Litter & Litter Tech
How to Get a Cat to Use the Litter Box
A cat going outside the box is not being spiteful. It is reporting a problem, and the list of things it could be is short.
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Everyone in this category says they tested twenty litter boxes. We have not tested any, and we say so. What we do instead: compile the published specs, read the manuals, and do the arithmetic on what this gear costs to run and how it behaves once there is more than one cat using it. Every spec is linked to the document it came from. Prices are checked daily — last verified November 12, 2026. Here is exactly how we pick.
There is a running order for this problem, and starting at the wrong end of it is how people spend two months and a lot of money without fixing anything.
One: the vet
The Cornell Feline Health Center lists urinating outside the litter box among the signs of feline lower urinary tract disease. Straining, frequent small visits, blood, or crying in the box all point the same way, and a male cat that cannot urinate is an emergency.
Book the appointment before you buy anything. Everything below assumes a vet has ruled out a medical cause, or is treating one.
Two: can the cat still get in?
This is the cause people miss most, because the box has not changed -- the cat has. A wall that was nothing at three years old is a hind-leg lift twice a day at fourteen.
A box with a 3 inch cut-down entry removes the problem entirely, and it is the first thing we would change for any cat over about ten. Our senior box page covers the entry heights across the category.
Three and four: the litter, and how clean it is
- Texture. Fine-grained and unscented is the published preference. Dr. Elsey’s Clean Tracks matches it, and switching back to a plain clay litter is a cheap test.
- Depth. About two inches. Too shallow and the cat feels the pan; too deep and it wades.
- Scooping. Daily, twice in a multi-cat home. A cat will hold on rather than use a dirty box, and then go somewhere else when it cannot hold on any longer.
- Washing. Weekly with mild detergent. If a plastic pan smells even after washing, it is scratched and it is time to replace it.
Five and six: where it is, and how many
A box in a dead end, beside a washing machine, or next to the food is a box a cat has reasons to avoid -- our placement page covers the rules. And the count is not a style choice: one per cat plus one, spread around the house rather than lined up in one room, as our box count page explains.
A plain jumbo pan is the cheapest way to add boxes while you work out which change did it. Big, open, no hood to push through, and cheap enough to buy two.
Working the list
- Vet first. Always.
- Add a box, somewhere new, with the cat’s usual litter.
- Lower the entry, or offer a low-entry box alongside the current one.
- Go back to plain, unscented, fine-grained litter.
- Scoop twice a day for a fortnight, whatever your usual routine.
- Clean every accident with an enzyme cleaner so the spot stops advertising itself.
The gear discussed here
Specs are the manufacturer's own, linked to the page they came from. Prices come from a live daily check; where we have no verified price we say so rather than print a stale one.
KittyGoHere Senior Cat Litter Box
KittyGoHere · Low-entry litter box · Our score 8.0/10
#ad Price as of November 12, 2026. Prices move; we check daily. How we're funded.
A published 3 inch entry against the 6 to 8 inches a standard pan asks for, which is the difference between a box an arthritic cat uses and one it gives up on.
Published specs
| Large | 24" x 20" x 5", cats up to 20 lb |
|---|---|
| Small | 20" x 15" x 5", cats up to 6 lb |
| Jumbo | Sold, but no dimensions published in our sources |
| Entry height | 3" |
| Form | Open top, low cut-down entrance |
| Made in | USA |
A standard high-sided pan asks a cat to lift a hind leg 6 to 8 inches. This publishes 3. For a cat with stiff hips that is not a comfort improvement, it is the difference between clearing the wall and standing in the doorway to go.
What the specs favor
- Publishes an entry height, which almost no litter box does
- Large size gives 480 square inches of floor, more than most covered boxes
- Open top, so no door, no hood and no single choke point
- Three published sizes with cat-weight guidance on two of them
What they don't
- Low walls mean a high-spraying cat will go over them
- Open design contains no odor at all
- Litter scatters more than from a high-sided pan
Your cat sprays upward or digs enthusiastically. Five inches of wall is not enough, and the answer for that cat is the opposite box.
How it scores
Scores are our editorial weighting of the published specs above, not a test result. They are deliberately kept out of this page's structured data.
So Phresh Open Cat Litter Box, X-Large
So Phresh · Litter box · Our score 7.4/10
#ad Price as of November 12, 2026. Prices move; we check daily. How we're funded.
The plain plastic pan that lets you follow the one-box-per-cat-plus-one rule without spending like it -- 379 square inches of open floor for the price of a bag of litter.
Published specs
| External dimensions | 22.4" L x 16.9" W x 5.4" H |
|---|---|
| Wall height | 5.4" |
| Type | Open pan, no cover |
| Material | Plastic |
| Color | Charcoal |
| Litter type | Any |
| Published interior | Not published |
| Weight | Not published |
Cornell's guidance is one box more than you have cats. For three cats that is four boxes. The cheapest automatic box on this site is $269.99 -- four plain open pans is a fraction of one of those, and four boxes beat one clever one every time. At 22.4 x 16.9 inches each, four of these is 1,514 square inches of litter floor spread across four rooms, which is the thing a single automatic box cannot buy at any price.
What the specs favor
- Cheap enough to buy four without thinking about it
- 22.4 inches long, which is genuinely jumbo for a plain pan
- Open, uncovered, low -- the configuration cats prefer
- A 5.4 inch wall is an easy step for a kitten or an arthritic cat
- Nothing to break, nothing proprietary
What they don't
- A 5.4 inch wall will not contain a cat that sprays standing up, and it is lower than the 6.5 inch pans it replaces
- No scatter shield at all
- Thin plastic scratches, and scratched plastic holds odor
- No published interior dimension, so usable floor is smaller than the external figure
- No published weight
Odor or scatter is your actual complaint. This pan solves the count problem, not the containment problem -- pair it with a high-sided box rather than replacing one.
How it scores
Scores are our editorial weighting of the published specs above, not a test result. They are deliberately kept out of this page's structured data.
Dr. Elsey's Clean Tracks Clumping Clay Litter
Dr. Elsey's · Cat litter · Our score 8.4/10
#ad Price as of November 12, 2026. Prices move; we check daily. How we're funded.
100 percent bentonite in a hard-clumping medium grain, and the only litter here whose maker ties its low-tracking claim to that same published grain size rather than to a brand word.
Published specs
| Material | 100 percent bentonite clay (published) |
|---|---|
| Grain | Medium grain, published as the mechanism for both clumping and tracking |
| Clumping | Hard clumping; maker states clumps that will not break down |
| Tracking | Low tracking, attributed to the medium grain |
| Dust | Low dust and hypoallergenic; no percentage published |
| Odor | Superior odor control, stated for single or multi-cat |
| Bag size | 40 lb |
| Scent status | Not published on this listing |
| Guarantee | Guaranteed litter box use |
Most litters claim hard clumping and low tracking as two separate features. Dr. Elsey's attributes both to the same thing: a medium grain. A larger granule holds together under a scoop and is too heavy to ride far on a paw; a fine one does the opposite on both counts. That is the rare case of a maker publishing the MECHANISM rather than the outcome, and it is why this litter is our pick for a grooved top-entry lid, where fine grain is exactly what gets carried out.
What the specs favor
- Publishes a grain size, which most of this category will not
- Ties its low-tracking claim to that grain rather than to a brand word
- Hard clumping, so waste leaves the box intact and an automatic box's rake does not shatter it
- 100 percent bentonite, published
- Low dust and hypoallergenic, both published
What they don't
- Does not publish a dust percentage, where the retired Ultra published 99.9 percent
- Does not publish a scent status at all, where the retired Ultra named itself unscented
- Clay, so it is heavy to carry and heavy to lift out
- 40 lb bag is awkward to store in a flat
- No published test method behind any of the claims
You specifically need a litter whose listing states it is unscented, or you want the most specific published dust figure. This one publishes neither any more -- our unscented roundup ranks the litters that do.
How it scores
Scores are our editorial weighting of the published specs above, not a test result. They are deliberately kept out of this page's structured data.
Common questions
Why has my cat stopped using the litter box?
Should I see a vet if my cat stops using the box?
Does punishing a cat for going outside the box work?
What litter box do cats prefer?
How do I clean up so the cat does not go back?
Sources
- KittyGoHere -- Senior Cat Litter Box retail listing, large size in Misty Gray (large 24 x 20 x 5 in for cats up to 20 lb, 3 in entry, made in USA). Repointed 2026-10-10: the previously cited Beach Sand listing went "Currently unavailable".
- Amazon -- So Phresh by Petco Open Cat Litter Box, Charcoal, X-Large listing (22.4 in L x 16.9 in W x 5.4 in H, open pan, plastic; no interior dimension or unit weight published)
- Amazon listing -- Dr. Elsey's Clean Tracks Clumping Clay Cat Litter, 40 lb Bag, model 3017 (published as 100% bentonite clay with a premium texture and granule size for maximum clumping, hard clumping medium grain stated to stop moisture reaching the bottom of the tray and to form clumps that will not break down, low tracking attributed to the same medium grain, low dust and hypoallergenic, superior odor control stated for single or multi-cat households, 40 lb, guaranteed litter box use; no dust percentage and no scent status published)
- Cornell Feline Health Center -- Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease
- Ohio State University Indoor Pet Initiative -- Litter Boxes
Read next
- How Many Litter Boxes Per Cat?
The n+1 rule, its published source, a count-by-household table, and why four boxes in a row is really only one box.
- Where to Put a Litter Box
The placement rules from published feline guidance, plus what to do when the only spot you have is a bathroom corner.
- Best Litter Boxes for Senior Cats (2026)
Litter boxes ranked on published entry height for arthritic and older cats, with the step arithmetic worked through.
- Best Unscented Cat Litter (2026)
Unscented litters compared on published dust, grain and clumping, with the published guidance on what cats prefer underfoot.
- Litter Setup for Multiple Cats
Box counts, room-by-room placement, which box types to mix and why, for households with two or more cats.