Glossary
Enclosed litter box
A hooded litter box that contains litter scatter and odor, though some cats dislike the closed-in feel.
An enclosed litter box has a hood or dome over the tray with an entrance on one side, designed to trap litter that would otherwise scatter and to hold odor inside rather than in the room. In a studio or one-bedroom apartment where the litter box often sits near living space, that containment can matter more than in a house with a spare bathroom to hide it in.
The tradeoff is that some cats find an enclosed box intimidating, especially multi-cat homes where a hood can hide an ambush from another cat, or hot climates where the hood traps heat and smell right where the cat is standing. Cats that already avoid the litter box are usually better started in an open tray before trying a hooded one.
When picking an enclosed box, check the interior floor space rather than the outer dimensions, since the hood eats into usable room, and make sure the entrance is wide enough for an adult cat to pass through comfortably. Clean it more often than an open box, since odor that does not escape into the room can build up inside instead, which is a common reason cats stop using one.