When you get a cat, you are responsible for keeping their environment healthy and safe for them to sustain life and be comfortable in their surroundings. This includes finding a litter box that will best suit your cat’s needs so they will be comfortable enough to continue using it.
If their litter boxes make them uncomfortable for any reason, they may avoid it in favor of urinating in random areas of your house. The litter box that we will be focusing on in this article is the Iris Top Entry Cat Litter Box.
Iris Open Top Cat Litter Box Review
The Iris Top Entry Cat Litter Box is a litter box that is produced by IRIS USA Inc., who is known for producing plastic storage containers. It can be accessed through the lid’s opening on the right side and it can be cleaned by removing the detachable lid to scoop or empty. This particular litter box comes with filtered and grooved lids, which serve different purposes when it comes to containing the litter inside of the box. Your cat will enjoy how easily accessible this litter box is, and you will love its ability to contain litter and prevent litter tracking.
Main Features
- Polished Interior
The Iris Top Entry Cat Litter Box’s polished interior will make it much easier for you to clean your cat’s litter box, and it also helps add to the overall aesthetic appeal of the litter box (as strange as that initially sounds). You will definitely benefit from how much quicker and easier your cleaning job will become with the polished interior helping you out. The molded rims will also give this litter box the strength that it needs to remain durable and effective.
- Walls That Can Be Removed
Extra-tall walls provide your cat with the privacy they need to be comfortable using their litter box, but it can be a hassle to clean the litter box because of them if they are not capable of being detached. The extra-tall walls in the Iris Top Entry Cat Litter Box can easily be detached so that you can access it for cleaning and replacing the litter. They are just as easy to attach back to the litter box once you are finished.
Dimensions
It’s important to know the dimensions and weight of the Iris Top Entry Cat Litter Box before you purchase it. See if the Iris will be able to fit into different spaces of your home. It can also help you determine whether or not you will be able to handle lifting or carrying it properly. Here is a quick look at the general dimensions of both the medium-sized boxes and the larger boxes.
Medium
General: 17.32”L x 13.39W x 12.20”H
Inside: Widest point 19.12”L x 13.75”W x 14.25”H / Bottom narrowest point 17.0”L x 11.5”W
Weight: 2.87 lbs
Large
General: 20.47”L x 16.14”W x 14.56”H
Inside: Widest Point: 20.0”L x 16.0”W x 14.0”H / Bottom narrowest point: 17.5”L x 13.5”W
Weight: 4.85 lbs
Design
The design of the Iris Top Entry Cat Litter Box consists of an ovular shape that can fit into the corner of your room while giving you space to move around it on the outside. It also gives your cat the space they need to move around on the inside. The top of this Iris litter box serves the purpose of providing ventilation so that the odors will not make you or your cat too uncomfortable.
The Iris design also makes it easy for cats to be able to keep an eye on their surroundings while they are using the litter box. They can keep track of any incoming dangers or distractions. One downside to this design, however, is that older cats or cats with medical disabilities will have a harder time accessing it. The Iris will do a fine job with most cats, but you may want to consider something different if your cat needs special accommodations.
Lids
The Iris Top Entry Cat Litter Box comes with both Filtered and Grooved lids that serve the same purpose of keeping litter inside of the box in different ways. The holes inside of the filtered lid help the litter fall back inside of the Iris box, while the grooved lids will help remove extra litter from your cat’s paws in order to prevent litter tracking. The grooved lids will likely prove to be more beneficial in helping litter stay inside of the litter box and will prevent your cat from getting its paw stuck in the holes of the filtered lid.
Pros
- High-sided walls prevent litter from escaping and give your cat the privacy they need
- More modern design that will make the litter box look great with the rest of your interior
- Affordable
- A grooved lid will help to remove the litter that gets stuck on your cat’s paws and keeps it in the litter box
- Detachable top for easier cleaning
- Filtered lids help to reduce the strength of the odors
- The larger size of this litter box will be able to accommodate for larger cats
- You will not have to buy liners for your litter box
- Large entrance for easy access
- The open top of the litter box provides excellent ventilation
- Molded rims provide stability and strength
Cons
- The folded design may make it hard to scoop at the bottom
- Not recommended to have for older cats or cats with health problems
- Takes a while for cats to adjust to open-top litter boxes
- Children or other curious pets can stick their heads in through the top
- It May be too tall for kittens to use
- The scoop that comes included with the litter box may not be of the highest quality.
- The curved and circular shape of the litter box may be harder to clean
See More Reviews And Pros & Cons
Important Factors of Choosing the Iris Litter Box
Size
You will always need to account for the size of your cat to determine what size you need their litter box to be. You definitely need a larger litter box if you have larger cats, or live in a multi-cat home. You may even need two or more litter boxes, depending on how many cats you have. The Iris Top Entry Cat Litter Box comes in medium and large sizes that will be able to properly accommodate larger cats.
Covered vs. Uncovered
Cats will normally prefer uncovered litter boxes over covered ones. Uncovered litter boxes will allow your cat to keep an eye on its surroundings while they use the bathroom. They also provide a better source of ventilation than covered boxes, and urine will be able to dry inside of the box faster as a result.
Covered litter boxes will be able to provide cats with more privacy so that they will not have to worry about being watched while they are trying to do their business, although they normally are not as effective in the ventilation department. In the case of the Iris Litter Box, the entryway at the top provides excellent ventilation while remaining as a covered litter box.
Ease of Access
Always make sure that your cat’s Iris litter box is easily accessible to them upon both entry and exit, especially if your cat is old or disabled. If your cat keeps having difficulty getting in or out of its litter box, they may give up and start avoiding it. Top entry litter boxes may not be the best options for old or disabled cats since they tend to be harder for them to access, but otherwise, most cats are fine with using them.
The Iris Top Entry Cat Litter Box will be easy for you to access and clean out. The top of the litter box is detachable, so you will be able to remove it to scoop out the waste inside of it. It is easy to clean in this regard. However, it is capable of holding a large amount of litter so it can be more difficult to dump the box out entirely if it is more on the heavy side.
The high-sided walls have the advantage of containing any litter that may escape from the scoop while you are cleaning the inside, but they may become a disadvantage when it comes to actually dump the entire box.
Durability
The materials that go into the construction of your cat’s litter box has to be durable enough to last a long time. A majority of litter boxes are made out of plastic, including the Iris Top Entry Cat Litter Box. The plastic materials of this litter box are exceptionally durable and will be able to handle the pressure of the litter that you place inside of it.
The side walls are even flexible enough to allow you to dump the litter out of it quickly and easily. You will not have to worry about this litter box collapsing, thanks to the strong plastic materials.
Iris Litter Box Guide
Tracking
Litter tracking can become a big issue pretty quickly. Litter tends to get stuck on your cat’s paws and some may also end up escaping from the inside of the box all over your floor. This can become an even bigger problem if your cat tends to be a litter kicker
Litter boxes with high sided walls will be a big help when it comes to keeping most of the litter trapped inside of the box. The Iris Top Entry Cat Litter Box has high sided walls and a grooved lid. It will do an effective job of preventing litter tracking from becoming a bigger problem in your house.
Multi-Cat Households & Bigger Cats
The general rule of thumb for homes with multiple cats is to have one big litter box for each cat, plus one extra. It is preferred that the litter boxes you buy are big so that your cat can avoid another mess in case they end up sharing a litter box.
Make sure to clean each litter box frequently, sometimes more frequently than you would with one regular litter box. For bigger cats, you will want to make sure that you have a litter box that will be able to accommodate for your cat’s weight so that they will have enough space to move around inside. Every litter box you get for each of your cat should be easily accessible for them to enter and exit, as well as for you to be able to clean them all properly.
Changing Litter
When you are changing the type of litter for your cat to use, you need to make change progressively. An abrupt change can throw your cat off and cause them to avoid using their litter box. Cats do not really do well with sudden changes, so it is important to take your time with introducing them to a new type.
Mix a small amount of new litter with the older kind until they gradually begin to get more used to the change where you can start filling up the box completely with the new litter. It may take a few weeks, maybe even a couple of months, but it will be better than trying to go for an immediate change.
Conclusion
The Iris Top Entry Cat Litter Box is compact enough to be able to fit snugly into the corner of the room and they are perfect for small apartments. While most covered litter boxes are not a popular choice amongst cats, this Iris litter box provides enough space for your cat to move around, gives them a sense of privacy, has an excellent level of ventilation, and helps litter tracking become less of a problem.
