You know the trail. Little gritty footprints leading out of the litter box, across the hall, and somehow into the kitchen.
Modkat’s answer was to move the door to the roof. Your cat climbs out through the lid, and the lid knocks the litter off their paws on the way.
It works. It won a Red Dot Design Award. And it is completely wrong for a decent number of cats, which is the part the marketing does not lead with.
The safer box is also the cheaper one. The front-entry Modkat Flip is $99.99 on Chewy, $10 less than the top-entry original at $109.99, so choosing the easier entry for an older or heavier cat costs you nothing extra.
The XL is the one to know about if your cat is young now but will not be forever. Its listing says it can be set up for top or front entry, so you can switch it as your cat ages instead of buying a second box.
Four Modkat boxes by entry style
Chewy prices. Every box here is manual, so you still scoop daily.
| Box | Entry | Price | Comes with | Pick it if |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modkat Litter Box | Top | $109.99 | Scoop, swivel lid | You have a healthy adult cat and tracking is the problem. |
| Modkat Flip | Front, lid sets three ways | $99.99 | Type-F reusable liner | Your cat is a kitten, senior, arthritic or heavy. |
| Modkat XL | Top or front, you choose | $189.95 | Scoop, type-C and type-D liners | You have a large cat, or want one box for life. |
| Modkat Litter Tray | Open, 9-in sides | $59.99 | Scoop, type-G liner, splash guard | Your cat refuses any lid and kicks litter. |
The Litter Keeper bin ($69.95) and Katch mat ($24.99) are optional extras. The mat helps with tracking, while the bin only makes scooping tidier.
Who should not buy a top-entry litter box
Top-entry boxes are the wrong choice for a lot of cats, and getting this wrong is how you end up with a cat urinating on the rug beside a very expensive box.
A cat has to jump up, balance on the rim, and drop down inside. That is fine for a healthy adult cat. It is a genuine barrier for others.
- Kittens cannot reliably make the climb, and a kitten who cannot get in will simply go beside the box.
- Senior cats lose muscle and confidence with height. A cat who used to leap onto the counter may already be avoiding it.
- Arthritic cats. Osteoarthritis is far more common in cats than most owners realise and often shows up as reluctance to jump rather than obvious limping.
- Overweight cats, who find the climb genuinely hard and the turning space inside tight.
- Cats recovering from surgery or injury, for as long as the vet says.
For every cat on that list, buy the Modkat Flip instead. It keeps the enclosure and most of the tracking control, with a front entry instead of a climb over the top.
Here is the part worth taking seriously: a cat suddenly avoiding a box they used happily is often telling you something hurts. If your cat starts going outside a top-entry box, lower the barrier first and then call your vet. The International Cat Care guidance on feline arthritis covers how quietly it presents.
Does the top-entry design actually stop tracking?
Yes, more than any other single change you can make to a litter box, and the mechanism is simple enough to explain in a sentence.
When your cat exits through the lid, they have to stand on it. The lid is textured and perforated, so the granules stuck between their toe pads fall back into the box rather than onto your floor. An open pan gives litter a straight run from paw to carpet.
The enclosure helps twice over. It contains the scatter from enthusiastic digging, which in a low open pan sends litter over the sides and across the room.
It does not eliminate tracking entirely. Some litter still rides out, particularly fine-grained clay. Pair the box with a mat, and if tracking is genuinely your main problem, switch to a large-grain litter as well. Our litter mat guide and large-grain litter options both do real work here.
One practical downside of the enclosure: you cannot see inside without lifting the lid. Scooping daily is how most owners notice diarrhoea, straining, or a drop in output, so make a habit of actually looking rather than scooping blind.
Is Modkat worth the price?
A plastic litter pan costs fifteen dollars. A Modkat costs a hundred and ten. That gap needs justifying, so here is the honest accounting.
- What you get: a genuinely effective tracking solution, a reusable liner instead of endless plastic bags, a leak-proof seamless base, and a box that does not look like a plastic pan in your living room.
- Durability is real. Cheap pans scratch, and scratched plastic holds odour permanently because urine soaks into the grooves. The ASPCA notes that an unpleasant box is one of the most common reasons cats stop using one. A smooth, well-made box stays odour-neutral much longer.
- What you do not get: anything automatic. This is a manual box, and you still scoop it daily.
- Where it is not worth it: if your cat needs a front entry anyway and tracking is not your problem, a good basic pan does the job for a fraction of the money.
Which Modkat should you buy?
Buy one if you have a healthy adult cat, tracking is your main complaint, and the box lives somewhere you can see it. The design is genuinely good and the build quality justifies most of the premium.
Buy the Flip instead if your cat is a kitten, a senior, arthritic or overweight. And if you want the scooping gone rather than the tracking, an automatic box is a different product entirely: see our self-cleaning litter box guide or the PetSafe ScoopFree range.
The verdict on Modkat
Modkat solved litter tracking properly, and the awards are deserved. The lid-as-walk-off-mat idea is the rare piece of pet design that does exactly what it claims.
Just match the entry style to your actual cat rather than to the photos. Healthy adult cat, buy Modkat Cat Litter Box, White. Kitten, senior, arthritic or heavy cat, buy the Flip and do not think twice. This article is educational rather than veterinary advice, and a cat newly avoiding their box should see a vet.
Modkat questions
Q: Are top-entry litter boxes bad for some cats?
Yes. Top-entry boxes are unsuitable for kittens, senior cats, arthritic cats, overweight cats and cats recovering from surgery, all of whom struggle to climb in and out. Those cats need a front-entry box such as the Modkat Flip.
Q: What size litter box does my cat need?
A litter box should be roughly one and a half times your cat’s body length, measured nose to base of tail. Large breeds such as Maine Coons and Ragdolls generally need the X-Large rather than the standard box.
Q: My cat stopped using the litter box. Is it the box?
It might be the height. A cat who suddenly avoids a top-entry box they previously used may be finding the jump painful, which often points to arthritis. Switch to a front-entry box and speak to your vet, since sudden avoidance is frequently a medical sign.
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