Enclosed Or Open Cat Litter Tray?
There are broadly two design choices to pick between, lidded or open.
The former is great for any cats who tend to flick their litter over the edge of the tray when they are covering up their mess, or for any who may miss the tray and instead end up urinating over the edge of a normal tray.
But not every cat will be happy going in the dark, or in a compact covered tray. If yours doesn’t, open design will likely be best. You can often layer the floor with newspaper or liners to protect it, and there are also high back or curved edge trays to reduce the likelihood of the litter flicking out of the box.
Within these categories comes a lot of other sub-categories, such as a corner, top entry or flap entry.
Size
Research suggests that cats like depth of around 3cm of litter in their tray, so buy one which can comfortably hold this without causing your cat to struggle.
The dimensions are also important. Your litter tray should be around one and a half times the length of your cat from nose to tail, as they like to have plenty of space to move around and scoot their litter when done.
Also think about where you will be placing it in your home, too. It should be away from busy areas and their food, but with plenty of room around it for them to feel comfortable.
If you have more than one cat, each should have their own box as it can be a very territorial thing for many.
Entry
As mentioned above, lidded cat litter boxes exist. They usually have one of two entry ports, either a completely open hole or a flip door to go in and out of. The latter could be quite nervewracking for a cat, especially if they don’t like flaps or loud noises, but it will trap smells and mess better.
High sided trays will often have an edge which is lower down compared to the other sides. This allows for easier entry and can be good for older cats or kittens. But do bear in mind this can eliminate the effectiveness of the high sides if they just turn the other way, so finding the perfect balance could be important.