I’ve always been a fan of two-part litter boxes, the kind with seeds or pellets in the top and a grate below that allows liquid to drain into a container so it can be dumped, then solids are removed from the top. However, most of these types of litter boxes aren’t very attractive, so when I saw this one it caught my eye.
This is The Cat’s Ask is a new design for a two-part litter box that is much more attractive and it has some nice functional features. The clear hood is sleek and modern and allows cats to enter through the front or back. There’s a step up in front to make entry easier, plus it even has a storage compartment below. The bottom part slides out to access the reservoir underneath. Overall, I think this is a nice version of a good litter box design.
As with some of the other two-part litter boxes, The Cat’s Ask uses natural safflower seeds as the pellets. I do like this much better than the commercial boxes that use plastic pellets.
The Cat’s Ask is not yet available for sale, they will be launching a crowdfunding campaign this fall, but you can sign-up for notifications on their website, thecatsask.com.
In the meantime, please feel free to leave a comment here with your thoughts and questions.
Very weird! Sallflower seeds are some of the most expensive on the market. I guess if you only have one cat, this might work. The plastic shield will be dirty in a day or two and the storage area is made from cardboard from the looks of it.
Sorry, I should have included more details about a two-part litter box. The seeds don’t stick to the solids, the are actually quite water repellant, that’s why the liquid flows down through the grate and into the container. Only a few seeds stick to the solids, so you’re not scooping the substrate daily like with regular litter. The seeds actually last a really long time, and when you do need to replace them, you can just toss them in a field and grow some flowers.
The idea with these kinds of boxes is that the liquids are removed without the need of a clumping litter. This is also good for testing urine if your cat has any kind of heath issue that needs to be monitored via urine (harder to do if you have multiple cats using the same box, however).
I hope that clarifies a little more!
This is Mark from Catchwise… we’re developing The Cat’s Ask… Thank you for the kind words on the site!
Regarding the seeds — in our testing, we were able to use the same 4 lbs bag of seeds (less than $10 worth) for more than 6 weeks, using a mix of household vinegar and water to sanitize them daily. The solid waste doesn’t stick to the seeds at all.
This week, we will be posting the results of 6 weeks of testing by a microbiology lab that show that bacteria growth on the seeds is minimal over that period of time. The great thing here is that we have 4 cats using the same box!
The plastic shield on our prototypes has stayed clean in every environment, and is easily sprayed and wiped down with the vinegar and water spray.
The base of the unit is indeed made of cardboard, but the same wax-infused cardboard that is used to waterproof fish and vegetable boxes. Liquid beads right off of all surfaces of the cardboard, and the material is also very strong and relatively scratch-resistant. We are planning to print designs on the cardboard to give it an extra designer edge… but first we need to get our basic funding!
It’s an interesting looking design that would surely appeal to the design aesthetic of many cat owners. I wonder two things though, from the cats’ perspective. Does that plastic canopy allow enough vertical space for a cat to squat naturally, or would it require some cats (like larger breeds or just garden variety mixed breeds that are long and tall) to hunch uncomfortably when doing their business? And what do cats, especially older or mobility challenged ones, think about that little step up?
Good questions! I was wondering similar things as well.
The canopy is as high as most hooded models… our cats don’t need to hunch, and two of them are long and tall! Older cats who have tested the unit have no problem with the step up; that’s the beauty of the step cap (besides the storage underneath for the scoop and spray)… the first step up from the floor is 4 inches, and then less than 6 inches to get to the front rim of the plastic seed basin. We had considered a ramp, but it turned out to be unnecessary!
Nice-looking design; however, I wonder why there’s a need for the top part at all, since it’s clear and doesn’t afford any privacy, which some cats actually do like.
The top part will have stickers on either side for privacy (we’re going with a grass pattern)… we will post photos when we have them. Our cats don’t care about privacy, but we understand some do!
Mine would make short work of that cardboard box. This is very attractive, useful, and ecologically responsible. I’m sure it’d be great for those whose cats don’t stand tall when they do their business, who don’t tend to scoop from outside the box, and who don’t have a fetish for chewing cardboard into tiny pieces and throwing the bits all over the floor. That’s not my cats! LOL. I can see it working, though.
The cardboard is treated with liquid paraffin, like shipping boxes for seafood and vegetables, which makes it waterproof and less interesting to cats… I’ve rarely seen or heard of a cat taking a second chomp at it. The cover is higher than it looks, and our cats are able to stand tall in it. Two of our four cats do scoop from outside the box, but damage to the waxed cardboard is minimal. It should still work for you!
I’ve been using Breeze boxes since they came out – and the Smart box as well. A couple of comments – the seeds are a nice idea – but they do scatter, and can attract seed-eating critters when they go somewhere they can’t be found. Bugs, mostly, since with 8 cats any rodents are discouraged. I like the design of the container – it looks like you can replace it with a quart-sized milk/juice container? The smart box doesn’t hold enough pee when you have 8 older cats – even with several boxes, they will all decide that one is the one to pee in, so the real smart box is only used in the bathroom. If it had a larger reservoir, or one that didn’t come apart so easily, it would be the only litter boxes in the house. I use the Breeze pellets even in it, though – the hard seeds don’t work as well. And – they *do* stick to the poop if the cat has softer poop (see “older cats” above).
I will sign up for their newsletter – after going back to a regular box, even using walnutshell litter, I am ready to try anything to keep from scooping out pee clumps again!!
The container can indeed be replaced with a quart-sized milk/juice container with the angled plastic spout… it holds 3/4 of a quart, which for our 4 cats, can be emptied once every 3 days, so you should get a day and a half!
I like the idea, but I have the same concerns as other folks who have commented here. Is the box really made of cardboard as it appears? If so, I have to wonder if the makers have ever had cats! My two cats would have it shredded in no time. I also do not like the way there is a channel between the part that holds the litter, and the hood. It seems like just a useless space to collect yucky stuff. My older kitty occasionally “misses”, so easy to clean is always in the forefront of my mind! I have a lot of questions about the safflower seeds. What is the price of them compared to pine pellets? I currently use two-part boxes and a mixture of pine and hardwood pellets.
See above responses regarding the waterproof waxed cardboard… the cat’s are not interested in shredding it… we’ve placed it in a dozen homes so far and they are all still intact after a few months!
Regarding that channel, it’s easy to wipe up anything that gets in there, and to sweep stray seeds out of it. The box is also deep enough for our cats to not lean out of it… we’ve also seen that behavior with other boxes in the past.
Four pounds of safflower seeds will last a month or so (we’ve used them longer than that) and retail for less than $10.
Thank you for your reply! I appreciate it.
I agree it seems to have nice features but I would have concerns about the open front and back – my cats tend to stick their buts out the back of the box sometimes to pee and now they would have two ends to make that mistake.
🙂 I can relate!
I think this is a really interesting idea. The step design would have worked great for my kitty who had arthritis in her hips. But, I share the concern that someone else voiced earlier, about the possibility that the safflower seeds will attract insects. I have read of this problem occurring with litter that is made of corn or walnut shells, and that’s why I have never used those litters.
From a dust perspective, I think the seeds would be a big improvement over clay litters.
My other concern about this design is: how do you clean the cardboard parts of the box? Even though the cardboard is coated with paraffin, it seems like it might be hard to disinfect. I have always used a bleach solution to wash my plastic litter box periodically (even though I use a liner in the box, litter gets tracked, and sometimes the cat misses the box).
We haven’t seen bugs around the seeds in all the time we’ve used them as litter.
The dust issue goes away with the seeds!
The cardboard parts can be cleaned with vinegar and water, which is an effective germ killer… we will be releasing the results of microbiology testing soon to prove that this simple cleaning solution kills even coliform bacteria.
Oh, I forgot to mention that bugs are repelled by vinegar… And the seeds are sprayed at least once daily, which is likely why we haven’t seen this problem in all our testing.
That WILL be fun if some of those safflower seeds sprout!!!
Kitties don’t always hit the target when they pee– there are too many crevices and joints in that design — liquids and eventually smells WILL get trapped in them and the person will probably have to pitch it eventually.
Things I would have liked to see or added that would be nice:
– High sided litter box instead of the plastic semi-dome that only works on the sides and not the back for reducing litter coming out of box for a messy cat. My male cats kind of spray when they pee, they would likely get urine on the dome. They tend to get it on sides of litter boxes so the high sides work well.
– Possible carpet on step (Trying to figure out what base is made of, I feel that my cat would scratch it up while wiping his feet on the step)
– I personally prefer when the litter scooper is straight up and not laying flat, where you can just grab the handle, its more sanitary. Having a side pocket for the scooper would be nicer.
– Possible in future a corner version?
I think there are cats who would be okay with this box, but would be liked more by the humans.. A very fussy cat may may not be as happy with the step. I have a very old cat she probably wouldn’t go up the stairs but my younger males would use it. I also have six litter boxes in my house and can’t imagine having room for all to be this design since its larger. Would be good for someone in a apartment or small space with just one or two cats.
We are currently working on a design for a smaller, high-sided version of The Cat’s Ask, and I hope to release drawings before the funding campaign begins in the fall. As for number of litter boxes, our 4 cats use 1 of The Cat’s Ask quite happily, so one or two of these could replace 6 in your old setup. Keep watching our website for developments!
About that lid and cats standing tall…how tall is tall? I have a Turkish Van with 6 1/2 almost 7 inch back paws, he’s only 2 so obviously not done growing yet, and he likes to stand up while using his box. Now when I say stand up, I do mean standing up; as in front paws on the edge of the litter box, stretching himself out as tall as possible, standing up. Yeah, I don’t know where it came from either but that’s what he does no matter if he’s peeing or pooping…pardon my wording. LOL
He’s the baby, ya gotta luv him!
I love the idea of this system! My only concern is the cardboard base unit. What sort of life expectancy do you predict for the base? My 1 year old minou chews on EVERYTHING! I think he’s part dog. Why not use the same plastic as the top of the unit? I would like the same life span for all parts, except the liquid container of course. Do you have a plan to make future base units out of some other material? For what it’s worth, I also like others suggestions of a corner unit and a three sided cover.
I forgot to mention that my little Henri Houligan is also a Two Ton Tony of 15 lbs at the tender age of one. How much can the base suppprt?
Unless you release a high-sided version, this won’t work for me. Two of mine are litter throwers. I’m afraid I would end up with seeds everywhere. I finally bought a high-sided plastic storage container and cut the center part of the lid out and that has mostly solved my problem.