Published Dec 18, 2021
Ratings
- Ease of Cleaning – 7/10
- Odor Control – 10/10
- Appearance – 10/10
- Construction – 8/10
- Price – 3/10
Overall Score: 7.6/10
Pidan Igloo Litter Box Video Review
The pidan Igloo Litter Box is an attractive enclosed litter box with a unique shape inspired by the Inuit igloo.
Its pure, minimalist design is both attractive and functional. A large dome provides your cat with privacy while also containing litter scatter. To use the pidan Igloo, your cat enters the litter box and walks through an elevated corridor then steps down into the litter pan. This litter box also comes with an ergonomic scoop that can be hidden inside the litter box.
In 2016, the pidan Igloo won the Red Dot Design award, so it’s clear that this litter box is thoughtfully designed. But is it better than other enclosed litter boxes and does it live up to its promises?
In this unbiased pidan Igloo review, we’ll delve deep into the details. Keep reading to find out how the pidan Igloo is designed and whether or not we think it’s worth a try.
Let’s Start with Some Background on What the pidan Igloo Litter Box Is and How It Works?
The pidan Igloo measures about 21-by-21-by-19 inches. The domed shape makes the interior feel a little more spacious, but the litter box as a whole is not very large.
While the pidan Igloo’s claim to fame is its aesthetic but it also exhibits a strong ability to control tracking and litter scatter. Customers also seem to appreciate the fact that it is very effective in keeping dogs out of the litter box.
In researching the pidan Igloo for this review, I wasn’t able to find a significant number of in-depth reviews that really examined the litter box from a practical perspective.
So, I tested it myself over the course of three weeks with my two cats, Wessie and Forest. Throughout the process I took notes on how well it controls odor, how easy it is to clean, and how well it controls tracking and scatter. I also paid attention to my cats’ reactions to it and the overall cat-friendliness of the design.
Let’s take a closer look at the pidan Igloo litter box and jump into my personal experience with it.
First Off, What Comes In The Box?
The pidan Igloo litter box comes in two parts: a round base and the signature Igloo lid. The litter box also comes with a custom plastic scoop designed to work with the rounded shape of the litter box.
Every component of the litter box is made from polypropylene coated with a material called IONPURE. This is a relatively new technology that gradually releases metal ions like silver and copper to deliver an anti-microbial effect.
Setting up the pidan Igloo litter box is pretty straightforward.
To set it up, you simply separate the two parts and pour your preferred litter into the basin. From there, you just place the dome over the top. The grated entryway is integrated into the design of the lid, so you don’t have to worry about removing it or installing it yourself.
Along the wall of the litter basin there’s a holder for the custom scoop so you can keep it handy without having to look at a dirty scoop.
After Setting Up The Pidan Igloo Litter Box, It Was Time To Try It.
The first thing I noticed after setting up the pidan Igloo is that it isn’t very large.
The litter box is about 21 inches in diameter and only about 19 inches high. The entryway is about 8 inches in height, and it’s elevated by about 5 inches.
Once your cat makes it through the small entryway, they step across a grated platform to access the litter bed. The platform creates a kind-of corridor that helps control tracking and scatter, but it ends up making the available litter space pretty limited. At the largest point, it’s only about 12 inches deep.
Overall, I could tell the pidan Igloo is a pretty tight squeeze and it’s probably going to be too small for most cats. Unfortunately, it isn’t available in a larger size.
How Did My Cats Like It?
To see how my cats felt about the size of the litter box, I started by just putting out the base. This helped my cats get acclimated to it while giving them the option to use their regular litter box so I could see which of the two they preferred.
After a while, I noticed that one of my two cats, Forest, had started using the pidan Igloo base so I decided to add the lid to see if she’d keep using it.
While I never saw Forest using the litter box, I noticed that it was consistently getting soiled.
I wasn’t surprised that Forest was the cat to use the litter box since she tends to be a little more willing to try new things. It may also help that she’s the smaller of the two weighing just about 7 pounds.
After Letting My Cats Use The Pidan Igloo For A While, I Had To See How Easy It Was To Clean.
To disassemble the litter box, you lightly press on the front then lift the lid away from the base. From there, you use the included scoop to remove the soiled litter.
I found that the scoop worked pretty well compared to other scoops I’ve tried, but it’s nothing special. It’s pretty similar to the kind of scoop you’d find at the grocery store.
While scooping the litter box was fairly easy and the pidan Igloo did a relatively good job of controlling odors, I thought the interior design of the lid had one flaw. There’s an additional panel running around the inside of the dome. If your cat urinates too high up the side, urine will drip down behind the panel.
After a few weeks of use, I noticed that some urine had become stuck in that area. Long-term, that might create odor and it generally makes the litter box a little harder to clean.
How Well Did It Control Tracking And Scatter?
When it comes to controlling tracking and scatter, the pidan Igloo lives up to its promises.
In my three weeks of testing, I didn’t notice any tracking or litter scatter. Based on customer reviews, it sounds like cats who tend to dig vigorously may be able to fling litter over the entryway. In my experience, however, I was able to use the litter box without a rug or mat.
What Are The Pros And Cons?
It is true that the pidan Igloo has a very attractive design.
It seems to be well-constructed, and it seems to be a really good product for people with smaller cats. Cats who tend to urinate low in the litter bed are a good fit for this litter box as well as people who are concerned about litter tracking and scatter.
It also keeps dogs from accessing the litter box very effectively.
All that being said, there’s room for improvement to make the pidan Igloo worth the $159 price tag. The main concern is that the litter box is too small for the majority of cats and, with most cats, you’ll have some urine collecting or even seeping out of the box.
How Much Does The Pidan Igloo Cost?
The pidan Igloo is available on Amazon for $159. You can find a number of other products in the pidan store including a cat litter scoop that comes with an upright caddy.
Pidan offers their own tofu-based cat litter, an automatic pet water fountain, and other essentials like toys, scratchers, and even a cat carrier backpack.
They also offer another litter box option, an open, high-sided litter box that has the same two-piece design as the pidan Igloo. This litter box is even smaller than the Igloo, but the raised entryway may help contain litter and tracking to some degree, though likely not as well as the Igloo.
Overall, Is The Pidan Igloo Litter Box A Good Choice?
Given that pidan clearly has an eye for design, they could easily make a few changes to improve the practicality of the litter box. Simple changes could make the pidan Igloo the best option in the market in this category.
The Petmate Booda Dome is a similar product with an igloo-like shape, but it costs under $40. It has the same issue with urine leaking around the bottom, so it may simply be a flaw in the general design for this type of litter box.
The biggest thing this company could do to improve the pidan Igloo is to make it bigger. If they made it available in different sizes it might be more appropriate for a larger portion of the general cat population.
They could also add some kind of seal around the bottom to prevent urine from leaking or at least make the inside of the litter box a bit smoother with no crevices or spaces where urine can gather.
I might also reconsider the placement of the litter scoop on the inside of the box. Not only does this placement further reduce the available space inside the litter box, but it also increases the chances that your cat is going to get some waste on the scoop.
With all of these changes, the pidan Igloo litter box could be a great covered litter box. Its pleasing aesthetic and ability to control tracking and scatter makes it an appealing option to a wide variety of cat owners. Until these changes are made, I can’t whole-heartedly recommend this litter box.
brilliant review! However, I would have made a larger point highlighting the problem with urine leaking outside. it’s not an isolated incident. The same thing happens with ours so I have stopped using it. It’s worse than a $20 litter box!
The designer considered that when the cat pees on the back wall/lid, it would drip down and leak outside. However, their solution is useless. They added this guard along the back, but all it does is either trap the urine inside or as it often happens, it still leaks down the outside of the box on the floor, instead of back inside!
I would think if they had simply added a few drain holes to the guard, it would have solved the problem. A better seal at the bottom of the guard would only just trap the urine inside and it would pour out as soon as you take the lid off.