please vote in my poll

My cats do not like covered boxes.

I've never used covered boxes.

I've edited the poll, but the last option didn't fit.

I tried a covered litter box , my cats did not like it at all

I've tried several different types of covered litter boxes. The first two didn't work at all for my cats. One wouldn't even go inside the box. The other would get in, turn around and bat at the swinging door flap, but wouldn't actually use the litter. I tried a top-entry box and that seemed to be working pretty well. Then I brought a third cat into the house. I saw all three using the covered litter boxes, but somebody was also peeing outside the box on occasion. I pulled out my original (small) litter pan and dumped some litter in it to use just until I could buy another covered box. The inappropriate peeing stopped immediately, but I also noticed that all three cats were using the open pan exclusively. There were no deposits in the covered boxes. I guess you can't get much clearer than that. "Meowmy, we don't like the covered litter boxes!"

Their ok, but if you have a digger their no good, because Rosie and Jack can flick it across the room

I didn't like the idea of my cats breathing in the dust from the litter in such a contained space. It just didn't seem healthy.

They were also limited in how they could move around. With the "open" boxes, they hop in and out til they find the right spot, and can step outside of the box to get a better angle to cover up deposits

I had one (still do, but use it without the top on it). They like a deep one, but I felt that the covered ones would produce too much dust with the litter and covering and therefore the cats would be breathing in the dust.

So I uncovered it. They kinda stop using it with the cover on. We use the wood stove pellets in both the covered pan and the larger open pan and that works out better - no dust with pellets.

I voted "complex" answer.

Our cats use the covered and uncovered boxes. I like the covered boxes because they help contain the litter from our "litter flingers," but I don't like them because of the dust.

I know there are some cats that like them and some that don't. We have always provided both for our kitties, but I always made sure there was good air circulation and a filter near any of the covered boxes. If you use a non-silicone based litter, then the worry about dust wouldn't be as great with a covered box as it would otherwise be.

Laurie

I have two covered boxes and 10 framed with a paertial cover. Nost of the cats prefer the more open boxes, but I have a couple who use only the covered. I did take the door flaps off. I keep the covered boxes in the more public areas of the house, it's harder for the dogs to stick their heads in for a forbidden snack.

We have 3 cat boxes throughout our house. All three have covers.

Zachary stands when he pees. Without a covered box the walls and floor would be a mess. When we first adopted him he had "explosive diarrhea". Fortunately he made it to the box. It was much easier to clean the inside of the box cover than the walls.

Forrest digs in the sand like he's trying to get to China. Even with the cover he still manages to get sand everywhere.

Lilly does not care if it is covered or not.

I use uncovered boxes for my cats and do not have any issues with them. For the time being, they are working perfectly and that's what we are sticking with.

However, I do see two sides to covered boxes:
1) There are plenty of good reasons to have a covered litter box. Dogs eating "special treats" ( ), inquisitive young children, cats that are messy while pottying, or litter being flung to the four corners of the earth, just to name a few.
2) There are also reasons not to use a covered litter box. The main one being, as has already been brought up in this thread, the circulation of dust in the litter. Also, cats' noses are something like 100x stronger than ours (at least that's what I've read) and if a port-o-potty smells bad to me, I can't imagine how bad a closed litter box must smell to a cat. This is not a problem for people that clean the boxes regularly (as I'm sure all the wonderful cat owners on this site do ) but for some people, it gives them an excuse not to see or smell the waste as much, so to clean it less.

I am DEFINITELY not referring to anyone here when I say that... to be honest, I'm referring to my own mother. She got a covered box for her cat (to stop her dogs from trying to eat its poo), and immediately the box became like a disgusting slum. I honestly do not think she scoops it more than once a month. For out-of-sight, out-of-mind type people like my mom, I think covered boxes are a horrible idea... although she certainly just thinks it is more convenient.

Mine used a covered box, but will not use it if the door is on.

I don't know how they feel about it. They've never had anything different (since we got them at 10 weeks anyway) and we've never had a problem

Exactly my thoughts too.

I have never tried one, and don't intend on it either

I have a covered box and Genever likes it. Or at least doesn't appear to have a problem with it. I said we both love it, and also the 'complex opinion' thing, because she is a digger. Genever will be in the litter box for 10 minutes, digging and scratching. She also scratches the WALLS AND CEILING of the cover! It's quite loud, especially in the middle of the night (box is in the bedroom, small apartment..) So I tried taking the cover off, for about a month or 2 actually, and she still makes amost as much noise, so recently I put the lid back on. Never used the door flap though. I think BF and I are still in the deciding mode of if we should keep the lid on or off. Definitely keeps more litter in (yes, I know, and dust too), but man, I wish Genever would realise she doesn't have to cover her business from the walls!! hehe.

Overall short answer- covered litter box is a-ok with us.

Right now we have 2 covered litterboxes, 2 high sided Sterilite containers, and 1 regular Van Ness standard cat box.

The covered boxes: Tidy Cats litter box = all the cats like it.
Van Ness regular size covered box = Lola hates it, the guys will use it.

Sterilite tubs with no covers = all the cats like them

the standard cat box = all the cats like them; I had more out but someone peed over the edge and there was a pool of pee under it. I may replace it at some point with that high-sided Rubbermaid cat box or just remove it.

Trout is a "high pee-er"...this means she gets her butt up over the edge of any covered box and pees right over the edge causing the pee to soak into the crack where the bottom and the top of the litterbox meet (which is disgusting to clean). I have to have a deep tote litterbox so she can't reach up over the edge with her butt.

Honestly, she is a weirdo.

I used to have a Booda dome, which was nice for the cats until I added a fourth. I don't have room for 4 litterboxes around here, so I just bought another supersized sterilite tub to replace the Dome. Everyone was fine with the change; one of mine, Albert, is a consistent percher- he stands on the edge of the box, shimmies around until he's at just the right angle and then lets it rip. This is the same cat who would scratch every available surface (walls, ceiling, steps) when he used the dome.

I have another, Ramsey, who refuses to learn to cover his messes. He tries (legitimately tries) by scratching everything around him...everything but the litter. Fortunately Albert is a clean freak and comes right behind him to bury it for him.

What an enabler.

I, too, voted "complex".

With my first cat, Shasta, I had just a regular open box. It was fine.

Then, we added two six-year-old males to the household and they came with a covered LB. That was fine as long as they were segregated from Shasta, but once the intros were completed and the boys were coming upstairs, Nibs insisted on using Shasta's box - and christening the walls and floor. I tried putting the covered box upstairs, which was OK with Nibs, but then Shasta wouldn't use it.

So I uncovered it, and got corrugated plastic to make walls for the sides and back, held in place by the litter. All cats used it without any problem, and the walls and floor were saved.

Since the boys crossed the Bridge, we've had only females, and are back to open boxes, which they approve of -- well, they do prefer the big one Mother Nature provides outdoors, but when it's too wet or too cold or too hot to do their business there, they do deign to use the indoor ones and seem to find the boxes provided to their satisfaction.