Best Large Sifting Litter Boxes For Wood Pellets

If you have a cat, you probably want to consider one of the best sifting litter boxes on the market. These boxes are convenient and space-saving and can catch the clumps from your cat’s litter box without messing up your carpet or clothes. These boxes may come with hoods that can trap bad smells and come with antimicrobial features. You should look for one that combines a sifting tray with a wood pellet litter. The pellets will fall through the sifting layer and get absorbed by a removable cat pad in the drawer. This type of litter is ideal for wood pellets and pine pellets. It also doesn’t take up much space, making it a great choice for large cats.

If you want a sifting litter box for your cat, you probably want to read our reviews and see how well these units work.

What are the Best Sifting Litter Boxes?

1. Petmate Arm & Hammer Sifting Litter Pan – Best Overall
2. Purina Tidy Cats BREEZE Hooded Litter Box Starter Kit – Best Hooded Pellet Sifter
3. Petmate Corner Sifting Litter Pan – Best Compact
4. SiftEase Litter Box Cleaner Sifter – Best For Multiple Cats
5. Catit SmartSift Self-Cleaning Litter Box – Best Eco-Friendly Covered Top
6. Luuup Litter Box – Best Low Profile
7. So Phresh Lift-to-Sift Litter Pan – Best Flexibility For Multiple Litter
8. Petmate Simple Sifting Litter Pan – Best Long-Striped Slotted Sifter
9. Van Ness Framed Sifting Litter Box – Best Budget
10. Omega Paw Roll’n Clean Litter Box – Best Covered Ergonomics

Overall, a manual sifting litter box is the wisest choice for a single cat owner or a tight budget person if he/she wants to free labor and time instead of constant scooping and bending down. Here’s a resourceful review list for you guys to enjoy!

Sifting Litter Boxes Comparison Chart

Image	Product	Infomation	Price
	Petmate Arm & Hammer Large Sifting Litter Box	– 19 x 15 x 8 inches – Made with recyclable material – Size: Large – Color: Grey – For small spaces: 5/5 – Packaging: 4.5/5 – Sturdiness: 4.5/5 – Easy to remove: 4/5	Check price
	Purina Tidy Cats Hooded Litter Box System	– 16.5 x 21.75 x 16.75 inches – Made of recycled paper – 3.5 Pounds – Scent: 3.5/5 – For small spaces: 3.5/5 – Easy to remove: 4/5	Check price
	Petmate Corner Sifting Litter Pan	– 26 x 11.7 x 19 inches – Made of Plastic – Scent: 4.5/5 – Lightweight: 4.5/5 – For small spaces: 3.5/5 – Easy to remove: 4/5 – Easy to clean: 4/5	Check price
	SiftEase Litter Box Cleaner Sifter	– 14 x 10.5 x 14 inches – 2 Pounds – Made of Polyester – For small spaces: 3/5 – Easy to remove: 4/5 – Easy to clean: 4/5	Check price
	Catit SmartSift Self-Cleaning Litter Box	– 25.98 x 18.9 x 24.8 inches – 0.76 Kilograms – Made of Plastic – Integrated carbon filter – Integrated carbon filter – Lightweight: 3/5 – For small spaces: 3.5/5 – Easy to remove: 3/5	Check price
	Luuup Litter Box	– 20.2 x 15.4 x 7.5 inches – Made of Plastic – 0.69 Kilograms – Sturdiness: 3/5 – Packaging: 3.5/5 – Sheerness: 3.5/5 – Easy to use: 3/5	Check price
	Petco Brand – So Phresh Grey & White Lift-to-Sift Cat Litter Pan	– 22.5 x 17.25 x 5.5 inches – Packaging: 4/5 – Easy to clean: 4/5 – Lock Feature: 4/5 – Easy to remove: 4/5	Check price
	Petmate Simple Sifting Litter Pan	– 19.43 x 15.6 x 7.04 inches – 2.5 Pounds – Durable Plastic with reinforced bottom – Scent: 3/5 – Easy to clean: 4/5 – Easy to remove: 3/5	Check price
	Van Ness Framed Sifting Litter Box	– 19 x 15.13 x 8 inches – Made in USA – Assorted Colors – Sturdiness: 4/5 – Easy to remove: 4/5 – Scent: 3/5 – Absorbency: 3/5	Check price
	Omega Paw Elite Roll’n Clean Litter Box	– 23.5 x 21.25 x 10.5 inches – 6.5 Pounds – Ideal for big cats or multiple-cat households – Scent: 3/5 – Easy to clean: 4/5 – Packaging: 5/5	Check price

#1. Petmate Arm & Hammer Sifting Litter Pan

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Petmate has established a name through its dog kennels and crates. Yet, being a lead player in the pet care industry with multiple merge acquisition deals, it surely cannot leave out the thriving market for cats.

Open-top design

While you would love a high-edged or hooded kitty litter box for your kicking baby, open-top pans are still in high demand for novices or parents with senior cats.

In fact, according to Dr. Ernie Ward’s publication on Pet Health Network, cats don’t specifically have a preference toward litter box types as long as the contents are clean to please their senses.

Petmate Arm & Hammer is simple to maintain and clean, and since the rim is moderately high, chilled senior cats would also fall in love with the product.

Reinforced polymer three-layer construction

There are three pans coming with one unit, one sifter, and two solid trays. First, you pour the contents into the top solid pan. The sifter is nestled between the other two and is only taken out when you feel the urge to filter out the soiled litter.

By alternating between the two solid trays, you won’t overwork them, thus the lifespan of the trays is actually being prolonged while the odor is also limited as you didn’t allow bacteria to stock on one particular tray for long. To add, the overall reinforced plastic is a chef’s kiss against scratches and heavy load.

Flexibility for DIY adjustments

This unit not only works well on its own, but it also fits into other covered litter box models. You can nest it inside an extra-large hooded litter pan with no problems, or you can toss it inside a self-trimmed tote to prevent spillages.

Drawbacks

In 2018, maybe there were some bad raps about the bacteria gimmicks between the brand and the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Better Business Bureau, yet you should be aware that anti-microbial coating isn’t due for bacteria-free surfaces, but to boost the lifespan of the litter.

On a different note, if you want to increase the space between the sifter and the solid pans, just foam-pad the sifter’s edges. It can escalate up to 1 ich.

#2. Purina Tidy Cats BREEZE Hooded Litter Box Starter Kit

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The model we’re reviewing is the hooded version, but thanks to the insightful marketing and customer service tactics of Purina, there is also an open-top with high walls and extra-large versions within the same Breeze line.

Anti-tracking pellet sifting tray

If you are a nature lover and despise tracking clumping litter, or by a more precise portrait, a pellet enthusiast, then this Breeze system will become your true love.

The instant filtering net would undoubtedly please your cat if he suffers distress from securing the body while urinating since the pellets would crumble into sawdust and send the waste straight to the padded grate via the slats. This would, in turn, prevent the cat from sitting and reeking in urine if he’s a clumsy boy.

Odor absorbent pads

And don’t freak out if you see the hood on the image yet. This lid definitely more or less would trap a faint level of pungent smells, but the majority of them are brushed off with the lumber odor of pellets and pinned down by the repellent and absorbent pads.

If your cats refuse to switch to pellet litter since they’re used to World Best clumping litter or silica crystals, allow them to have a moment for breaking in.

A scoop bundle

Having a scoop alongside the whole package is a win-win situation for both Purina and the most smell-sensitive consumers. No matter what the marketing gimmicks may claim, pellets and fecal matter just don’t go together.

Actually, stool won’t crumble into sawdust coming into contact with wood pellets but hide among them and disperse a lingering ammonia odor noticeable to sensitive noses. This is when you need a slotted shovel to scoop out the feces daily.

Drawbacks

If you’re having trouble with how hard it is to find Breeze pads for the receptacle compartment in your local dollar trees or supermarkets, you can consider replacing them with the regular puppy pee ones.

#3. Petmate Corner Sifting Litter Pan

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Room-saving isosceles right triangle shape

This Petmate’s product is a match made from heaven with any shy ball that prioritizes low traffic when relieving him/herself or any cat custodian who wants to conceal their children’s chamber pots out of the guests’ sight.

The balanced cheese slice shape can be tugged inside your wardrobe or bathroom cabinet or turned against wall corners, which obviously doesn’t take as much space as a rectangular litter box.

Additionally, the “corner” with high back and rims concept has always been a hit left and right with bunny or guinea pig parents as well, since they can fit snugly into a pet cage and serve side-smearing pets well.

Patented sifting technology

One of the things that glorified Petmate as a lead player in the pet care industry was the fact that they introduced the first sifting litter box to the world.

This system isn’t 100% flawless, it has faced multiple ups and downs. Yet, the idea was brilliant, at least to a corner litter pan, since finding out a spade that conquers every sharp angle is such a pain in the neck.

High side – Low entry profile

This standard corner sifting litter box may build one of the highest walls among all of its uncovered cousins here, which implies its competency to fence against sided flying litter and urine.

But let’s talk about the half-moon entrance! It’s so incurvate despite such lofty sides, which makes the unit versatile for a variety of cat breeds and available to both the seniors and kiddos.

Drawbacks

If being pretty and space-saving are the strongest points of a corner sifting litter box, then the hard quest to uncover which accessory would be the best to flatter this polished look, in the long run, is a huge let-down.

You can catch this problem clearly when searching for a standard square litter mat that can cover every space on the floor underneath a triangle pan or an off-the-peg liner that resembles a cheese slice.

#4. SiftEase Litter Box Cleaner Sifter

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An isolated labor-saving sifting basket

No one would want to host a face-to-face confrontation with stool and urine every single day while constantly bending down. With this spacious SiftEase individual sifting basket, you can escape the vicious cycle while separating clean and soiled litter all around the house within 5 minutes.

One may ask why just not get a complete sifting litter box. Because if you house multiple cats, you would have to take in x2 pans with every unit you buy. Imagine the amount of work you’d have to pour into cleaning a whopping 10 pans if you have four cats (following the n+1 rule: n cats + 1 extra litter box)!

On a side note, since this sifter is kind of an accessory, it would make a perfect birthday or Christmas present choice for cat lovers.
An enclosed recycle bin

You’ll get a 16.8-inch bin coming along, and it’s more than enough to contain the contents of over five litter boxes at once. Afterward, you can divide the filtered contents into each pan as usual. It’s simple but time and labor-saving at the optimum.

Side grip

Most sifting litter boxes offer a grid without grip so that it can be clipped between or inside the solid trays as a compact unit. Since this product intended to shed the limelight on the sifter solely, SiftEase engineers have placed stress on user-friendly features in lieu of pretty design.

The grip would make a big help for over-60-year-old grannies or folks with flabby arm muscle, as from now on, they won’t have to lift the slippery rims to lift the sifting basket on anymore.

Drawbacks

Being an accessory itself, it’s pretty ironic that the thing can create a huge mess without other accompanies.

The first things you may find accommodating after a few initial trials of the SiftEase basket are some biodegradable or plastic bags to line the interior, since the bin may be overweight to some flabby arms.

On top of that, there’s also another critical technical failure: the slots that score up to ¼” in measurements. This makes them oversized and unappealing to a variety of litters from pine pellets to non-clumping crystals to stay clear over the sifter.

#5. Catit SmartSift Self-Cleaning Litter Box

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Motorless automated sifting lever

Catit has put its name on the map with the blue LED flower fountain model, which in turn gives it more credibility for its lines of cat toys and cat litter pans.

For this SmartSift kitty litter box, the highlight is its eco-friendly mechanical sifting technology. The unit involves no electricity via the way you hand-pull the lever gradually and it works like a toilet flush. The sifter then swivels and pours the fecal or urinated clumps down a drawer compartment, while the clean granules sway back into the grate.

The motorless concept, in a way, suits cats that get intimidated by noise easily, and we all love the idea of keeping our cats away from getting electrocuted, without a doubt.

Dual custom-fit biodegradable liners

Your cat’s pee pee can form a permanent foul odor when coming into contact with plastic surfaces, so it’s natural to seal the top with liners. It seems that Catit engineers have done their research intensively via the way we get a biodegradable finish on top of the receptacle compartment straight from the warehouse.

Yet if your cats love to dig their way to China, the liners wouldn’t be able to withstand all the scratches, leading to a scarred and unreturnable litter box. In this event, consider investing in scratch-proof tough liners/pads. They’re great in unlocking the implicit power of the Breeze system.

Smart access orifices

The easy-to-access maintenance door, the transparent inspection window, and the carefully marked biodegradable liners have made a dream team in keeping the cost of maintenance minimal in the long run.

Through a clear view from the top, you can easily shove a scoop inside to discard all the feces once a fortnight. To add, replenishing the clumping litter can also be done after a rotated sifting session without the need to detach any part via the maintenance door.

The best present? Since the amount of litter is kept in check effortlessly through a clear view, combined with the tagging liners clearly marked to determine the maximal level of litter appropriate to fill for a smooth operation, now you can run a 33lb kitty litter bag in three months in lieu of every month.

Removable swinging door

Many have given a frown upon the entrance being built too high off the floor, which makes it seem impossible for newborn kittens or senior arthritic cats to hop in.

In response, Catit reassured their customers by suggesting they install a sturdy tiny stair for them to step up and down or, more conveniently, dismantle the swinging door for a broader entry point.

Drawbacks

This is where things start to turn sour for Catit, the deceptive massive build. The overall dimensions stated on the description box seem more than enough, but with just 19″ L x 13″ W x 17″ H interior before being shrunk any further by the sifter, no big fat cat, not even the slimmest Ragdoll or Maine Coon, can squeeze his plumpy tummy into the door.

Another thing to note, when the litter gets shattered all over the bad line or the grate, you can still cast an extra shovel. Or you can abide by Catit’s instructions and give the whole unit a few taps to cut down time and labor.

#6. Luuup Litter Box

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Compact reinforced plastic construction

Considering the heavy-duty plastic construction on its own, we have to say that Luup has successfully passed its legacy of being the most reputable dog crate manufacturer onto its cat litter pan line.

The design is sleek and compact, quite among the top tiers in terms of aesthetics and durability. The reinforced plastic solid pans are rustproof and definitely not the easiest for your felines to scratch on.

Undoubtedly, a Maine Coon of 12-15lbs would be squeezy freezy inside the pan, which makes the product unappealing to an entire large niche. Yet the litter box is cute and neat to pack along trips and holidays, while the hollow is not that small and can hold up to over 18lbs of litter.

Low entrance

The front rim is slightly dented to allow easy access for senior arthritis cats and newborn kittens. In combination with the low walls and the open-top design, your cats wouldn’t have to suffer from trapped stinky odor and internal fine dust (in case you use scoopable clumping litter) after each time you shake to sift.

Optimal ease to use

When you have something so simple and classic, three separate pans and nothing else, you won’t have to get involved with intricate cleaning routines or costly maintenance.

In this modern era, this Luup model fits right in with an apartment complex setting and won’t get your sewage system clogged midway.

Drawbacks

As experienced cat parents have pointed out, the first generation open-top sifting pan design poses a threat to creating a dustier mess through shaking movements upon sifting. To shake, you’d need to lift the pan up first, so if your muscle is flabby, then, unfortunately, you and Luup just do not click well with each other.

To make the matter worse, the urine can flow through the strainer and form gross gelatinous lumps on the solid pan’s surface if your cats have too big a bladder or if the soiled litter hasn’t got enough time to dry.

The alternation between two solid pans encourages users to reduce the frequencies of surface wiping and used clean litter dumping, which potentially stocks bacteria.

#7. So Phresh Lift-to-Sift Litter Pan

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Compatible with various litter substrates

So Phresh is a pet care brand well-known for its wide range of odor control litter and hamster bedding. Thus, the company can definitely boast about an odor control line of litter boxes as well.

As litter is the chief product of So Phresh, it is second to none in mastering the science behind how litter granules, crystals, and pellets work and what suits them best. On this account, you can put your trust in the brand’s engineers when they claimed the sifter’s chameleon power against treating any litter substrate.

X-Large Built-In Sifter Pan

The grid is sandwiched between two regular litter trays, reminiscent of other three-tray sifting litter systems. Yet it’s a plus-sized model, which welcomes even the fattest cats.

When you buy something oversized, you expect a lot of internal room and flexible fitment. The model won’t fail you in that term, since the solid pans are huge enough to fit in four regular overweight adult cats over 13 lbs, or a couple of 18lb Maine Coons.

High rim

This So Phresh model is unique to other three-tray trees on this review list thanks to a detachable high rim feature.

If you want to take the unit on the go, assemble the rim upside down for a more compact package. On a daily basis, it can also act as a ford to guard against your sided peeing and kicking boy.

Drawbacks

The sifting pan is sufficiently large to boost the litter filtering process in one go, for sure.

The holes, on the other hand, maybe bigger and allow a few pine pellets to slip through, leading to clogs, so you may want to second the idea of using pellet litter.

#8. Petmate Simple Sifting Litter Pan

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Rounded blade pattern at the bottom of the sifting pan

The pattern at the bottom of the strainer is one of a kind to every other sifting litter box we’re reviewing.

The holes are organized in long curved strips rather than identical tiny spheres as usual. This is a way to smoothen the rhythm of clean used granule flow and enable you to filter out clean versus soiled litter in one go.

Gently sloping profile

The edge of the pans ends up with an elegant curve. Each pan is 4-4.5 inches high, which gives a perk to senior arthritis cats and soft-boned kittens for their easy entrance.

Reinforced plastic bottom

Old but gold is the concrete description for a traditional uncovered plastic litter box. We all love eco-friendly disposable material, yet not everyone can afford that much of a sum for a new litter box monthly.

There’s still little to no established research confirming the harms plastic will cause to you and your cats besides the dire effects it exerts on the environment.

All in all, reinforced plastic is durable, heavy-duty, light-weight, and sleek to accelerate wiping movements. Thus, is still a classic cult in the most comprehensible senses.

Drawbacks

The bottom of the sifting tray sticks to the bottom of the solid pan literally. So unless you can hot glue some strips of liners/foams on the solid pan about an inch high to separate the two, you’ll have to constantly lift and shake the grill to allow some extra space for the litter to mount.

Many people have also reported having difficulties with removing wet litter clumps stuck inside the rounded blades and compared this eccentric design with the more user-friendly Arm & Hammer version.

By conventional wisdom, a simple way to curb this mess is to fill the box with more litter, ideally at three-four inches in height, to raise the bedding level and keep the litter clumps floating on top.

#9. Van Ness Framed Sifting Litter Box

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Stain-resistant polished finish

The overall construction is built from highly polished food-grade plastic, which is non-toxic for the owners and shouldn’t raise the cats’ hormone level or react excessively with fecal stains.

The slippery structure also makes it easy for you to wipe off the dirt or rinse well under a high-pressure hose/pump with diluted soap liquid.

Detachable guard

Upon delivery, you’ll receive the whole unit including the guard, but seated into the top solid pan for better compactness along the go. This guard frame can be raised above the rim of the top pan by clipping a plastic tab at each long end.

The guard also adds a few fractions of inches more to the height of the grid, which offers you a grip to hold on when lifting and a fence against litter pieces kicked out by those active paws.

Low entrance

The entry point tops the chart off with 4 inches only, so even a cute dwarf Munchkin can still hop on hop off with almost no problem. The high rim built from the frame above can catch anxious cat parents a little bit off-guard, yet it covers two sides and the back only so the entrance won’t be elevated.

Tiny orifices

The size of the holes on the strainer is only ⅛ to 3/16” in general. It’s great to collect sawdust and granular litter types (best with clumping granules). The fecal waste/clumps would be too large to make it through the grid. This system works identically to the Breeze technology of Purina’s Tidy Cat but is more rugged and rudimental.

Drawbacks

The model can be described as a knocked-off version of the Tidy Cat’s Breeze system (view this demonstration clip from VanNessPets). That also means you can’t maintain it without using some sort of accessories like puppy pads, litter box mats, or liners.

And this litter box’s working mechanisms can be somewhat old-fashioned. The idea was put into effect in 2011, 9 years ago so maybe you can consider nestling the strainer between two solid pans instead of following the user manual to prevent clogs more effectively and diversify the litter portfolio.

#10. Omega Paw Elite Roll’n Clean Litter Box

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Eco-friendly barrel self-cleaning system

This litter box is doing differently like no other: You roll instead of lifting the grid to sift. It was absolutely born to offer the easy way out for delicate hands where lifting and bending down can be overwhelming.

The tilting system works similarly to the Catit SmartSift one with the way fecal/urinated clumps fall into a drawer/receptacle compartment, which aims for labor and time-saving features.

Covered design

The unit comes with a roof so if your cat is an introvert and prefers low-traffic areas when doing his/her thing, the hood would suit his taste.

Yet the performance wouldn’t be up to your expectation once the little prince/princess finds himself/herself confined inside a boxed enclosure.

Bonus litter step

Since non-tracking silica gel crystals don’t seem to cooperate well with a sifting system, and the most compatible litter type to get screened out is the clumping type, tracking is always the main criticism from anti-sifters.

To combat this setback, Omega Paw has special offers regarding litter steps to catch all the excessive granules sticking on those fluffy paws when their owners step out after relief time.

Drawbacks

Even with a chrome snap-down locking clip, the internal contents are bound to leak once you roll the unit upside down. A feasible solution would be to glue a sponge/foam weather strip to the top of the litter tray concretely when you first purchase the product.

One further issue is that the litter granules will stick on the sides and even the receptacle compartment, which equals the loss of clean litter.

If you achieved zero results for a non-stick litter brand, then consider spraying the interior with Rustoleum neverwet treatment or cooking spray, and voila, as slippery as a fish.

On another note, since this design is comparable to the Catit SmartSift, it would be more of a blast if Omega Paw decided to come out with some kind of liners/pads to coat the drawer like its rival.

Bottom Line

Reaching the very end of our reviews, we’ve unitedly voted for our Best Overall Choice for sifting litter boxes, the open-top Petmate Arm & Hammer Sifting Litter Pan based on the following merits:

Moderate dimensions of 19″ L x 15″ W x 8″ H are neither too big nor too small with a gently curved profile to accommodate short-legged and senior cats.

• The 3-tray design is simple to maintain.
• The sturdy sleek plastic construction is durable and easy to clean.
• Compatible with a wide portfolio of litter.
• Can be incorporated into any DIY project.

But that’s just our personal proposal. One can prefer a hooded version or a more light-hearted budget choice. So, we would love to hear your recommendations for the best sifting litter box of your life down the comment section below.

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