Rhonda Elliott loves Sheba, her sleek black cat. But when this Brooklyn, NY, editor started to work out of her home office, the sight—and smell—of Sheba's litter box became a major nuisance. "I didn't ...

Wagner is the founder of Portland startup The Cat Throne, which makes a specially widened and textured toilet seat for cats. But the idea came from the product’s intended end user: a housecat.

For generations, the litter box has been an unchallenged part of indoor cat ownership: dusty, necessary, and tolerated. Most owners never questioned it, even as litter took over closets, produced ...