Best litter box for a small upstairs landing

A Victorian terrace landing is a tricky spot — usually narrow, often awkward, and every centimetre counts. Before we get to fitting something in there, it's worth knowing that most litter boxes are already too small: cats need a tray at least 1.5 times their body length to be comfortable, and covered boxes — while tidier — can make cats feel cornered and trapped, which leads to avoidance. So we're already balancing two competing problems. Tell me: how many cats do you have, roughly how big are they, and are you seeing any litter box issues at the moment?

The going-just-outside is usually a size problem — she's stepping over the edge because she doesn't have room to position herself properly inside. That's fixable. A 70cm-wide landing with a walkway needed means we're probably looking at something that sits against the wall and doesn't stick out more than 40–45cm. What's the length of the space you can give it along the wall?

Move the shelf. 60cm along the wall gives you proper options. Here's my recommendation: the Catit Jumbo Hooded Cat Pan. It measures 59cm long by 38cm wide, so it fits your space neatly without blocking the walkway. The footprint is compact but the interior is genuinely large — a 4kg cat can turn, squat, and dig without hanging over the edge, which should stop the outside-the-box problem almost immediately. It has a hood, which I'd normally flag as a risk for cats who feel trapped, but Catit's design has a wide opening and decent internal height, so it's less claustrophobic than most covered boxes. If she does seem reluctant, you can run it lidless for a week or two and add the hood once she's settled. It also has a carbon filter in the lid, which matters on a landing where smells travel straight to the bedroom.

Honestly, mostly for your benefit — it contains scatter and smell, which on a landing is genuinely useful. For your cat, it's neutral at best and mildly stressful at worst. The rule of thumb is: if she uses it happily with the lid on, keep it. If she starts hesitating at the entrance or going outside again, take the lid off. The tray works perfectly well either way and the dimensions stay the same, so you're not losing anything by trying both.

Yes — a rubber-backed mat underneath is worth it on wooden floors. It stops the tray sliding, catches any litter she kicks out, and protects the boards from moisture. A cheap non-slip mat cut to size works fine. Get one slightly larger than the tray's footprint so there's a landing zone in front of the entrance — that's where most of the scatter ends up.