My Journey Finding the Right Litter Box
So, I got a Bengal cat. Beautiful animal, really active, smart too. But the litter box situation? Man, that was a whole different story right from the start. I just grabbed a standard litter box from the store, you know, the usual plastic tub. Didn’t think much of it.
Big mistake. This cat treated that box like a sandbox at the beach. He’d dig like crazy, sending litter flying absolutely everywhere. Seriously, I was sweeping up a perimeter around the box multiple times a day. And because Bengals are pretty long and athletic, the standard size just felt cramped for him. He’d often end up doing his business right near the edge, sometimes missing entirely. It was getting frustrating.
I knew I had to find something different. Started looking around. First, I thought maybe a covered box would contain the mess. Bought one of those hooded contraptions. Nope. My Bengal looked at it like it was some kind of weird cat trap. He hesitated to go in, and when he did, he seemed uncomfortable, like he couldn’t move properly. So, that was a waste of money.
Back to the drawing board. I figured the main problems were:
- Size: He needed more room to turn around and dig without hitting the sides immediately.
- Mess: Those low sides on the standard box were useless against his enthusiastic digging.
I started searching specifically for extra-large and high-sided boxes. Found a few options online and in bigger pet stores. Some looked flimsy, others ridiculously expensive. I almost gave up and considered just getting a big plastic storage tote and cutting a hole in it – heard some folks do that.
But then I found one. It wasn’t fancy, just a really big, open-top box with high walls. Simple design, looked sturdy enough. Decided to give it a shot. Brought it home, cleaned it out, and filled it with his usual litter.
The difference was noticeable almost immediately. He hopped in, had a good sniff around, seemed to appreciate the space. He could actually turn around comfortably. And when he started digging? The high sides caught probably 90% of the litter he kicked up. Sure, a little still escapes, but it’s nothing like the disaster zone I had before.
It’s been a few months now with this setup. Cleaning the box is still a chore, obviously, but cleaning the floor around the box is way easier. He seems happier with it too, uses it consistently, no more accidents near the edge. Just needed something bigger and taller. Sometimes the simplest solution is the best, just took me some trial and error (and sweeping) to figure it out.
