TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Care & Grooming › Some advice needed about covered litterboxes
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Some advice needed about covered litterboxes

post #1 of 20
11/8/09 at 11:39pm
Thread Starter 
Hi all

I have recently gotten a cute little tortie kitten, but she is extremely messy with her litterbox and I wanted to get a covered litterbox like in this link
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/List...x?id=251711633
A friend then told me that my kitten would stop using it because of the smells inside. She said it was not a good idea, so I searched the internet for a cat forum so that I can ask you guys for advice

Do you guys think a covered cat litterbox is ok? could I get one?
Reply
post #2 of 20
11/9/09 at 1:42am
Hi and welcome first of all. I have always used the covered litter trays, I find them loads better and I think my cats prefer them because it gives them more privacy and as for the smell issue as long as you clean it reguarly then there should be no problem. I got mine off ebay, really cheaply, good luck.x
Reply
post #3 of 20
11/9/09 at 2:27am
I use rubbermaid bins, both the short boxes (still have higher sides than any store bought litter box) with no lids and the large storage bins with holes cut in the sides and lids on.

...But I don't use the tall bins without the lids on. That was a disastrous but very humorous event. (cat couldn't clear the side of the box, he flipped it on top of himself - litter and all)

Only one cat has much of a preference, that that's cause she's one of those weird "have to balance on the rim to cover anything" cats.


I don't have a problem with smell in them, but then the front hole is fairly large and the litter is kept clean. When I was using clay litters the scent from the litter + the urine smell did build up a little, but that was solved by not using clay litters.


My suggestion: Ideally, even for one cat, you should have two boxes. It's very important that you use litter boxes that will not be too small (think ahead for kitten's growth). Get something with decently high sides, but that your kitten can still get in and out of.
Try one of each type. You'll find your kitten's preference that way.

A good mat or, better yet, something next to the litter box that your kitten can scratch on to help remove litter from it's paws will help keep litter from being tracked
Reply
post #4 of 20
11/9/09 at 4:19am
I just got a similar one for our little foster kitten. He is a litter flinger, so we got one at PetCo that has two bottoms, a sifting grille, and a swinging door. About $31, plus tax. It's making a big difference on the litter scatter.
Reply
post #5 of 20
11/9/09 at 5:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrblanche View Post
I just got a similar one for our little foster kitten. He is a litter flinger, so we got one at PetCo that has two bottoms, a sifting grille, and a swinging door. About $31, plus tax. It's making a big difference on the litter scatter.
I tried a litter box like that 12-13 years ago. Two bottoms and a shifter. I didn't like it at all. Maybe it was because there weren't as many litters available as there are now, maybe it was just how that particular box was made. But I always have problems with the urine clumps breaking up and quite a few of the smaller pieces of waste shifting through with the litter.

$31 is pretty steep for plastic... That's a round a vacs.
Reply
post #6 of 20
11/9/09 at 6:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
I use rubbermaid bins, both the short boxes (still have higher sides than any store bought litter box) with no lids and the large storage bins with holes cut in the sides and lids on.

...But I don't use the tall bins without the lids on. That was a disastrous but very humorous event. (cat couldn't clear the side of the box, he flipped it on top of himself - litter and all)

Only one cat has much of a preference, that that's cause she's one of those weird "have to balance on the rim to cover anything" cats.


I don't have a problem with smell in them, but then the front hole is fairly large and the litter is kept clean. When I was using clay litters the scent from the litter + the urine smell did build up a little, but that was solved by not using clay litters.


My suggestion: Ideally, even for one cat, you should have two boxes. It's very important that you use litter boxes that will not be too small (think ahead for kitten's growth). Get something with decently high sides, but that your kitten can still get in and out of.
Try one of each type. You'll find your kitten's preference that way.

A good mat or, better yet, something next to the litter box that your kitten can scratch on to help remove litter from it's paws will help keep litter from being tracked
Can you post a picture or two? I'm having trouble visualizing this. My kitten is messy too and throws litter all over the place, and would probably use a covered pan, but my older one would probably NOT use a covered one. She is skittish and doesn't like to "tunnel" like the other one does.
Reply
post #7 of 20
11/9/09 at 7:09am
I'll add some of boxes in a bit. But some of them I use are just this box right here http://www.allendaletruevalue.com/im...torage_bin.jpg with a rectangular cat sized hole cut in the end.

Some people will use these types of containers in varying heights without lids on them - with the shorter sided ones acting just like a regular litter box and the tall ones being like the top entry litter boxes.
Reply
post #8 of 20
11/9/09 at 7:59am
There are many more problems reported with cats stopping using covered boxes then open... I would just get a Rubbermaid or Sterilite container with high sides, and a good litter mat.

Good luck!
Reply
post #9 of 20
11/9/09 at 8:14am
I have both covered and non-covered litter boxes and my cats use both. I think if you keep it scooped odor is not a problem.
Reply
post #10 of 20
11/9/09 at 10:01am
Keep it scooped and use a good litter. I use Fresh Step and it has awesome odor control. I got the petco brand this last time and noticed it is not keeping the smell at bay very well. I also scoop plenty. I have three that share one covered box. ReeRee is my litter flinger.
Reply
post #11 of 20
11/9/09 at 11:02am
We have a couple of covered litter boxes, but I usually only have 1 or 2 of them out (1 of my cats doesn't like them). The rest are uncovered boxes, but they are rubbermaid/sterilite containers with a door cut into them. So the sides are very high.
Reply
post #12 of 20
11/9/09 at 8:33pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you so much everyone. I think I will try the idea of the high sides containers, they go for about fourteen dollars here in new zealand. That way I can take the lid off, so I will also get two of them since they are more affordable than the almost sixty dollars closed litterboxes
Reply
post #13 of 20
11/9/09 at 10:10pm
I use a covered a litter box and I basically just have to clean it out once a day. That way my female kitty will still use it. I have to use covered ones because my male kitty is so skittish AND messy he won't use a non-covered box. Plus he would poop outside of a non-covered box sometimes because he has bad aim.

So whatever works for you.
Reply
post #14 of 20
11/9/09 at 10:27pm
You could try getting both a covered box and a deep open sterilite bin and see which one the kitty prefers.

I had went through several expensive covered boxes before I found one that my cats would use. Fortunately, Petco and PetSmart will take them back even after you've used them. I finally ended up with two of the top-entry boxes and both cats were using them, but I found they frequently didn't cover their deposits. It may have been because they didn't have room to turn around inside the box, or maybe they just didn't like being closed in. When I took in a third cat I put out an old--small--litter pan temporarily, thinking it would be just until I could get another covered box. I found that all three cats were using the small pan and ignoring the covered boxes. So now I have five cats and four open boxes, all of them the deep sterilite bins. I scoop twice a day and don't have a problem with odor.
Reply
post #15 of 20
11/14/09 at 8:45pm
I went from 2 uncovered litter box using clay litter side by side to 1 uncovered little box with clay litter and 1 covered litter box with clumping litter.

My 2 kitties now use the covered one more. The covered one is placed in the living room, which means less privacy. But it is covered, and I think it smells better with a different litter.

I think we are going to buy another covered litter box later because we and the kitties really like it.

I assume you have more than 1 litter box at home, so I would suggest buying 1 covered litter box and see how well the cats like it.
Reply
post #16 of 20
11/15/09 at 6:03am
I've always used covered litter boxes and haven't had any trouble with smells. I don't use the charcoal filters or the swinging doors, so that air can circulate, and scoop twice a day.
Reply
post #17 of 20
11/15/09 at 10:04am
I use the large rubbermaid bins with high sides as well...covered litterboxes do not work for kitties that pee "high" because the pee just sits in the crack between the top and bottom parts of the litterbox

I will never go back to a regular litterbox.
Reply
post #18 of 20
11/15/09 at 1:04pm
I have two covered litter boxes and two that are large rubbermaid bins. They all get used and I scoop them twice a day.

I don't think the cats really care, for the most part they seem to use whichever they are closest to.
Reply
post #19 of 20
11/15/09 at 6:56pm
We had to switch to a covered litter box due to our dog who was patiently waiting for kitty to finish his business so he could munch on some gourmet treats!
Reply
post #20 of 20
11/16/09 at 7:33am
I have 2 covered boxes, scoop both daily and have no problems.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Care & Grooming
TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Care & Grooming › Some advice needed about covered litterboxes