We all know how picky our cats can be about where they do their business. There are times in all our lives when we need to use a disposable litter box in place of their preferred litter box. Following is a review of the best choices for available disposable litter boxes.
Cats and Their Litter Boxes
No creature on earth can be pickier than our beloved feline companions. They bring meaning to our lives and love into our hearts. They tend to rule our very existence. Anyone who has ever had a cat in their lives has stories to tell.
In a multi-cat household, you can have a collection of different personalities. Each kitty might have a personal preference. Some kitties prefer a litter box that is enclosed while others might only use a litter box that is of the open-air variety.
Their preferences might go beyond the box itself and into the type of cat litter you use. Most kitties that I have encountered prefer the scoopable litter. I do have one who clearly prefers the old-fashioned clay litter. Still, others actually do not care as long as the box is clean.
When choosing the appropriate litter box for your kitty, you will want to consider the size of your cat, the number of kitties who will share the box and their privacy preferences.
Other factors will go towards your pet’s normal litter box behaviors. If your cat is like mine, she spends a lot of time spreading the clean cat litter outside of the box. She does best in an enclosed environment. A litter box with higher sides works well for her as well.
Cats can be prone to anxiety when they are removed from their normal environment. Having a clean litter box ready for them can lessen those anxieties to some extent. If your cat is going to a pet sitter or traveling with you, disposable litter boxes can be the answer to keeping kitty’s litter box anxiety at a minimum.
One important thing to remember: just because a litter box is disposable does not mean that you won’t have to scoop. While most will handle the urine well, you will still need to scoop the poop on a regular basis. It is also not recommended that you use any one disposable box for longer than 30 days.
Curable Litter Box Behaviors
As all cat owners know, each kitty has his or her own litter box behavior. It is a part of their personalities. Litter boxes do not need to be messy as long as humans keep a regular cleaning schedule. Sometimes, it is a situation involving the litter box itself that can cause the problems. The ASPCA’s guide to litter box problems can provide you with more answers to common litter box behavioral issues.
Cats are fastidious by their very nature. One of the first things that you can observe a mama teaching her kittens, it is how to clean. You can see this by the normal litter box behaviors such as burying their poop when they are done doing their business. If you are going to have cats, you need to be prepared to regularly clean up after them. This means scooping on a regular basis, emptying the sand out and scrubbing out the boxes when they need it, and cleaning up out of box messes as they occur.
Regular cleaning of the litter boxes also allows you to notice if there is something wrong with one of your feline companions. When you scoop regularly, you can be alerted to elimination issues such as bloody feces or extended diarrhea so that you can get medical attention early. Sometimes these can be signs of more serious issues, and we want our feline companions to be with us for a long time.
Size of the Litter Box
If a litter box is too small for your cat, you might observe behaviors such as doing their business against the side of the box. This issue is easily solved by buying a larger litter box. You should make sure that the sides are tall enough and the measurements large enough for kitty to do his business.
Location, Location, Location
Another litter box issue that can cause problems is if the box is placed too close to food areas. You may find that kitty chooses to use other hidden spaces around the house to do his business if a litter box is placed too close to food.
How Many Litter Boxes Do You Need?
If you have a multi-cat household, you need to make sure that there are enough litter boxes. A normal rule is to have one litter box per kitty in the home. It is actually a better idea to have more litter boxes than there are cats in a house.
Disposable Litter Boxes For Cat
Disposable cat litter boxes can be useful in addressing many of these issues. It cannot hurt to have an extra box or two around the house when there are multi-cat families. The disposable boxes are easy to clean because they can simply be thrown out when it is time.
Disposable litter boxes do not have to be saved for a situation of travel or pet sitting. You can make disposable cat boxes an effective part of your every day lives. If you are expanding the number of felines in your home, an extra box or two in different locations in the home may show you where the greater need for an extra more permanent box lies.
Disposable boxes can be easily moved if the location isn’t working well. They can easily be disposed of when they get too dirty. They can be incorporated as a regular part of your litter box regimen when you use them as liners in your more expensive and more permanent plastic boxes.
What is Disposable Litter Box Made Of?
Most disposable boxes are made of biodegradable materials, cardboard or paper, or other landfill-friendly materials. They are available as an open box that is pre-filled with cat litter. They are also available in an enclosed version for those kitties who like their privacy. Some brands offer different sizes.
Many of these boxes will have baking soda or other odor control components built into the box itself. Some boxes will come with a plastic liner tray included in the box. Most disposable boxes will accommodate whichever type of cat litter that you choose to use. If there is a type of kitty litter that should not be used with a specific disposable box, there will be a recommendation that comes with the box itself.
What Types of Disposable Boxes Are Available?
Disposable Litter Boxes come in both enclosed and open styles. There are a variety of sizes and styles of enclosed boxes available. Some boxes come with kitty litter included.
The open style boxes come with sides of varying heights and are composed of different materials. Some of the boxes can neutralize odors. Others are better suited to be used as a liner for your larger litter boxes. Many of these come in multi-packs so that you can always have extras on hand.
You will also want to consider which type of kitty litter you, or rather your feline masters, prefer. In my own household, I have one cat who will only use a box with the fine-grain scoopable litter while the other cat will only accept the newer silicone variety.
Since many of the disposable boxes on the market today include kitty litter, this needs to be considered when you are choosing a disposable box. Kitties can be traumatized by travel and anything you can do to make them more comfortable will make the travel experience easier on everyone.
When Is Disposable Litter Box a Necessity?
We recently found ourselves on a road trip with our two feline masters. Due to various twists and turns, what was supposed to be a two-week adventure turned into a much longer journey. We would have been in real trouble if we had not had access to disposable boxes.
Hotel living with a cat can be difficult enough. There are all sorts of new smells and spaces for them to explore. It is not always convenient to carry large bags or other containers of clean kitty litter with you. A disposable box gives you the advantage of easy clean ups and less chance for out of box accidents that can lead to additional hotel charges.
While travel is the first situation that comes to mind, there are other times where a disposable litter box was the only solution to a problem.
Travel
If you have ever traveled with a cat in a car, you know it isn’t easy. We travel with a cage large enough for a kitty hammock and a small litter box for each of our cats. It is not always easy to take time while on the road to scoop much less change out litter completely.
Using a disposable cat litter box solved our problem. We could scoop as necessary at various rest stops. When it came time to stop for longer periods, the boxes would be used more frequently. We quickly found that replacing the box with a fresh one before beginning the next leg of our journey was our best option.
Introducing A New Family Member
When you bring home a new kitty, you more often than not need to segregate the new family member for a few days. This always requires giving them their own food and water bowls and their own litter box.
Using a disposable litter box saves time and effort in this scenario. You won’t have to find room for yet another cat box in your home when the newcomer is finally introduced to the rest of the family. You can also discover the new kitty’s preference for either an open-air or enclosed litter box.
Everyday Time Constraints
It seems like most people run out of time in their busy schedules to complete all of their daily tasks. Unfortunately, cleaning or changing a litter box is one task that often falls by the wayside.
When you have disposable litter boxes in your home, it takes no time at all to simply throw out the old one and bring in the new one.
Litter Box Liner
Disposable litter boxes can be used as a convenient liner for other litter boxes inside the home. What better way to keep your litter boxes at their freshest than with a disposable liner?
Cat-Sitting or Foster Care
When you have a short-term feline guest visiting, you want them to be comfortable. Depending on the cat and the environment, this does not always mean integrating them with your own cats. A disposable litter tray can make them feel at ease without becoming a permanent fixture in your home.
A Backup
There are times where you might need to have a backup litter box in your home. A surprise litter of kittens will require segregation of mama and her babies. They would also require their own litter box so that mama doesn’t have to venture far from her brood.
If one of your kitties becomes ill and needs to be segregated from the others while he or she heals, a disposable box would be a necessity. You want to keep a sick kitty’s space as clean as possible to make them more comfortable until they feel better.
Will My Cat Use a Disposable Box?
Cats are fastidious creatures. They are constantly grooming and cleaning themselves. I have never met a cat who would turn his or her nose up at a clean litter box. If you are planning a big trip and this is a concern, you might want to test out a disposable box by using it as a liner for their regular box.
If your cat is one of the larger breeds, you will want to make sure that you are getting one that is big enough for your cat. Whether you use it as a liner or a stand-alone box, you should make sure that your cat can fit comfortably in the box by trying one out before your trip.
If you are looking at enclosed disposable boxes, you might want to bring one home to be a backup box so that you can make sure that your kitty is using it. Knowing how picky a cat can be, this is a serious consideration before taking kitty on the road with you.
How to Choose the Best Type of Litter Box
To make sure that you are choosing the best type of litter box for your cat or cats, you need to ask yourself a couple of questions. First, will the litter box be big enough for your cat? Many of the disposable litter boxes are small. If you have a big cat, the smaller choices won’t be appropriate.
Does your cat prefer to be in an enclosed box? If you have a kitty who needs his or her privacy while using the litter box, then you will need an enclosed box when choosing a disposable box as well.
Some disposable boxes have higher sides than others. If your cat kicks up a lot of sand when they use their box, you will want to choose a box with higher sides on it.
Are you going to be using the disposable box as a liner or as a stand-alone litter box? Some of the disposable boxes are better suited to being a liner for a regular box while others are better suited to be stand-alone litter boxes.
Kitty Litter
There are a few different types of kitty litter on the market. You can find the traditional clay litter.
Scoopable litter is probably the most commonly purchased. The ease of use of this type of fine sand is what makes it popular. There are a variety of different types of scoopable litter. You can find scented or unscented, lightweight, and multi-cat formulas.
Organic litters can come in the form of pine litter or various types of biodegradable paper litter. These types of kitty litter might need to be changed more frequently than other types of kitty litter.
The newest type of litter that is becoming popular is silica litter. The benefits of silica litter vs clay litter are clear. Silica crystals tend to soak up the liquid leaving a cat box that is cleaner and dryer.
There is no wrong or the right type of kitty litter. This is a matter of preference for the cat owner. Each has its own positive and negative factors. Often, a kitty might prefer one over another. Therefore, the decision of which type of litter is best is one left up to each individual kitty and his or her human.
Top Seven Disposable Cat Litter Boxes
There are several selections on the market for disposable litter box options. Each choice has its own pros and cons. Keep reading to learn more about the top eight products in this category.
Nature’s Miracle Disposable Cat Litter Box
The Natures Miracle Disposable Cat Litter Box is a great eco-friendly option. They come in convenient two or three packs depending on the size of the box ordered. The box is the perfect option for traveling with multiple cats. It works well with all types of cat litter.
The Nature’s Miracle box comes in two convenient sizes to accommodate a kitten or smaller kitty, a normal-sized cat, and the larger breeds and spoiled lap cats.
Pros
- Comes in two sizes: a convenient small size for kittens and smaller cats and a large size for larger breeds.
- The box is made with baking soda infused into the interior of the box to battle ammonia odors.
- High sides reduce the spread of cat litter outside of the box
Cons
- Ridges in the design make it difficult to scoop and clean
- Does not include cat litter.
Cat’s Pride Kat Kit Litter Trays
The Cat’s Pride Kat Kit Litter Trays are a convenient option. They come pre-filled with 3 lbs of fine-grained scoopable Cat’s Pride scented cat litter. Comes in convenient 5-packs.
Pros
- Convenient all-in-one packaging makes the cat litter experience completely touch-free.
- Ease of use and portability make this the perfect option for traveling with your cats.
- Endorsed by the American Humane Society.
Cons
- Litter tray itself breaks easily and often does not survive shipping.
- Smaller size does not always work well with larger kitties.
- Does not last as long as other disposable litter boxes.
Kitty’s Wonderbox Disposable Litter
The Kitty’s Wonderbox Disposable Litter Box is made of recycled paper material. These boxes are leak-proof and will work well with any type of kitty litter. Each box is made to last for one month.
Pros
- Perfect size to use as a liner for larger plastic litter boxes.
- Patented claw-proof material will not shred.
- Perfect size for litter training kittens.
Cons
- These boxes tend to be a bit shallow for some cats.
- Does not hold up well for multiple cat families.
Littermaid Disposable Cat Litter Box
The Littermaid Disposable Cat Litter Box is packaged in convenient three-packs. These boxes are easy to use as either a disposable box or a liner for your larger permanent litter boxes.
Pros
- Durable for households with more than one cat.
- Made from recycled paper that is leakproof and tear-proof.
- Can be used with any type of cat litter.
Cons
- Small size does not accommodate larger cats.
- Poorly packaged for shipping.
Kitty Poo Club Litter Boxes
The Kitty Poo Club Litter Boxes come through a subscription service where high-quality cat boxes complete with your choice of cat litter are delivered to your home at regular intervals. Each box comes with your choice of kitty litter types. There is also a box-only no litter option. Each box comes with a plastic liner and scooper.
Pros
- Subscription service makes it easy to know when to change out the litter box.
- Each litter box has high sides for less mess outside the box.
- Easy to use and to dispose of.
Cons
- No odor control with the box.
- Not enough litter to last for a full month.
- One box is only suitable for a single cat.
So Phresh Disposable Cat Litter Box Set
The So Phresh Disposable Cat Litter Box Set comes in a set of two litter pans that are big enough to accommodate even the largest breeds. The boxes are made from bagasse, a fiber that comes from sugar cane. This litter box also has hoods and rims that you can buy separately.
Pros
- Extra large size accommodates every size of cat.
- All-natural and biodegradable construction make them environmentally friendly and naturally controls odors.
- Comes in a variety of different sizes.
- Works with all varieties of kitty litter.
Cons
- Does not fit well with the optional hoods that are available.
- Does not mix well with stronger available soaps that one might use to clean the box.
Scoop Free Disposable Cat Litter Box
The Scoop Free by PetSafe Disposable Cat Litter Box is a convenient enclosed litter box. Each box comes with a pop-up hood and disposable scoopers. It also comes with a bag of silica crystal cat litter.
Pros
- Easy to transport, set up, and fold away.
- Box has a protective coating.
- Crystal litter is great for odor control.
Cons
- Crystal cat litter does not last as long as the box does.
- Construction allows for litter to spill out of the box.
Conclusion
Disposable litter boxes are a great solution when you need to travel with your cat or rely on a pet sitter. They are even a convenient option for use as a liner for your regular boxes. With care, you can find the right size disposable box for each of your kitties.
Disposable cat litter boxes can be a regular purchase as a regular litter box. While they are more commonly used for travel and pet-sitting, they can be a convenient way to keep with the rule of one or more cat boxes per each kitty in the household.
It is important that you use whichever type of kitty litter is best for each of your feline companions. Ultimately, it is more about their comfort and convenience than it is about yours. It is also important to remember that you will still need to scoop a disposable box. While it is easy to just throw the entire box away, poop and all, the boxes will last longer if the poop is scooped regularly.
Since there is such an all-inclusive choice in disposable kitty litter boxes, the choice is now up to you as to when and where you will use a disposable box. If you choose to use them regularly, you might even wonder what you ever did without them.