The Litter Box That Every Cat Parent Needs
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What We Tested This Week: Hidden Cat Litter Box
Who This Is Perfect for: Cat parents that are just about ready to teach their sweet feline babies how to use the human toilet to avoid the sight, smell, and tracks of kitty litter throughout their homes.
I have been a cat lover for as long as I can remember. Kind of like a family heirloom, my love for frisky felines was passed down to me from my late mother, who also adored kitties. So I felt like it was my duty to pass down the family tradition of cat love to my own son and ensure that he naturally skewed towards meows instead of woofs — because I am not about that walking-a-pet-in-the-rain-every-day life. I may or may not have inundated him with funny and aww-inducing cat clips on Instagram from the time he was born, just to make sure he really loved cats. Last year, the time had come for me to get him his very first pet, our tortoiseshell sweetie named Cuddles.
While I'm thrilled all of my cat coercing has paid off — my son is overly obsessed with our little baby and has even stopped asking me for a sibling (thanks, Cuddles) — there was an ongoing issue that pushed me to the brink of considering potty-training our pet: the kitty litter box.
For starters, I live in a small apartment, where a few things out of place makes a large impact on the amount of clutter you feel. When I first brought our baby home, I shoved her generic poop pan in the corner of my bathroom, as that’s where we all go to relieve ourselves.
For the first week, it was fine. Cuddles went to the bathroom without a problem and generally kept the mess to a minimum. But she is a cat at the end of the day, and keeping my apartment tidy just does not supersede licking her paws and meowing at the squirrels outside through the window. I am almost certain that pretty quickly after her arrival, my arms gained muscle mass from sweeping up and vacuuming kitty litter constantly from between the tiles in my bathroom floor. I can confirm: It is as gross and annoying as it sounds. Above all of the sweeping and cleaning that seemed to be constant, the sight (and site) of the kitty litter box was straight-up ugly. I wanted a solution that blended into my space in a stylish way while also helping to cut down on the carpet of litter that ended up on my floor just about every day.
A friend of mine — also a tiny-apartment cat mom — told me about the Good Pet Stuff Hidden Cat Litter Box. Once I saw it placed in her apartment, I had to go on a deep dive to learn more about this possible answer to all of my cat problems. First stop, Amazon of course. The Hidden Litter Box has over 2,300 five-star reviews from cat people everywhere, and if you’ve ever been on Amazon then you know how stingy people are with their stars.
When I got the litter box home, I had a few concerns once I got it out of the box. I was initially worried that my cat would absolutely hate it and be confused by the shape and the plant thingy on the top, and end up using my pile of laundry as her personal toilet instead. I was also worried about the space situation, as it is not a tiny litter pan and quite sizable for a bathroom that I can touch all four walls of at the same time. However, through my apprehensions, I gave it a go — and I am so happy that I did.
I set the litter box up in the corner of my bathroom and, surprisingly, it fit perfectly. The litter box comes with faux-tree-like branches with green leaves and faux-mulch-like fluff to give the appearance of a real plant on top. The top part of the box sits in the grooves of the bottom half and is incredibly easy to put together. If you’ve ever assembled anything from IKEA, even incorrectly, then you can put this together with your pinky toes. After setting it up, I introduced little Cuddles to her new poop cave, and despite my concern that she would hop out and run away in horror and disgust, she absolutely loved it (I mean, it’s a litter box, but you get it). The real test was yet to come, however.
Aesthetically, it fit the bill. You honestly wouldn’t even think it was a litter box if you peered into my bathroom. It is discreet and looks like a house plant inside of a floor vase — but the kitty litter crumbs all over my bathroom tile were what I was most concerned about. After about a month, I honestly noticed a large improvement.
I can’t put my finger on exactly how or why the litter box helped stop Cuddles from sprinkling my floor with the spoils of her bathroom trips, but I think I can attribute it to several features. The litter box is far roomier than traditional pans and allows her to move around, paw, kick, and dig comfortably. Also, the opening for her to hop in and out is not too big, nor too small, and helps to limit the litter from being kicked out and onto the floor.
Sure, you can purchase a litter pan from the dollar store and it will get the job done, to some extent. But upgrading my Cuddles to the Hidden Litter Box has made my space more beautiful and my floors less grainy.
Read More:
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Make Your Kitty Insta-Famous With These Adorable Pet Costumes
You May Not Need It, But Your Cat Totally Deserves This Haunted House
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