Two Tails Up? Battle of the Boxes!
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Are you HAPPY with your litter boxes?
Iz popping out of the Clevercat litter box. You have no idea how long I spent stalking them to get an “in the wild” image, and it didn’t even come out good!
What a weird question. No hooman is truly happy when dealing with a litter box, but some litter boxes are more displeasing than the baseline, “I am sifting for kitty turds and wee”. I have yet to meet anyone that thinks of that activity as pleasurable. To each their own if that’s your thing, it’s not mine. I scoop daily, sometimes I am lazy and skip a day. I do it not for my pleasure, but for my cat’s. Well, part of me also can’t stand the idea of them stepping on their turds and then stepping on me, and everything else they own in the house (none of it is mine, they are just kind enough to let me pay the bills and stay here), also they are clean little gentlemen and I know they want a clean box.
I can hear you now, “if you are so displeased with litter, why don’t you get an automatic litter box?” I have seriously considered it, but have stopped short for a few reasons; price, effectiveness, cost/benefit ratio, compatible types of litter, and most of all the benefit of having a daily health check. There are a lot of things you can catch when cleaning a litter box daily. Diarrhea, urinary tract infections, parasites, etc. This post isn’t about why you should be cleaning your cat’s litter box daily, let’s get back on topic, shall we?
Have you ever thought about what a litter box is? What it does? What its primary, and secondary functions are? I be you haven’t, but I am a weirdo engineer that thinks about these factors when purchasing a litter box. The only two things a litter box must do is hold litter and be large enough for a cat to stand in. Everything beyond that is what makes the market have more than one style option. I have identified a bunch of “nice-to-have” features that move the needle on the barometer to the positive side.
Factor 1: Reduce litter tracking. For me, this comes in the form of high sides. Higher sides mean that the opportunity to kick litter out is reduced, and it’s also unlikely that rear ends will extend above the edges to spray urine or drop tootsie rolls outside of the box.
Factor 2: Easy to clean daily. Some litter boxes are easier to clean than others, I have found that large radius corners and covers that remove without snaps are easiest. Yes, some cats will refuse to use a litter box with a top. In this case all the boxes I am reviewing could be used without the top as long as your cat doesn’t have mobility issues.
Factor 3: Easy to deep clean monthly. Very large boxes are a pain to wash, and all of the boxes I am reviewing are pretty large, but the geometry of the boxes makes the difference.
Factor 4: Price. A plastic box shouldn’t cost a paw and tail, but sometimes they do and since you and your cats are interacting with it daily it could be worth it, maybe.
Factor 5: One last factor that has nothing to do with my preference, but is probably the most important of all; what to the cats think of the litter box? Which box do they prefer to use?
I have used so many different types of litter boxes over the years. IWhether they be my own or from watching friend’s pets while they were out of town. The three I chose to keep in my home long-term were agonized over for way longer than anyone should think about a litter box, so let’s take a look what I used 1% of my life picking out!
Starting from the box I have had the longest; the Clevercat litter box is my all-time favorite. Disappointingly, it seems to be sold out everywhere, and it looks like the company that makes them is out of business! How can this be??? Yes, it looks like a plain big plastic bin with a hole cut in the lid, but it isn’t just that. I know because I attempted to make my own and it was not the same. The ridges on the lid add rigidity so that the lid does not flex when your cat jumps on it, and it’s so sturdy in general. I can’t believe they aren’t making this litter box anymore.
Sigh…If you happen to get your hands on one of these, it ticks all the boxes for me, although it came in second in the running with my boys. Just make sure you don’t over fill the box. I have found that cats want to dig around and they need space to do that under the lid. If you don’t give them enough space they may not get into the box at all. I have seen friends remove the lid saying that their cat refuses to use it with the lid, it may be so, but they always have so much litter in the box there isn’t room to scratch around. I usually only add about 3 inches to the bottom of the box. I have tried searching for dupes, the closest I have come is the IRIS USA Premium Square Top Entry Cat Litter Box.
Not because of what it looks like, it’s very different in looks and construction, but I can see a lot of the same benefits, possibly more. First, the lid looks like it would help reduce tracking litter in a similar way, although maybe not to the same extent as it is missing a lip around the edge. The lid also looks like it snaps on without the use of tabs or snaps, you just push it down. It also looks like it would be easy to clean especially if you chose to use a liner, although I never do. In my mind it is a waste of plastic. I can’t vouch for the box, but if I was in the market for another it would be on my list.
Off to box #2! IRIS USA Large Stylish Round Top Entry Cat Litter Box was a box that I owned up until Max, my 16yo love of my life, soulmate, tiny-guy, big-man now in the sky passed away last year. Just as a warning this litter box is HUGE, and it takes far more litter than any other box I have used.
Make sure to look at the measurements before buying it. I have two litter boxes now, and quite frankly I could have tossed this one years ago. It performed well in 2 maybe 3 categories. It was fairly good at preventing tracking litter, although not as well as my beloved Clevercat litter box. Daily cleaning was simple. The top comes off easily for daily cleaning and the sides were smooth and rounded so chunks of clumping litter didn’t get stuck in the corners. Lastly the price about middle of the road for top entry litter boxes and is now somehow cheaper than what I paid in 2017! Take that inflation! Why was it on my short-list to toss? Factor 5, the most important factor. My cats rarely used this box. It would sit perfectly clean for days, and it wasn’t the location I swapped locations many times over the years. I believe it was because they did not trust it. The lid locking mechanism uses three little tabs to keep the lid in place, and although I am sure that I always attached them correctly (I would check), I think the box would flex under their weight and BAM! The lid would fall in. It happened enough so that no one wanted to use the box anymore. It didn’t happen for the first couple of years of use, but the plastic was probably wearing out at level that could not be visually perceived. This complaint doesn’t only come from me, other reviewers on Amazon claim to have the same issue. I kept it around as an alternative because they would use it occasionally, but ultimately decided that one box per cat was plenty. Out it went! It was a good box while it was, but once it wasn’t, it wasn’t.
Finally box #3. It’s not my favorite, but it’s my cat’s! The Kitangle Modern Cat Litter Box - Corner was purchased just for Max.
This is me being real. Could I have vacuumed a little, taken a hair roller to the white curtain that I just realized is covered in black cat hair? Sure, but this is the real deal state of the litter box. I prefer to face mine towards the wall for extra privacy. Notice the amount of litter tracked out of the box, that’s 6 days worth. Not too bad, but not great.
I knew that while he was still quite nimble, getting in and out of a top entry litter box was not as easy as it used to be. As soon as I unpacked and filled it with litter, everyone with 4 legs in the house got in line to use it. It quickly became the only box the three of them would use, until it was fairly soiled and only then they would reluctantly use the other boxes. As far as the factors that matter? Well, those basically got tossed out the window. This box does an okay job at keeping the litter in the box, the opening isn’t super low, but it is low enough to let litter get flung out. It is also low enough to let Max’s weakening legs easily climb over, and accidentally urinate outside of the box. He never would have done that in his younger years and was so embarrassed. If you get this box, and you have a high-peeing cat, do yourself a favor and put a pee pad under the entry. I no longer have to do that my 5 and 10yo cats can still squat low, and they usually prefer to poke their heads out while they are doing their business.
Cleaning is also a bit of a pain. Both daily and monthly cleanings are hindered by the design. The inner corners are somewhat sharp and I find it hard to get clumped litter out of the corners. The box is also quite large and totally un-ergonomic. It is smooth all over so there is nothing to really hold onto when dumping it over I find myself pressing it against my body to empty the box into a garbage bag. Dumping water out of it is also tricky.
And price? Yeesh, this thing is pricey for a plastic box. I got mine for about $150. The box is made in America by a woman owned company, and it feels sturdy like it will easily last just as long as my Clevercat litter box. There’s nothing much else to say about that. It’s nice looking for a litter box, but it seems way over-priced. That said I don’t regret buying it either.
All three litter boxes were what I considered to be really good, just in different ways. The Clevercat is my favorite, but it’s not available anymore. The Kitangle is a fan favorite and I would highly suggest it to anyone that has an older or mobility challenged kitty, that also cares about what their litter box looks like.
So two literal tails up to the Kitangle, and since I don’t have a tail and can’t vote and it’s out of stock everywhere, my favorite never had a chance anyway. If you were at all curious about these litter boxes I hope this helped you make up your mind. Or, maybe it spurred you to think about your and your cat’s experience with the litter box you already own, and maybe you need an upgrade?
P.S. I realize the type of litter also matters. Some tracks more than others, and I won’t use clay or food-based litter for reasons I will cover in another post. The litter I use is ökocat Less Mess Natural Wood Clumping Cat Litter Mini-Pellets. They say it’s for long-haired cats, but I think that’s just because it’s less likely to get stuck on their hairy rears. This is my favorite natural litter and I highly recommend it. I have been using it for about 3 years now and have no reason to want to switch.
