purchase the biggest size of things, then figure out what to do with the remainder! In fact, I’ve been using old kibble bottles that we purchased when Angel and Chuck were kittens…and they will be 13 years-old soon! Time for something new, so I’ll check these out. Thanks for the post.
We have not used corn litter. Mom wonders if we’d like it, because we’re quite picky with our litter.
What a great idea Gamma2 came up with! The big one would be perfect for storing all the litter we have stockpiled so it doesn’t look like, well, stockpiled litter. As far as treats, I never take them unless they’re offered. Isn’t that sick?
These are fantastic! We have to get one, and our mom would probably use it for litter. It hides it very well. Oh, and she should probably get a small one, too, so Lexy can’t get into the treats.
Those are very cool! We use wheat litter and we guess we’re fortunate that we don’t have any problems with insects (although we’ve read some horror stories concerning plant-based litter!). Thanks for the info.
That is a handy vault. I bet you could hide valuables in it too and know one would think to check in there.
Those are great ideas! TBT bought our litter in 12LB containers until he had 6 of them then started buying the bigger cheaper tubs. He pours the tubs into the smaller containers which are a lot easier to handle.
And he buys shelled nuts in 1/2 gallon plastic screw-top containers, so he saved a few of THOSE to distribute our 18 lb bags of kibble into and keeps THOSE in the basement fridge to keep them fresh. We only get the kibbles as treats, so a bag lasts a long time in chilled sealed containers. We like the last ones as much as the first that way.
Very cool! But we agree with Pierre, superhighway closures aren’t acceptable – MOL!
Creative repurposing. I used to use corn based litter until we had one bag hatch a batch of beetles. I guess storing it in the freezer would be best (if you have a big freezer).
I’m not sure if storing your treats in the vault is good or not. You can smell them, so you’re not tempted. But you also can’t break into them!
Ahh this can be handy for my nephew net pet. Thank you