This is a specific conversation about Cat litter boxes — size, type, and placement — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
Most litter boxes are honestly too small — cats need a tray at least 1.5 times their body length to use comfortably, and covered boxes, while neater for us, often make cats feel trapped so they avoid them altogether. For a heavier or older cat like yours, the entry height and the floor space become even more important. How much does your Persian weigh roughly, and is she currently having any trouble getting in or out of her box — hesitating, stepping over the side awkwardly, or avoiding it altogether?
She's about 7.5kg, quite round. She does seem to step in a bit slowly and sometimes misses the box slightly. She's using a standard covered one at the moment.
inparticular.ai
That covered box is almost certainly making things harder for her. At 7.5kg she needs more floor room to turn around, and the low entry on most covered designs means she's hunching to get in and out — that puts strain on her joints and probably explains the hesitation and the near-misses. Has she been seen by a vet recently about her weight? I ask because sometimes what looks like clumsiness is early joint stiffness, which would affect what we prioritise in the box.
Yes, the vet mentioned she's overweight and suggested we monitor it, but no joint diagnosis as such. She just moves a bit heavily.
inparticular.ai
Good to know — so we're dealing with a chunky cat who needs easy access rather than a cat in pain, which is a more straightforward fix. The two things that matter most here are a wide open tray with a genuinely low entry point on at least one side, and enough internal space that she can stand, turn, and position herself without feeling cramped. What's your setup like — do you have a spot in mind for the tray, and is litter scatter a concern?
It'll go in the bathroom. Scatter would be annoying but it's not the top priority — getting her to actually use it properly is.
inparticular.ai
In that case I'd go with the Savic Senator Open Cat Litter Tray — the XL size. It's one of the largest open trays widely available in the UK, with generous internal dimensions and relatively low, even sides all the way around, so there's no awkward high step anywhere. For a 7.5kg Persian that floor space makes a real difference. It's straightforward to clean, fits neatly along a bathroom wall, and without a lid she won't feel enclosed. Pair it with a litter mat outside the entry point and scatter is mostly dealt with. Ditch the covered box entirely — she will almost certainly use the open tray more willingly.
That sounds good. Should I switch over gradually or just replace it straight away?
inparticular.ai
Replace it straight away and put the new tray in exactly the same spot as the old one. Cats are more sensitive to location than to the box itself — familiar place, familiar litter, and she'll likely investigate and use it within a day. Don't run both simultaneously or she may just default to whichever she used before. Give it three or four days before you judge whether it's working. The switch is usually much smoother than people expect.
