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NEVER going back to plastic! We purchased the open top model (Amazon seems to be mixing reviews for the open and closed (the one with the round hole in the top) versions). It’s GRRRREAT (as Tony the Tiger used to say!). First, it’s incredibly sturdy. Not that anyone’s going to stand on it, but this should last for YEARS. Stainless doesn’t hold smells like plastic can. It’s nice and big, giving our two cats plenty of room to move around (they aren’t huge, one’s 11 and the other 10 lbs as adults), so I have no doubt that bigger (15-18 lb kitties) would do fine with this. Specifically bought this, with the high sides, because our little fella was peeing outside the back of our old box (which had a fairly high back wall, but still a couple inches shorter than this). No such problems any more! As a proof of concept I first (before sinking the big $ into this) bought a plastic bottom/top box. It worked, but was smaller and did NOT have the EXCELLENT design feature that this has – the plastic top edges OVERRIDE the upper lip of the stainless steel base/box. So even if little Lyle tinkles on the upper plastic part, the urine does not leak outside the box! Another reviewer said that it was hard to clean. I disagree. I think that it will depend more on the LITTER that you use. We use Dr. Elsey’s and while there may be a slight sticking if there’s a lot of urine in one spot, it easily comes off, especially after lifting up a big wet glob, then pushing a little dry litter over it and give it one more pass, away it goes. I’ve owned cats for nearly 50 years, and always used plastic boxes until now, and this is absolutely no worse, definitely BETTER than ANY plastic box I’ve EVER used! Now also I think the scooper you use will make a difference, too. The tiny little “toy” scooper they provide w/the system is, IMHO, useless. We’ve long used a metal (aluminum alloy) scooper (like the WePet you can find on Amazon) and its stiffness helps. Truly, difficult cleaning has NOT been an issue. Another reviewer had a concern that the rolled edges of the stainless steel box hadn’t been done well, and that he/she got cut. I hope that they complained and got a new box, that’s inexcusable for the manufacturer to ship something that could hurt someone. But having read that review, virtually the first thing I did was visually check the rolled edges and then ran my fingers all along every inch of the one we got, and NO problem with this. Hopefully that was a one-off problem that was corrected at the factory, but no way ours could cut someone. I would have sent it back immediately if there was an issue! The top plastic part is well made, it’s a very solid, stiff plastic and it latches (one latch on each of the long sides) quickly and easily to the bottom steel; no way it can come off accidentally (for example when cat jumps out). You purposefully have to slightly pull out the latch on one side, release it then tilt and the other side releases itself; I can take the top off with one hand. I personally think that it’s easier to clean the pan by taking the top off (you can better reach the front corners of the box) but it isn’t mandatory to remove; I’ve done it both ways but prefer to take it off. And reattaching is easy – gently push down the top plastic edge over one latch, then over the other, there’s a definite snap that you hear and it’s latched down. This also ensures that the needed overlap (see above) of the top over the bottom occurs so that urine drains down the INside of the box. There are some slots in the front edge where the cat enters/exits, but I will say that this is NOT a “trackless” box. Some litter still sticks in their little paws, but it’s no worse than any of the myriad of other boxes I’ve used over the years and yes, maybe a little better, but there’s no miracle here. Bottom line – go for something good – buy once, cry once, but know you’re getting a really good product. I bought this with my own money, and this is my honest review after a couple month’s use. I did find that it went on sale, which is when I got it – if you’re interested keep an eye on it for a while, or use Camel Camel Camel to see if it’s a good price historically. I do NOT regret anything, except that I waited so long to get one!!!