Our aging Siamese was not a fan of closed boxes. To say the least. Even as a kitten, he refused to use them. We got him a high-sided open box, which he seemed to like, but increasingly he was peeing so close to the edge and so high that some of his pee would end up on an adjacent cupboard or the floor. He didn’t intend to do this, but it was happening. Gross! Not to mention the fact that the box itself was ugly and not a pleasant things to look at when you entered our laundry room. We considered buying or making a larger enclosure for the box, but reading reviews of those, I wasn’t persuaded they’d work, because what if he peed on the side of the enclosure itself? (Same problem, just more hidden, and harder to clean, and probably smellier.) Not to mention, what if he decided he didn’t want to go inside the enclosure at all?
He’s a small cat, but we went with the XL box anyway because given his history, we worried he might feel claustrophobic in the smaller ones. He's accepted the XL box without a qualm. I put his litter in (we use the pine litter), showed it to him, and that was it. We have left it as a front opening box but he actually uses both openings for coming and going. He likes to look out the top when he is inside and he likes having space to turn around and deal with his business. The box is in our laundry room and it harmonizes visually with our white washing machine and dryer. It’s extremely well made, solid, stable, and easy to assemble. And it seems to contain the smells more than the previous box did, despite being quite open at the top.
The liners, which I wondered about, are actually a great addition. He does not harm them with his claws and they prevent the pee from sticking to the sides of the box, making it much easier to scoop. I notice some reviewers have commented that the little hooks holding the liners don't work for them. We have not experienced this problem (and he does scratch to cover his poo). For me, the hooks "clicked" in well during assembly. I admit, having read the reviews, I made sure I heard the click and felt it that the hook was solidly in place before attaching the liner. Having done that, we haven't experienced a single problem. Admittedly, our cat is solo and on the lighter side. Maybe with more than one cat, or a larger cat, there could be a problem.
Yes, the Modkat costs more than an ordinary litter box, but we think it’s worth every penny!
