Litter box: open or closed?

We have an open litter box, and I want to add another litter box but I'm thinking about one with a lid to prevent litter mess.

Any opinion about this? I heard cats don't like closed litter box because it can be smelly in there?

Also, do you change your litter box after so many years? We have ours for 13 years, I wonder if the smell gets into the material of the box itself and linger? Because it really stinks.
We just adopted another cat and have a new litter box and litter and I noticed it's not as disgusting, smell-wise.

I feared that my cat wouldn't like being enclosed while doing her business (it was probably just me). However, she is a kicker. Times it seems she is intentionally kicking it out just so she can roll in it. Anyway, I found an alternative. A box with walls, no top.
http://mobile.walmart.com/ip/IRIS-High-Sided-Cat-Litter-Box-Cats/16401697

She loves it, but still found a way to kick out the litter (she really gets into it). So, my mom put that litter box into another box, that was a little wider and a little taller. Worked like a charm.

As for buying a new box, I haven't had my princess long enough to get a new one.

oh I LIKE that litter box! That might just work. Thank you for the idea!

You're most welcome. The one I showed wasn't the same as mine, but it gives you the idea. I like mine, it's three pieces, a base pan, another "sifting" type pan and the piece that's the walls, you can snap it on.

Good luck.

The ones we bought were both covered, but the top comes off with a few clicks. The top broke on the first one, so it was an uncovered one since that point. We bought a second one, also covered with a swinging door. Since our new cat came from a home with uncovered boxes, we took the top off that too. I don't see the benefit of putting it on (also, the top fell off a pile of boxes and the door broke off... I don't know if we just have flimsy taste or they're just not good overall). The litterboxes are kept in their own little room - a huge storage room, they get scooped everyday, and washed out every month or so, so smell never becomes an issue. At this point, I'm resigned to the fact that it'll be a messy room and litter will be everywhere.

I'm pretty sure my boyfriend has been using the same litterbox for the whole 10 years he's had his cat. As long as it stays clean and there are no pee stains right on the material, it should be good. If you see it, address it quickly and wipe or wash it off.

We bought a Tidy cats (I think is who made it) uncovered that has pellets to deal with feces... the urine go down on to a pad. No smell which is great.

We have a covered box as well. My big cat can kick out the litter. We have to change the litter more. Go figure.

Box #1 mentioned cost more to maintain but we have to deal with it less. It has less smell, they haven't kicked out the pellets yet.

Up until last week we had a covered litter box but my Amber seemed to be able to pee where the top and bottom joined together and thus we had leakage. What we have done now is to buy a standard plastic storage box with very high sides and make a hole in the side for entry. No more leaks and no more litter being kicked out.

Our last cat wasn't picky about a covered vs. an open box, so we used covered ones because of his tendency to really kick litter around. Mogli is "modest", i.e., he doesn't want to go in an open box. His box is very large ("jumbo", "for multiple cats") with a wide opening in front, and the swinging door and filter are removed to prevent odors from being trapped in it. The box is scooped a minimum of three times a day, more often 4 - 5x, so there's not much chance of odor build-up.

My parents had open boxes for their cats until they decided to offer one senior cat a choice. She immediately chose a covered box, so that was the end of open boxes in the house. It's really a matter of the cat's preference, but there are definitely some that like covered boxes better.

The number of cats in the household presumably plays a role. We've had "singletons" that don't have to worry about being pounced on by other cats when leaving the box. A cat in a multi-cat household may prefer to be able to see who's hanging around outside the litter box.

Both of our litter boxes are several years old and in very good shape, probably because they're cleaned with steam rather than harsh chemicals that can break down the plastic.

Thank you for all the responses.

I think I'll do a high-side litter box. The plastic storage idea is also very good. I'm thinking now.

How do you steam clean a litter box?

Also, something interesting that I've never thought about before, the 2 year old's pee is the size of a ping pong ball, very small. Compared to the older ones' pee (more like a tennis ball size, seriously).

If you have Amazon Prime there is a high sided one that is one of the best sellers in cat litter boxes. I ordered that one for when my girl is allowed out of her crate.

We have a steam cleaner with pretty high pressure that I go over the box with several times, wiping in between and then air drying.

Also, something interesting that I've never thought about before, the 2 year old's pee is the size of a ping pong ball, very small. Compared to the older ones' pee (more like a tennis ball size, seriously).
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Make sure your cat is drinking enough water. My Sasha has to be fed wet food because she doesn't drink enough, I noticed her pee's were tiny on dry food compared to the others so now have to limit the amount of dry treats I give her otherwise she ends up with a urine infection.

Sorry, the first part of my last reply was meant to be a quote but it didn't end up in a box.:-)

We also use sterilite storage boxes for our litter boxes, with a doorway of sorts cut out of one long side (forces the cat to turn, less chance of peeing out a door cut in a short side). The solid color Sterilite brand with matte finish (from their basic line), cut very easily with a sharp box cutter with just a few passes. Be sure to get opaque/solid color, as I've read that the clear or semi-clear ones sometimes crack when trying to cut them. The boxes are about 17" high, and the doorway is a 9"x9" opening cut from the top edge. The opening is about 8" from the ground, and both our teenage kittens access them easily. I think I posted a photo before, yep here it is (although we use walnut litter now)...


Our two also have different size pee-balls. George's are bigger than Dory's. But Dory pees once or twice more per day, than George does...he just holds his a bit longer. So the total output is roughly the same. It's good that you are noticing this. Knowing what your cat's normal output is like while it is healthy, will help you quickly tune in should a health issue arise in the future!

Can you post a link?

Datagrrl said:

If you have Amazon Prime there is a high sided one that is one of the best sellers in cat litter boxes. I ordered that one for when my girl is allowed out of her crate.

Click to expand...

I bought a covered litter and, after some initial litterbox problems, took the cover off. I'm not sure that was the problem, but I was trying a bunch of things to get him to use the litter. 

Now I have the cover sort of half on to give him some privacy, more like a bandstand than a canopy. It doesn't help with scattered litter, however. I'm a bit hesitant to try the cover again because the most important thing to me is that he actually uses the box.

This is the one I bought. Haven't used it because she lives in a dog crate and it is too big.

I was thinking about the IRIS box, but I think we ended up with Pureness, just because the IRIS has 2 parts that joined together and the Pureness is just one piece.
Thanks for the Rubbermaid post, that's awesome. I might do that too, we'll see...... because I can put the lid on that one and it's big enough so the cats don't get claustrophobic in there.

because cats are vulnerable when they are using the litter they like to have escape routes which is why they tend to prefer the open topped  boxes.  

I have 6 cats in total and often have foster kittens. So i did what Burkey did but bought a very large and long tupperware tub. I cut  a hole in the side at one end that is low enough so everyone can go in it but wont make that much of a mess.  It has worked out really well. 

It is probably time to change out the litterboxf if it is odor saturated before your cats decide they don't want to use it anymore.  Always use an open litter box - storage boxes are best, lots of room to move around and to dig, also easy to scoop and cats love them.  Think of an enclosed litterbox as a human porta-potty (how much do you like to use those?).  Open helps air to circulate and the cat is more comfortable and not feeling trapped.  Also remember two cats - two litter boxes.