Litter boxes are both one of the less pleasant parts of having a cat and one of the advantages: they require scooping and maintenance, but at least you don’t have to take your cat outside to take a dump when it’s below zero.
While not all new litter box inventions are actually good, metal litter boxes have become readily available in recent years. I’ve been asked about them by many clients because the manufacturers of these litter boxes claim they are an improvement over the traditional plastic litter box.
A few weeks ago, I decided it was time to actually give one a try to see if they live up to the hype or if I’m better off sticking with my regular storage tote turned litter box. I’m sharing my results and assessment as both a cat behavior professional and cat parent to help you make an informed choice because you absolutely do not want to risk your cat deciding your floor is a better litter box.
Stainless Steel Litter Box Claims
Stainless steel litter boxes claim to fix a few common problems seen in plastic litter boxes. If you’re not familiar, some of the supposed advantages include:
- Easy cleaning and less nasty clumps sticking to the sides
- Better odor control because of less waste sticking to the sides
- Greater longevity compared to plastic litter boxes that need to be replaced every 1-2 years
- More hygienic in situations when deep cleaning the litter box is necessary
- Your cat will be less likely to break or chew on the litter box
Potential Concerns
As with any cat product, metal litter boxes have some risks and drawbacks. Because they’re somewhat newer to the market, some concerns are harder to assess due to a lack of experience with these litter boxes. The biggest concerns I have are:
- Will cats actually use the litter box? For example, will them scratching the box as they bury their waste scare them due to being afraid of the sound?
- Size. Cats prefer larger litter boxes and many commercially available boxes are too small so finding a large enough stainless steel box was a big worry of mine.
- Available options. For cats that are high peers (like my own Prozac), are there options that have higher walls while still allowing an open top and not requiring the cat to do extra work to get into the box?
- Inability to modify the litter box if needed.
- Weight and ease of moving the box.
- Risk of rusting and durability.
- Cost. These boxes are not cheap! I paid for mine totally out of my own money to test it so you are welcome.
- And if you appreciate this review, consider buying my cats snacks with a tip because this was not a cheap test.
You’ll notice how much longer the list of concerns is than the claimed benefits. In other words, there are a lot of ways these could go wrong as they still need to appeal to what cats like in a litter box.
My Test Set Up
To test the stainless steel litter boxes, I had to find one that had high enough sides because Prozac absolutely will pee over the edge if they’re not high enough. They still needed a low enough entrance that my cats wouldn’t have to do too much work to get in and out because I want them to actually use the litter box.
I found a stainless steel litter box from Ptlom that had a lower entrance, high sides, and was big enough that it wouldn’t be a downgrade for my cats.
While I got one that was front entry, they make a variation with a side entry if that works better with your home or cats. You can also get regular height stainless steel litter boxes.
Comparisons To My Regular Box
In order to be a good scientist, I wanted to control as many variables as possible for my test (and, on a more practical level, I didn’t want my cats peeing on my floor) so I kept their regular litter boxes as a control group to compare to the new option. While normally it’s a good idea to spread out litter boxes to reduce territorial tension in cats, I set up the stainless steel box right next to my regular litter box to reduce the impact that the location of the boxes may have on my cats’ choice.
My testing was done in two phases to make sure I was addressing anything that may affect my results.
Phase 1
Normally I would have done a full cleaning of the regular box so cleanliness wasn’t a factor, but I had just cleaned it not that long before I got the new litter box. Instead, I just replaced part of the litter and added a touch of activated charcoal to help reduce odor. I used the same unscented clumping clay litter I normally use so litter preference wouldn’t be a factor.
Phase 2
After about 10 days of my initial set up, I wanted to test how easy it was to clean the stainless steel box. I did a full clean of all my litter boxes. To really make sure I was really giving it a fair test, I also swapped the locations of my regular storage tub litter boxes because the one in my living room is newer and isn’t used as often. This gave me a slightly closer comparison between a new stainless steel litter box and a slightly newer plastic litter box.
I also began the turd log.
To get a bit more data, I grabbed two small white boards I had on hand and logged every single poop or pee lump I found. I wasn’t testing this to go into a scientific journal so I wasn’t too neurotic about how I tracked it, but I marked every time there was a clearly distinct group of poop or lump of urine. Yet again, you are welcome.
Side note: if you’re testing litter boxes and want to monitor how often your cat is or isn’t using a litter box, I strongly recommend using a security camera with recording capabilities. I normally use Eufy cameras as they don’t require a subscription as of writing, but I didn’t need to observe my cats actually using the box for my purposes so I skipped this.
Did My Cats Use The Stainless Steel Litter Box?
As worried as I was that my cats would not use the new box, within a few hours there was already a clump of urine. I have no idea who used it first, but it was good enough for at least one of them. Early success!
When I awoke the next morning, there were multiple poops and urine clumps in the stainless steel box with only one in the regular plastic box. Both of my cats tend to use the litter box in the middle of the night for some reason so this was consistent with their normal behavior. It was pretty reasonable to assume both of them were using the stainless steel box based on to volume of waste. Since that first morning, I’ve also directly seen each of them using the new box.
Was There A Clear Preference?
During phase 1, the cats both ended up using the stainless steel litter box and the regular plastic litter box somewhat equally. There may have been a preference for the stainless steel one, but it wasn’t a huge one.
I tracked their usage very scientifically in phase 2 to get more numbers rather than just relying on vibes.
After around a week, they were pretty evenly matched. When one would pull ahead, the other one would catch up within a few hours. There was not a clear winner. This is a positive for the stainless steel litter box! It means that my cats don’t mind the metal litter box and are okay with it even if it’s slightly smaller than my plastic tote box.
While I had switched the more used storage tote with a newer one, there wasn’t a clear preference after this swap. The bathroom boxes were significantly more used than any litter box in my living room.
Did Prozac Pee Over The Edge?
Another very important consideration was if my sweet Mr. Leggy would pee right over the edge or through one of the handles. I am very, very, very, very (I cannot emphasize this enough) very happy to report this has not happened. For my own high peeing cat, the tall edges work well and keep my floors urine free. If your cat also likes to shoot their urine toward the sky like a fountain, this may contain it. If they hit the handles, adding a pee shield will fix your problem.
Maintenance And Cleaning
I was worried that the metal litter box would make cleaning a chore because it was noticeably heavier than my regular litter box. I had to rinse it right away as it came coated in some sort of oil to protect it in transit and the manufacturer suggested cleaning it. Without the litter, it was pretty easy to lift. The handles really helped with this, but I was able to give it a quick rinse in my shower without issue. The real test came once it was used.
Scooping
Scooping litter was a breeze with the new box. The clay didn’t clump as much on the sides of the litter box so I was able to get more out with just a single scoop.
Eventually I’d like to repeat this test with a grass seed litter as that is what I use in my other box (I don’t use grass seed litter in my bathroom because of the humidity). That will need to wait for another test, however.
Cleaning The Stainless Steel Litter Box
When it came time to change out the litter and give it a more thorough clean, the litter basically glided out of the litter box when I dumped it into the trash. More clumps fell right into the waiting trash bag so I had less clumps to hack away at with my scoop to get everything out.
The instructions for the stainless steel litter box say to avoid a few types of chemicals. I’m too lazy to look up which cat urine cleaners are safe for it so I just rinsed with water. Honestly? That’s all I needed. I gave it a sniff (you are welcome)after drying it with a rag and it was totally odor free.
For my regular plastic box, I used my usual Rocco and Roxie enzymatic urine cleaner to hopefully remove more of the odor from the box. This helped phase 2 of my experiment be a bit more neutral from an odor perspective since they were used. The plastic boxes took a lot more work to get things really clean, especially the older and more used box. The cleaner helped a lot, but there was still build up from tiny claws scratching at the edges of the box.
In other words, the stainless steel litter box really was easier to clean. All my litter boxes didn’t have an odor after cleaning, but the claim of better odor control is reasonable. Even when they were new, I was never able to get my storage tote litter boxes quite as clean as I was able to get the stainless steel litter box.
Durability
Durability is a bit harder to comment on as I haven’t had the new metal litter box for that long. That said, there weren’t any claw scratches so I can see it lasting longer than a plastic box. Assuming it remains largely scratch free, it probably can go longer than a plastic box without being replaced. For some perspective, both of my storage tote boxes already had plenty of scratches and they’re both less than a year old.
In an interesting twist, one of my storage totes cracked a bit on the top lip as I was lifting it to dump the used litter out so the stainless steel box is definitely less likely to break.
Discoloration
The one early downside to the stainless steel litter box was the very slight discoloration I saw on the inside surface of the bottom of the box. It wasn’t orange and didn’t look rusty so I was originally concerned it might be mold. I didn’t think stainless steel would grow mold, but I wasn’t sure what else it could be. However, a quick internet search said this may just be normal discoloration of the stainless steel that happens over time.
Neither I nor my cats care about slight discoloration, but if it were rust? That would be a big negative. I’ll be keeping a close eye out for rust and update my review if something changes, but so far it’s looking like it should hold up.
Considerations For Your Cat
Before I give you my final verdict, how can you tell if a stainless steel litter box is right for your cat?
I have had at least one behavior client whose cat did not like them so there is a risk of your cat not using the box. If you try the stainless steel box, you definitely don’t just want to swap out the old box or force your cat to use it by not scooping your old litter box.
Cats prefer larger litter boxes so while metal litter boxes are going to be more costly than most plastic litter box, spending extra on an extra large box is worth it. The litter box needs to meet the needs of your cat first and foremost. While stainless steel litter boxes can absolutely be cat friendly, your cat ultimately decides if the litter box is acceptable.
Would I Get Another Stainless Steel Litter Box?
I’ve had my new stainless steel litter box for about a month. Would I repeat it?
Holy heck, yes!
Not only did both my cats use the new litter box without issue, they didn’t seem to use it begrudgingly because it was used equally to their regular box. No urine ended up on my floor so the high sided version worked well for my cats. Cleaning was significantly easier and it wasn’t that much heavier than my usual box.
These litter boxes are not inexpensive, but I don’t see myself replacing it for a long time. The cost is definitely made up for by its longevity. Stainless steel litter boxes strike the right balance of benefiting humans while not ignoring the needs of cats. I like this one so much that I’m likely going to replace the litter box in my living room with another stainless steel litter box.
While not all cats will be okay with metal litter boxes, if your cat will use one, they will make your life a lot more pleasant.
