I will never return to an open litter. No matter how much our little male cat scratches about with his litter (and it is A LOT), nothing escapes. It's easy to clean out, and contains the smell better. He figured out how to use it easily with us leaving it without the lid on for a day, and then introducing the lid on the second day. The litter catcher on the lid works well, but he does has a habit of jumping all the way out and skipping the step that would clean his paws. I'd recommend placing it somewhere where the litter catcher part is the easiest way for the cat to get out.
