Hi MrsKitty, I would definitely say closed too! I've only ever bought an open tray for when my kitten had her op and I needed something smaller and easy to get into for her cage (the cage was to stop her moving around after her op!), but EVERYTIME she used it, she missed the sides and would pee all inside the cage! Also covered masks the smells!
Regarding litter clearing etc. that totally depends on what litter your using and how many cats you have... If you use a cheap clay-based one you'll have to clear it out more often. I'd recommend an anti-bacterial one too. Over the years I've used sooo many litters and had good and bad points with all. The main things to consider are:
- Price vs Consumption - How much is it costing, how often are you going to need to buy another bag. Remember, if you have more than one cat using it, you'll need to clear it out more often anyway! I found I actually spend less now on WB than I did on PetsAtHome's own brand antibacterial, as that needed changing so often!
- Dust - A lot of the cheaper brands generate lots of dust, particularly synthetic or clay-based products, not good if you/a family member is asthmatic or has allergies to dust etc.
- Disposal - How to dispose of it! Some brands you have to bag and put in your normal waste, some are compostable, and some you can flush down the toilet!
- Cleanliness - Is it antibacterial? Remember, this is faeces we're talking about!
- Clumping / Non-Clumping - Does it form into easily-removable clumps upon being urinated on, or do you have to sit and sift it all out?
I personally would recommend Worlds Best Cat Litter (www.worldsbestcatlitter.co.uk). I buy mine from ZooPlus (online) as it's alot cheaper than the pet store... It's not the cheapest brand, but it's certainly the best, and the price actually probably works out about the same as some of the cheaper brands given how long it lasts! My breeder recommended it to me a few years back and although I cringed at the price at first, I'll never go back to anything else now!
The WB Litter is completely natural, its not got any artificial stuff in it, so doesn't matter if you have a naughty kitten who likes to eat it (my friends did this!), it clumps really well, is completely biodegradable (and flushes down the toilet) and the only odour is the natural kernals that it uses to make it! I usually buy two of the huge 12.7KG bags for multi-cat households (the red bag) as ZooPlus do a deal on two for £60, and these will last me about 8-9m for two litter trays, sometimes longer... My last two I bought in Jan, and I'm not even halfway through the first bag, though I did have a little left of the old one when I ordered... The trick with this brand is to empty out the clumps and solid poo EVERY day and flush it down the toilet, then top-up with whatever amount you took out, so that it's always about 2-3" deep. Then about once every 4-6wks (depending if you have one or two trays) you need to totally empty it out and replace the litter. Sometimes it needs it a little earlier, sometimes its the full 6wks.
The one I used to use from PaH was about £11 a 9KG bag, and I'd buy one every other week as it would smell so much! Catsan is also good, but again, I'd need to buy a new bag every other week!
Hope this helps! Sorry for the essay! And good luck with your new babies! :)