Best Sifting Litter Box – Buyers Guide
You wake up ever morning and get ready to start your day. But before you do anything else, you make your way to the litter box, take a deep breath and prepare scoop out 2-4 “treasures” that your cat(s) left you overnight.
Half asleep, you bend over to scoop up the remnants of digested cat food and think, “There has to be a better way..”Of course there is! The answer is a sifting cat litter box and considering you’ve found this article, it means you’re searching for the best one out there. You’re in the right place because, quite simply, we’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time researching them so you don’t have to.
After scooping so many piles, eventually people reach a breaking point. While cats are an amazing animal to have, the tedious task of cleaning a litter box with a mini shovel is very inconvenient.
One of the best solutions out there is a sifting cat litter box for the simple reason that you just re-stack the boxes, give the litter box a little shake, and the “treasures” all clump together to easily dispose of while the unused litter falls through to the next box to be reused.
To find the right sifting litter box, we spent just over 9 hours combing the internet to see what people are saying about all of the options out there. Was it overkill? Probably…but if we save you time finding the best sifting litter box, it was all worth it.
Hours of research and comparisons resulted in us giving our top choice to the Van Ness Odor Control Extra Giant Sifting Enclosed Cat Pan. We feel this sifting litter box offers the best combination of odor control, functionality, and value for those that need it.
Why You Should Trust Our Review
Do you want to spend the next 9 hours researching sifting litter boxes for your cat(s)? Probably not, and that’s why we did it for you. This guide took us that much research time to find the best sifting litter box solutions. After we compiled a list of nine great options. we then reduced it down to our top five choices. Once the research phase was completed, we then spent another 4 hours writing this guide to make sure that we covered all of the details about each of our recommendations, including common Q&A that you probably have.
What Features Did We Look For
When looking into a new sifting litter box, there are a number of things that need to be considered to find the best option.
- Sifting Ability: Without a doubt, the biggest issue with a sifting litter box is it’s ability to sift contents correctly without clogging. Because of this, we paid special attention to how often there were statements that a box clogged up and eliminated those that did it too frequently.
- Odor Control: Sifting litter boxes are easier to clean because they sift the contents and can be cleaned more frequently with little effort. That alone makes these litter boxes less prone to having odor, but having a cover on the box or a grate that doesn’t clog makes it them less likely to give off odors.
- Durability: While these litter boxes are pretty simple, there is still a durability factor that’s important. You should always wonder if the sifting grate will stand the test of time and if the latches between boxes will continue working after consistent use. A durable litter box is one that you’ll have for years to come and is a big part of the overall value.
- Price: As with any product we review, price is always a factor. After all, this is essentially a toilet for your cat and you probably don’t want to spend a lot of money on something so simple. Price is always a factor and we tried to balance value with affordability.
Who is This Litter Box For?
This litter box is for those that aren’t too fond of scooping every single day and would rather use a sifter to make their job easier. If you’re the type of person who doesn’t mind the daily routine of scoop, shake, dump for every “treasure” your cat has left in the litter box, then you can probably just stick to any regular litter box out there. But, if you have multiple cats who share a box and the cleaning is overwhelming or don’t want to clean every single day, then a sifting litter box is perfect for you.
How We Choose Our Products
As we said in the beginning of this post. we spent 9 hours researching all of the different sifting litter boxes across the internet. We checked out sifting litter boxes on a number of websites including Amazon, Walmart, Target, Ebay, and Petsmart. We examined the reviews of what people were saying, checked the specs of each model, paid special attention to the building materials, and read over any review we could get our hands on.When we do our product reviews here on Cat Kingpin, we pride ourselves on really diving into the products to understand what people need and what products match those needs. There aren’t too many people on earth who would spend 9 hours researching sifting litter boxes, but we did, and we did it to be as thorough as possible.
Our Top Choice – Van Ness Odor Control Extra Giant Sifting Enclosed Cat Pan
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Pros
- Reduces Litter Box Smells
- Reduces Litter Tracking
- Large and easy for cleaning
- Durable
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Cons
- Litter Might Get Stuck in Grate
- Door Falls Off
The Van Ness Odor Control Extra Giant Sifting Enclosed Cat Pan is our top recommendation for people that are looking for a great sifting litter box for a number of reasons. As the name implies, it’s rather large which gives your cat(s) plenty of room to do their business and makes it easy to clean. It’s also covered which is great to keep pieces of litter and the smell of the litter box within the confines of the box itself. Lastly, it’s in the middle of the road in terms of price. Not too expensive, and not too cheap. Just simply a good value for a good product that’s durable and easy to use.The most common issue, which wasn’t mentioned all that often, is that the litter sometimes gets stuck in the grate. This is a pretty common issue with any and all sifting litter boxes and can be avoided by stacking the grates correctly and using good clumping litter. There was even one review of an individual who reported mold in the litter box because of litter getting stuck in the grate. In our opinion, that’s caused by simply not cleaning the box enough and frankly, we blame the owner for letting it get to that point. A second issue that was recrurring is that the door fell off for some, but this was a very infrequent issue and may be the result of a QA issue on the manufacturers end.
Premium Pick – SiftEase Litter Box Cleaner
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Pros
- Works With any Litter Box
- Easily Separate Litter From Waste
- Reduce Smell as waste stays clumped
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Cons
- Not Actually a Litter Box
- Not Covered
- Price
The Siftease Litter Box Cleaner is a premium sifting litter tray for cats and it sticks out quite a bit when compared to the others. First, this sifter works with any litter box. All you do with it is put it on a garbage can and pour the litter in. Second, As long as you have enough litter in the pan, this will easily separate it from the waste. It’s designed to just capture clumps and let the litter fall through. Third, this litter sifter will actually reduce the smell when you’re cleaning the litter itself. The reason? It’s really good at keeping the urine clumps together and most of the smell happens when you break those clumps apart.
Though a premium option, the Siftease also has complaints. First, is the obvious one….It’s not actually a litter box! We know this, but we thought it made sense to include in our roundup because it is a great product that works with virtually any litter box out there. Next, it’s not covered. This is one of those things that’s a preference, but when you have a covered litter box you typically reduce odors. We are a fan of reducing odor (who isn’t?). Lastly, the price. This is one of the pricier solutions you can find out there for a sifting litter box, but we feel like it’s worth it considering how many positive reviews there have been.
Budget Friendly – Arm & Hammer Large Sifting Litter Pan
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Pros
- Price
- Works with Pine Litter Pellets
- Lightweight and Easy to Sift
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Cons
- Litter Might Get Stuck in Grate
- Wide Sifters Can Sift Used Litter
- Litter Tracks Easily
The Arm and Hammer Large Sifting Litter Plan is a good choice for those that are on a budget. Aside from being affordable, the nice thing about this litter pan is that it works with Pine Pellets. This is something that’s really difficult to find as most of the litter pans don’t have sifters wide enough to fit the pellets. Finally, this litter pan is lightweight and is very easy to sift with due to this.
Just like all others, sometimes the litter gets stuck but we’ve seen less of this occurrence with this model because the sifters are wider than most other models on the market. While this is a nice perk, it also has a drawback. Sometimes, because of these wide sifters, used litter will fall through more often than other models. Another common complaint about this pan is that it is very low and due to this, it’s easy for your cat(s) to kick litter all around the litter box area.
Other Choice: So Phresh Sifting Cat Litter Box
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Pros
- Price
- Removable Border
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Cons
- Litter Might Get Stuck in Grate
- Litter Sticks to Sides
- Not Covered
Sometimes simplicity is the right solution. The So Phresh Sifting Cat Litter Box is a simple solution for those looking for a sifting litter box. Nothing super fancy here, just a run of the mill sifting litter box that you would picture when you think of the word “litter box”.
It comes with three trays and the pros include the cost, which is about average for a product like this, and the removable border. While the picture here doesn’t show it, the manufacturer includes a removable border that extends vertically beyond the sides of the box that helps to keep the litter in the box itself.
In terms of the cons, aside from the usual of some people getting litter stuck in the grate, there seems to be a common occurrence with litter also sticking to the sides of the box. This is likely due to the material/finishing put on to the litter box which, unfortunately, doesn’t seem to do a good job of repelling the liquids and litter from the side of the box. Consider you’ll have to dump one litter box through the grate and into the other litter box, these clumps can become really messy. Lastly, this litter box isn’t covered which can end up letting the smell get throughout the house and increases the chance of litter spilling over/tracking, even with the raised removal border.
Other Choice: Omega Paw Self Cleaning Roll ‘n Clean Litter Box
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Pros
- Rolls on Side to Remove Waste
- Large
- Covered
- Lip on Front Captures Litter
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Cons
- Grate Slips Out of Place Often
- Latch Doesn’t Always Seal Box
- Works Inconsistently
The final cat sifting litter box is the Omega Paw Self Cleaning Roll ‘n Clean Litter Box. This one has pretty good reviews and is really unique, which is why we decided to include it. This one is a great litter box for people who may have back problems or just generally hate scooping or lifting a litter pan and pouring it into the other. The trick is that this box tips to the side to sift the litter and then goes right back to upright. You can then use the pull-out drawer to throw away the waste. It’s very large and also covered, which gives your cat(s) plenty of room to maneuver and reduces the small that comes with a litter box. Lastly, a nice touch is that the front lip of the opener has ridges, so it does a good job of capturing any tracked litter as your cat leaves the box.
As great as this box is in theory, it also has some problems. The grate itself doesn’t do a great job of staying in place and that means that sometimes, the waste your cat leaves behind stays in the box instead of being filtered out like it should. In addition, many people have had proble, with the latch of the litter box not securing correctly, which quickly leads to a huge mess once you tip the box and litter falls out of it. Because of these two relatively common issues, we’ve labeled this one as being inconsistent compared to others that are much more simple.
Care and Maintenance
Caring for and maintaining any of these sifting litter boxes is a pretty easy process. There are only a few things you should have to worry about.
- Cleanliness: The most important thing about a sifting litter box, or any litter box, is to clean it often. If you have multiple cats, it’s a good idea to clean it every single day. If it’s one single cat, you can get by cleaning it every two or three days, but you’ll need to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t get too dirty.
- Placement: With all of these litter boxes, it’s important to place them in a quiet and private area so that your cat is comfortable using them when they have to do their business. If you have them in a high traffic area, it’s possible your cat may not use them at all.
Answers to Common Questions
Q: How much litter should I put into a sifting litter box?
A: In most cases, you want to have a thick base of about 3″-4″ of litter poured into a sifting litter box. Doing this makes sure that the waste clumps near the top of the litter and doesn’t seep down and get stuck on the side of the box.
Q: What kind of litter is best for a sifting litter box?
A: You absolutely want to use clumping litter when using a sifting litter box. This clumping action allows clumps to be caught by the grate and poured out. If you choose to use non-clumping litter, it will be very difficult to sift out the waste. With a sifting litter box we also recommend that you avoid pellets if possible as many of the grates don’t handle them well. As a bonus, flushable litter is also great and because of this we typically recommend sWheat Scoop all-natural cat litter.
Q: How do I avoid litter getting stuck in the grate?
A: To avoid litter getting stuck in the grate, you need to use these litter boxes correctly. One of the biggest mistakes that people use is they place all the pans with the grate on the top and then pour litter in. This doesn’t work well because liquids tend to leak to the bottom of the pan at times, which gets the litter stuck in the grate. A better alternative is to use one of the two solid pans as the top-most pan and when it’s dirty, pour the contents through the sifter and into the other litter pan. Doing this will make litter less likely to get stuck in the grate.
Q: How do I avoid litter sticking to the bottom of the litter box?
A: This is why it’s vital to have 3-4″ of cat litter poured into your litter box at all times. When you have the correct amount of litter poured into the litter box, the clumping will happen near the top of the litter or slightly below the surface, which reduces the chance of litter sticking to the bottom of the litter box.
Q: Will pellets work with these sifting litter boxes?
A: While we do have a few litter boxes that work with pellets, we recommend that you don’t use these. The reason is simple, the grates usually can’t accommodate them as they’re too large which will result in them not sifting correctly. This will lead to a lot of wasted litter and frustration on your end.
Final Thoughts
Sifting litter boxes make cleaning your box much easier than a traditional scoop and there isn’t a shortage of options out there. We personally feel that the Van Ness Odor Control Extra Giant Sifting Enclosed Cat Pan is the best option and value for it’s price. We love that it’s covered, durable, made of quality material that resists sticking, and has a quality grate to sift all of your cat(s) waste to make your life easier.
