Ten Reasons Why You Should Not Buy a Pan-Style Litter Box for Your Cat

1. Cats can and will kick litter out of a pan-style litter box, making it unbearably messy. The shallow edges make it almost impossible for the litter to stay where it should while the cat is digging and scratching its way to relief. It might be cute the first few times you grab your vacuum and clean up after Kitty, but just imagine the annoyance you’ll feel after this becomes your newest daily ritual.

2. Buying a pan-style litter box ensures that a good portion of the litter you buy will end up going straight to the trash, unused. All the litter that gets evicted from the box ends up in your vacuum cleaner bag, which in turn ends up in the garbage can. The more litter you need to buy, the more money you’re going to spend on Kitty’s bathroom habits. Wouldn’t you rather be buying him new toys or saving for his impending vet visits?

3. If your cat can kick litter out of the litter box, that’s not the only thing it can knock out of there. What am I talking about? Poop. That’s right. One day you’ll come home and see that Kitty’s gotten a little obsessive compulsive and has taken litter box cleaning into his own paws, kicking the offending waste right out of his personal dumping ground. Now you’ll have to pick cat poop off the ground in addition to vacuuming up the stray litter and, of course, scooping out the rest of the litter box. Not fun.

4. If you choose to buy a pan-style litter box, you’ll have no choice but to buy a special litter trapping mat to place beneath it, which ups your overall cat expenditure.

5. Accidents happen more easily when a cat has a pan-style litter box for his potty. Because of the shallow edges, not only will you have a mess of litter and kicked-out poop to deal with, but you may also have some errant cat pee puddles. Sometimes Kitty will crouch on the corner edge of the pan to do his business, but some of his pee doesn’t quite make it into the box; instead, it drizzles down the side of it. Cat pee is one of the most difficult pet stains you’ll ever have to clean up, because even when you can’t smell it, Kitty still does – and where Kitty peed once, he’ll probably pee again.

6. Pan-style litter boxes don’t offer your cat much in terms of privacy. These boxes are so shallow that they reach less than halfway the height of a grown cat. Just imagine how begrudgingly Kitty will go to the bathroom when he knows you can see everything he’s doing. Even when you put the box in a somewhat secluded location, you’ll still have a clear view of Kitty at work.

7. Cat waste is easily visible in a pan-style litter box. From almost every angle, you will be able to see Kitty’s bathroom breaks in all their glory. Not pleasant.

8. Covered litter boxes are arguably the most discreet choice for your cat, as your cat will be completely enclosed while taking caring of business. Better yet, dirty cat litter will remain hidden inside until its time to clean.

9. High-edged litter boxes offer similar privacy to your cat without the pesky lid that can trap odors. This model may be the best option if your cat is a little finicky and might not respond well to a covered litter box, but you still want a less messy option than the pan-style litter box.

10. Still other owners might prefer self-cleaning litter boxes. These are a good option if you would rather not scoop your cat’s litter box, and self-cleaning litter boxes are available with or without lids, depending on your preference.