Two cats, one (not litter-scattering) box

October 6, 2017 6:17 AM

I have two adorable cats. They love to frolic, and by frolic, I mean "kick litter out of their box like it is their job." This is no longer tenable, especially as dog friend is very interested. What are the best closed-top or otherwise litter-trapping boxes that can accommodate two fluffy Maine Coon mixes? (Pictures of cats fitting in things duly provided)

Difficulty level: entrance must make room for floofy cats to get in and out happily. It can be a little pricy, but if it is, it has to be solid and last at least a good while. Must contain enough litter for cats to dig.

posted by corb to Pets & Animals (14 answers total)

I have been a huge fan of the Clever Cat boxes. We have two, and they solved multiple problems with our cats litter box behaviors. Our cats are 13.5 and 14 lbs, so not small, and have no issue getting in and out of the boxes. If the opening is too small, you can always cut it larger. They do also stand by their 30 day money back thing, as I have known at least one person to return theirs for a full refund.
posted by strixus at 6:37 AM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]

Nature’s Miracle advanced hooded litter box is the litter box of my dreams. I need a covered box for a large dude who stands up to pee, but covered boxes can be a pain to get into to scoop. This one has a hinged front. I think one or more of the reviews in the link mentions Maine Coons. It is massive.
posted by you must supply a verb at 6:42 AM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]

I don't have a catbox recommendation, but I do have black hole cat litter mats which really do help with scattering litter. I have two fluffy cats and one humongous shorthair.
posted by bile and syntax at 6:44 AM on October 6, 2017 [2 favorites]

I heartily second the Nature's Miracle hooded litter box, for all of the reasons ymsav mentions. My 15# long hair Maybe-A-Coon can perch to pee or dig as needed, and it's very easy to access. Very little litter escapes, mostly in his paw fur, and it gets caught up by the mat that is outside the flap.
posted by RhysPenbras at 6:49 AM on October 6, 2017

We have this cabinet. Inside is a deep litter box and a litter mat. We get almost 0 litter outside of the cabinet and it looks nice enough to live in the dining room. Cats sit on top of it and birdwatch out the window.
posted by hilaryjade at 7:16 AM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]

this is kinda trashy but it works: buy big rubbermaid containers from the Bins and cut cat sized holes in em

put a litter mat by the exit
posted by nixon's meatloaf at 7:46 AM on October 6, 2017 [4 favorites]

I have 3 cats and 2 Clever Cat top entry litter boxes. Two of my cats are of the not small persuasion. One of these two likes to perch on the edge of the entry hole to poop. Cute. Then he climbs in to bury it. The other not small cat and the third cat, who is of a normal size, bury their business like it's their damn job to dig to China.

I'm not saying that there is zero tracking with the top entry box, but there is much much MUCH less and without them it would be awful.
posted by janey47 at 7:49 AM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]

Oh look here is a picture of one of the not small ones and here is a picture of the other. And here is a picture of the normal size one.
posted by janey47 at 7:57 AM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]

Following on the Rubbermaid idea: you can also put your extant litter box inside of one, and leave the top off. It will contain the scatter but not make the cat feel trapped. Some cats object to litter boxes with tops, and larger cats sometimes need extra-big boxes. A Maine Coon mix of my acquaintance actually did pretty well with just a lidless Rubbermaid tote *as* his box, because he was Large and required the extra real estate. Floofcat + flooftail was too much floof to be contained by a box with a lid, it turned out.
posted by halation at 8:40 AM on October 6, 2017 [3 favorites]

We have two Modkat top-entry boxes. They do a decent job of cutting down on the litter-tracking, and the entry opening is fairly generous. The litter spill is not at zero, but we only have to sweep up every couple of days at most. Definitely pricey, though. I see that they're coming out with a new “XL” box next month for bigger cats, that also adds a side-entry option.
posted by D.Billy at 9:51 AM on October 6, 2017

I was coming in to recommend Modkat also. I have the Flip, not the top entry ones, which is pretty deep, but the top entry boxes will be great, look great, and will wear great. My Flip is barely even noticed by people who come into my condo, it just blends in. If that doesn't matter, I have also had the clever cat boxes and they are similarly great.
posted by Medieval Maven at 10:49 AM on October 6, 2017

I second the Nature's Miracle advanced hooded box listed above (though the link looks like a new and improved version of our several-year-old one... time for an upgrade, maybe!). It's big enough for our fluffy guy, though he isn't Maine Coon Big.

Critically (though it depends on where you have space to put the box) we keep ours *facing* the wall, with just enough room for a litter-trapping mat between the opening and the wall. This forces an immediate turn when exiting, making the litter-scattering post-poop hallway-sprint much harder to execute.
posted by little cow make small moo at 11:22 AM on October 6, 2017 [1 favorite]

We have just ordered the NVR Miss litter box, which claims, because of its design, to reduce over-the-side peeing and litter scatter. (The entry is in the side so they have to turn and be pointed in the "right" high-walled direction when they pee and scratch, not in the door direction.) We'll see how it goes.

But also use a specialized litter mats. Catching litter and then being easy to clean is what they're designed for.

Previous attempts with enclosed cabinets and washable area rugs led to un-good, stinky results.
posted by troyer at 4:42 PM on October 6, 2017

Second the NVR Miss. Also Kattails Kat Kave.
posted by analog at 9:55 AM on October 11, 2017