I Built a DIY Cat Feeding Station With an Izakaya Theme (And Finally Solved the Splash Mess)
My husband and I love hitting a good Japanese restaurant in LA. An authentic izakaya brings us back to Japan immediately. Small plates, a cold beer, winding down after a long week in a space that just feels warm and welcoming. So when I started thinking about redesigning my cat’s feeding corner, I didn’t want just any setup — I wanted a DIY cat feeding station that felt like his own little izakaya. His own cat dining corner, basically.
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The Problems I Was Actually Trying to Solve
Before this was a cute idea, it was a practical one. We feed our cat mostly wet food, and we add a good amount of water to it — it’s healthier and keeps him hydrated, even if it doesn’t sound very appetizing. But that much liquid means splashing. It went on his feeding mat, past his feeding mat, onto the floor, and even up the wall behind it. Problem number one.
Problem number two: he also has an automatic feeder that drops a portion of dry kibble while we’re out during the day, and it needs to sit at the same height as his elevated bowl. For months, that meant balancing it on top of two boxes of Kleenex, which was wobbly, ugly, and eating into tissues we actually needed. Somewhere between the splash mess and the Kleenex-box pedestal, I decided it was time to just build the thing properly — and if I was building a DIY cat feeding station, it might as well look like somewhere I’d actually want to eat.
How Do You Build an Elevated DIY Cat Feeding Station?
Upcycled wood, and wood glue instead of nails — no complicated joinery required. A neighbor was getting rid of a piece of furniture with a fresh white MDF-style surface, and I grabbed it before it hit the curb. I cut it down to the size I wanted and built two levels: a lower shelf for his wet and dry food bowls, and an upper shelf serving like a little tabletop, meant for decor I can swap out whenever I want a new look. I cut the side panels into a paw shape, which is a small detail, but it’s the one that makes people stop and look twice.
Do You Need Nails to Build Furniture With Wood Glue?
No — wood glue and 90° corner clamps held everything together without a single nail, and after 48 hours it was as strong as if I had. I glued each joint, clamped it at a right angle, and left it alone for two full days before touching it again. If you’ve never built furniture before and nails or a nail gun feel intimidating, this is the easiest way in: no fasteners, no risk of splitting the wood, just glue, clamps, and patience.
What Tools Do You Need to Build a Cat Feeding Station?
For a build this size, here’s what actually got used: a circular saw to cut the panels down to size, a jigsaw to cut the paw-shaped curves on the side panels, and a random orbital sander to smooth every edge before painting. Add wood glue, a set of 90° corner clamps, and a small paint roller kit for the finish coat, and that’s the entire tool list. Nothing specialized, nothing that requires real woodworking experience.
Getting the Izakaya Look
The bones of this DIY cat feeding station were done, but the theme is what makes it feel like his. I painted the whole thing a soft light yellow to match a bright blue Marimekko throw pillow already on our couch, which has little pops of yellow in the print — I wanted the two to talk to each other. For the izakaya feel specifically, I picked up a Japanese cat banner and pushpinned it to the wall right behind the station. Above it hangs a paper lantern we actually brought back from Asakusa Temple in Tokyo this past March — that trip is honestly where the whole idea was born. On the top shelf, I added a small sake bottle and two ceramic sake cups, just enough to sell the theme without crowding the space. I’ve also been sitting on an idea to make tiny wooden menu signs to hang off the upper shelf — not sure when that’ll happen, but it’s on the list.
Where It Lives Now
Our kitchen, dining, and living room are all one open space, and this now lives in the roughly 35-inch corner where the dining table meets the couch — the same spot he’s always eaten, just elevated and finally looking like it belongs there. I posted a quick reel of it on Instagram and the reaction from friends, family, and total strangers has been the same: it’s just so cute. But honestly, my favorite part is smaller than that. Every time I see him eating at his izakaya cat station instead of hunched in a corner on the floor, it feels like he has his own little dollhouse. And every time I walk past it, it quietly hands me back a little piece of every izakaya night my husband and I have ever loved.
The Cost Breakdown
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Wood (upcycled from a neighbor) | $0 |
| Izakaya cat banner | $15 |
| Push pins | already owned |
| Paint + primer, wood glue, clamps (already owned) | $0 for this build |
| Total actually spent | $15 |
If you’re starting from zero on tools, budget separately for a circular saw, jigsaw, sander, wood glue, clamps, and a paint roller kit — all linked below. Mine were already in my garage from past projects.
My Honest Take on This Project
This started as a practical fix — I needed the splashing to stop and the wobbly Kleenex-box situation to end — and it turned into one of my favorite builds in the house. No nails, a weekend of actual work plus 48 hours of glue curing, and a corner of our living room that now makes me smile every single day. If you’ve got a theme or a place you love enough to want to bring home in some small way, your pet’s feeding corner is a surprisingly good canvas for it.
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- Izakaya Cat Banner — $15
- Ryobi Jigsaw — $79
- Ryobi Circular Saw — $99
- Ryobi Orbital Sander + Sandpaper Set — $74
- Gorilla Wood Glue — $5
- 90° Corner Clamps — $16
- 4″ Paint Roller Kit — $16