Most people start with a traditional box, a plastic tub we fill with litter. They can range anywhere from $15-50 dollars, or more. Typically, they are placed in tight bathrooms, or in discreet areas of our homes. Sometimes, these “traditional boxes” are designed to be more visually appealing, or to look like actual furniture, as to not attract unwanted attention from ourselves or our guests.

All this to say, within the realm of traditional boxes, there are a few options to work with depending on your budget and space of your home. From personal experience, having a traditional box crammed in the bathroom of our small apartment wasn’t ideal. So, the next place we opted was a bedroom. This, of course, came with some hurdles, such as having to travel to and from the bathroom to drop off his waste or just having it out in the open. After a while, we searched and tried something that looked sleeker and cleaner, that would remove odors. So we researched the next level up from a basic litter box: The Automated “Self-Cleaning” Litter Boxes.

Automated “Self-Cleaning” Boxes are significantly more expensive, ranging anywhere from $140 to over $800. They persuade buyers on the promise of making the Litter Box experience a user friendly one. Many of them come with their own apps to download so you can monitor your cat’s bathroom use. Some even say they can detect health discrepancies by analyzing your cat’s urine!

The one we bought is probably the most expensive one on the market, costing over $800. I justified paying that price because I wanted a better experience for our cat and for myself. Unfortunately, after using it, that was sadly not the case. I found the litter odors became even worse than a regular litter box! Since automated boxes pride themselves on being “self-cleaning” by not having the pet parent scoop every day, it drops all of the waste in a drawer. However, every time the “cleaning” cycle ends, the opening of the drawer is exposed, having the foul odors fill the room. The smell was so bad I could hardly be in the same room unless the window was open. We invested in deodorizers to help, but that simply masked the stench – but it did not eliminate the toxic odors. I found it very difficult to breathe in the same room as the litter box because of the combined waste and deodorizer smells.

Additionally, the litter would stick to the walls of the globe as it turned, leaving my cat’s waste smeared on the walls. This made the cleaning experience a nightmare. Not only that, my cat would come out of his box dirtier than when he went in because of the dust on the walls after the cycle. We consistently had to wipe off his head or tail when he was done. I couldn’t believe the “self-cleaning” box, made the litter box situation messy, unsanitary, more expensive, and very time consuming. It was an overall huge hassle that was not worth the price. Eager for a solution, this led me to discover our third litter box, the VistaLoo.

The VistaLoo’s main draw for me was that it was guaranteed to reduce litter odors and save valuable floor space. The $300 price was a mid-range affordability that I felt was fair, especially compared to “higher-end” litter boxes. Installation was very easy and fast, being mounted onto my vertical window and secured with two side panels, window clamps, and tightened knobs– all without any screws. The front panel also easily opens to put the litter pan inside. There are ventilation slots that have a durable mesh screen to keep the bugs outside, allowing fresh air to flow inside of box.

After the cat goes to the bathroom, the air from the outside ventilates the box, carrying the odors outside with it. At first, I was skeptical because, after all, if the air blows in, won’t it carry the odors back inside the house? I was shocked to find this was not the case. In fact, the odor was not noticeable any longer! And this was without using the magnetic privacy door that the Vistaloo comes with! Before, when my cat would go poop – you would know immediately because the odor would travel through-out the apartment. With the traditional box, we’d have to scoop right away. With the automated “self-cleaning” box we didn’t have to scoop, but the bad smell would not go away. With the VistaLoo, I didn’t know when my cat had gone because it would not smell! I could wait 2-3 days before scooping his litter without the smell lingering in the apartment, all due to the natural filtering air ventilation. Talk about saving precious valuable time as well! And this was without the use of filters or deodorizers! This meant that we did not have to breathe in any more toxic smells or have unpleasant reactions to the foul odors anymore.

Additionally, because the VistaLoo rests in the window sill, that meant the litter box did not have to be on the floor anymore, saving our limited floor space that is especially valuable in apartment living. The waist-level design also makes it easier to access the pan, easier to scoop, easier to clean, without bending over to the floor. If there’s ever terrible weather outside, we just take it off the window until it clears and re-install it onto the window in seconds.