No matter how big your house is, used kitty litter is always unsightly. Additionally, no one wants it tracked all over the home. Pretty quickly, you look for ways to augment the box with items to mitigate these issues. Covered and top entry cat boxes are typically much cheaper than the other options for covering the litter. To make life with your cat’s waste more livable, here are the best covered and top entry litter boxes.
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1. Catit Hooded Cat Litter Pan
Pros:- Large pan good for multi-cat households (though multiple pans is preferred)
- Filtered hood vent
- High-sided pan
- Built-in bag anchor
Cons:- Lid latches are relatively weak
- Some cats will destroy the exposed filter
- Due to the weak latches, the handle at the top is basically useless
- Plastic somewhat brittle
This is the basic, one-step-up improvement over a normal litter pan. The base is a large, deep pan measuring 22.4 inches long by 15.3 inches wide. The carbon filter at the top filters some odor and can be augmented with Catit Magic Blue Air Purifier refills to enhance the odor protection.
Because the filter is exposed, some cats might mess with and eventually destroy it. The lid hinges on this particular unit are a weak point, but that is perhaps expected at the price point. I owned this model at one point and didn’t have any trouble, though I never tried lifting it while full, either.
You could skip the lid hinges with this much cheaper, but unfiltered Iris Hooded Litter Box. There’s also this Van Ness option which is also much deeper.
Find more Catit Hooded Cat Litter Pan information and reviews here.
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2. Cat Love Space Saver Corner Hooded Cat Pan
Pros:- Corner shape saves floor space
- Built-in bag anchor
- Carbon filtered ventilation
- Large capacity
Cons:- Lid latches are relatively weak
- Relatively low pan sides
- Normal box liners won’t work
- Door may get stuck (but can be removed)
Ideally, your cat’s litter box will be tucked into a remote corner of your home. In the case of this design, it will literally be tucked into the corner. The shape of this pan allows you to utilize the depth of a room corner to save a little space. The large face of the box contains a sturdy door, which is removable if your cats don’t like it.
The low step might be good for older cats, but does increase the likelihood of tracking or spilling. Still, you can get the clever corner construction for less than the simple Catit option. This litter box comes in green or gray and measures 22 inches by 17.7 inches by 17.12 inches.
Find more Cat Love Space Saver Corner Hooded Cat Pan information and reviews here.
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3. Petmate Booda Clean Step Litter Dome
Pros:- Ramp greatly reduces tracking
- Carbon filtered ventilation
- Very good odor containment
- Virtually dog proof
Cons:- Difficult to dump into a trash can
- Mixed reviews on size of the actual pan; small for the overall footprint
- Unique shape makes scooping a challenge with normal scoops
- Generally flimsy build quality
Another unique approach is this Booda litter dome. To enter or exit this litter box, cats must traverse a stairway, which ensures that litter can’t be sprayed when digging and significantly cuts down tracking. While the shape presents challenges when using traditional liners or scoops, the absence of a flapping door that doesn’t just exit directly onto your floor could make up for that.
The overall structure measures 20 inches by 24 inches by 19 inches and comes in this Brushed Nickel color, as well as Pearl and Titanium, though the price seems to vary depending on which of these you choose.
The Petmate Booda line also includes the Dome Pearl Litter Box, which is a more conventional option.
Find more Petmate Booda Clean Step Litter Dome information and reviews here.
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4. Modkat Litter Box Kit
Price: No price availablePros:- Modern, attractive look
- All-in-one kit includes scoop
- Reusable tarp liner
- Anti-tracking lid
Cons:- Expensive
- On the small side
- Some find that their cats stop burying their litter
- Some cats won’t use it
If you’re of the mind that cat litter boxes could use a designer’s touch, this might be the one for you. This has the modern appeal of similarly-pricey-but-beautiful products like the simple human line. The anti-tracking lid allows litter to fall back into the box and also swivels up for scooping.
Speaking of, the included scoop hangs neatly on the outside of the unit. Though, one could see how pretty quickly the scoop could make a mess on that high-polish exterior. This is almost a perfect cube, measuring 16 inches by 16 inches by 15 inches. The tarp liner on the inside is just a bit shorter and is held in place by a fitted tension band.
These liners last a good long while and are very reusable, but in the event that they reach the end of their useful life, replacements are available. It’s definitely expensive, but the nicer finish could be worth it to you.
Find more Modkat Litter Box Kit information and reviews here.
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5. Clevercat Innovations Top Entry Litter Box
Pros:- Tracking mat on lid keeps litter off the floor
- Large capacity
- Sturdy construction
Cons:- Pricey
- Not ideal for cats who can’t jump easily
- Not the most attractive design
This fairly simple option combines the toughness of a Rubbermaid-style bin with a textured tracking mat as the lid. The opening is large enough for just about any cat, and the ample box size means there’s plenty of room to dig inside. It only comes in this white color, but looks fairly inconspicuous as far as litter boxes go. The company makes their own liners to ease clean up.
For about half the price, there’s the very similar Petmate Top Entry Litter Pan, where the anti-tracking lid actually has holes in it so the litter falls back into the pan. The plastic isn’t nearly as rugged, however.
Find more Clevercat Innovations Top Entry Litter Box information and reviews here.
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6. Iris Top Entry Cat Litter Box
Pros:- Refined design
- Grooved anti-tracking lid
- Easily removable lid
Cons:- May take awhile to ship
- Some cats won’t use it
- Not exactly dog proof
For roughly one-third the price of the ModKat, Iris makes another modern-looking litter box, this time in the shape of an oval. While the grooved anti-tracking lid doesn’t drop litter back into the box, it does look pretty nice and certainly doesn’t read as a kitty liter box upon first glance.
It measures 20.47 inches long by 16.14 inches wide by 14.56 inches tall, which is about average for a cat box size. Available colors include this orange creamsicle option and white.
Find more Iris Top Entry Cat Litter Box information and reviews here.
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7. DIY Top Entry Cat Litter Box
Pros:- Saves you money
- Choose the right size box for your home
- Customizable
- Wide array of color and material choices
Cons:- Will require tools and elbow grease
- Unlikely to have the refined look of nicer purpose-built options
- If it doesn’t turn out well, you may end up buying a pre-made one, anyway
- Some cats won’t use it
You may have noticed that all of these are basically a box with a hole in the top. If you’re thinking you can do that yourself, you’re probably right. There’s nothing stopping you from trying before spending the money on a more-expensive option. Depending on how you want to approach it, you’ll need the following items:
- Plastic box — something heavy duty and large will work best, like the Sterilite 18 Gallon Latch and Carry
- Utility knife — Stanley makes a good one
- Optional: Anti-tracking material — there are several options for this, such as Duck Brand Select Grip Shelf Liner
- Optional: Adhesive — you could glue the liner into place, or use Velcro so it’s removable
- Optional: Sandpaper — to smooth out the edge of the opening you’ve cut
Simply measure and cut a hole in the lid (nine inches in diameter should be plenty), apply the shelf liner to the top of the lid as an anti-tracking mat, and fill with litter. If you wanted a scoop hook, the 3M Command Wire Hooks are a perfect addition.
It’s a pretty straight-forward project that shouldn’t take much longer than 15 minutes. If you want a huge litter box, you could go with something like the Rubbermaid Roughneck 50 Gallon Storage Box, but that’s probably overkill and the lid pattern will make it more difficult to cut.
Covered Litter Boxes
The obvious and clear upgrade to the standard litter pan, covered cat boxes remove the mess from view and help to trap odors. Covered litter boxes are often just the standard plastic litter pans with some sort of topper added. These can be vented, have doors that automatically close behind your cat, or in some rare cases, could be decorative.
They don't completely solve the problem of litter tracking or spills, but they're a marked improvement. The drawback to both these and the top entry boxes later on this list are that some cats hate going in confined spaces, preferring so-called "open air" to do their business.
It's hard to blame them; using a port-a-potty as a human isn't the most ideal situation, either. Nevertheless, if your cat doesn't mind it, your quality of life as a cat owner can be improved with the simple upgrade.
Top Entry Litter Boxes
A modest upgrade, or at least a different approach, to reducing tracking and hiding the mess, top entry litter boxes simply move the entry to the top of the container. Top entry boxes take the concept a step further by not only covering the litter in the pan, but by fully containing everything that goes on in there.
This entirely eliminates spills from kicking and digging and goes a long way toward keeping all the litter inside the box, as they often have textured lids that double as litter mats to prevent tracking.
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