Advice on a kicking up litter issue?

Lux has always been a litter-kicker-upper, so I significantly lowered the amount of litter I put in his box to about 2". I thought he had gotten over this, so I increased the amount, as I'd read it made the litter box a more organic experience for cats - they wouldn't reach plastic while going outside. The next day there was a big pile of litter next to the box, and every time he shakes his fur out after he's used it, the litter falls in cascades.

Is it really better to have 3-4" of litter in the box, or is 2" just fine? I'm not about to run to the box every time he's going so I can say "no" when he starts kicking it, so I posted this in the Care section because it's not so much about his behavior. I know it's most likely part of his compulsive behavioural tendencies, because he still kicks when there's not much litter - there's just less kicking. And...I want to mention that it appears as kicking but from watching him, he just takes an unusually long time to bury it. When it's buried, he keeps burying for quite some time.

Anyway. Has anyone successfully dealt with this problem before?

I have a fastideously tidy boy who is both a compuslive digger and a leaper-outer....  I don't think there is anything you can do that will comfortably change their natural behaviour and have always chosen to live with what ever my cat has chosen  (used to have a dig and leave uncovered cat which was quite infuriating as you got all the mess and all the smell as well).  Mouse looks like he's trying to dig to the other side of the world when he's in his element.    Then he launches out of the tray like he's entered for a long jump...

I have a high sided and covered tray to minimise the litter coming out when he is digging, and a textured medium pile, washable rug outside the tray to catch as much of the tracking plus any escaped digging litter as possible.  I can shake the rug contents back in to the tray or out of the window in between vacuuming, and wash as and when necessary.  My cat seems happiest when digging in a good depth of around 3" litter and if hitting plastic tray bottom digs speedily clearing the area but then  everything he produces is on the tray and litter clumps to the bottom which is more messy to clean out depending on the type of litter you use  (mine doesn't stick to the tray but some does).  For me, the odour control seems most efficient when there is a little more depth too, so I tend to top up and keep the 3" or 4".  

I feel your pain. I use a low level of litter, also, to keep it from all being kicked out of the box. The pee clumps on the plastic bottom of the box, but I would rather clean that than piles of litter all over the floor.
My mother in law uses a large Rubbermaid bin with a hole cut in the lid for entry and exit. Her cats seem to like climbing in and out and it really cuts down on the mess. I think I saw a similar set up (entry through the top) at either Petco or Petsmart. Another idea is to set a regular litter box inside a Rubbermaid bin and cut a doorway in the side of the bin. That way, you can just pull the litter box out and dump the kicked litter back into it.

I bought a covered litter tray and never had any problems again. I suggest that.
It's all I use now and I'm on my 7th and 8th cats. They're perfectly happy and they've got privacy.
That's my suggestion.

Out cat kicks up litter too.  Our "solution" was to put his litter box inside a larger cardboard box.  This collects most of the kicked-up debris and keeps it off the floor.  The larger box is open on the top (so it isn't a cave), anywhere from 1 foot to 1.5 feet tall (short enough that he can easily enter & exit), and anywhere from a few inches wider than his litter box to a foot or so wider (space between the edges of his litter box and the larger cardboard box.)  I change the outer cardboard box every few months if it gets dirty or if he's started scratching it.

We don't know why he kicks up the litter, so there may be a behavioural cue we're missing, but this sure solved most of the carpet issue!

I also have a litter kicker lilly has two boxes one is covered one not she prefers the none covered but will use the covered on occassion im resogned to clearing up litter debris from our uncovered toilet rather than spend more money trying to find a fix when she may decide to forgo the box all together

I put about 1" of litter in both boxes and this doesn't create any problems.  In fact, my cat nanny uses a lot of litter, and most times when I return from a trip it can take up to 5 days to get the level down to an acceptable 1" in the box.  In my opinion 2-3" is way too much litter unless of course your cats are beach bunnies LOL  I also have a vigorgous digger but it mostly stays in the box, sometimes it is something you must live with.  I have a small carpet in front of the box which helps control what might be brought out on paws - it seems to work.  

This is from the Humane Society: 

Depth of litter

Some people think that the more litter they put in the box, the less often they'll have to clean it, but that's a mistake. Most cats won't use litter that's more than about two inches deep. In fact, some long-haired cats actually prefer less litter and a smooth, slick surface, such as the bottom of the litter box. 

Good luck

@Luv2Cats  Wow! That is really brand new information to me, which is rare because I have read way too much about cats. Thanks a lot. I will change the level of litter in his box and see if he likes that better. He always seemed fine when I used to put a small amount in, but because most kitty caregivers seem to add more litter than that, I thought I was doing something wrong there. This bothered me to the extent that I actually added a lot more litter, even though he never kicked up litter when there was little in there and always did when there was a lot. I think he was trying to get to the bottom! Or something. It does make sense about long haired kitties. So thank you very much for that tidbit.

I recently got him - and myself - a litter box enclosure. He took to it right away. I think he feels more safe in it, and I get to have a bathroom without litter spilling in plain sight. I put a litter mat outside of it. This has worked really well for the litter kicking, and tracking in general! I like your idea about the small carpet, the only issue I would find with that in the bathroom is that it could get wet and mouldy, so I'll have to deal with the not aesthetically pleasing but very practical litter mat for now.  

@satsumasryummy  how about instead of a piece of carpet persay use a cheaper bath mat (like the type you step out of the bath onto) gives something for the litter on kitties paws to come off onto and looks nice in your bathroom practical and pretty!

@Luv2Cats  I also found this helpfull as I always hear lilly scratting around in the box and we have about 3 or so inches of litter in there this could be why so thank you for that helpful little slice of knowledge