About Van Ness
Van Ness has been family-owned and operated since 1945. The company says every product is designed to its own internal standards for quality, functionality, style, and safety, and that it uses only FDA-approved materials with sourcing traceable back to origin.
Its catalog spans litter pans, carriers, feeders, and dishes for cats, dogs, and small animals, including the EcoWare line of feeding dishes made from bamboo plant material and BPA-free plastic. The Van Ness Cat Pan, Medium featured in our litter box reviews reflects that same approach: a simple, low-sided open pan built on a design the company has kept essentially unchanged for decades.
Brand website: vannesspets.com
What Van Ness makes
Van Ness's range runs wider than the products we review. The lines we know best from our own testing are marked with a star:
Cat Litter Pans
Open plastic litter pans in several sizes, including the Cat Pan, Medium featured in our litter box reviews. — featured on House of Mittens
Enclosed & Sifting Litter Pans
Covered and sifting litter pan designs for owners who want contained mess or screen-and-scoop cleanup.
Cat Carriers
Hard-sided carriers for vet visits and travel.
EcoWare Dishes
Feeding and water dishes made from bamboo plant material and BPA-free plastic.
Auto Waterers & Feeders
Gravity-fed waterers and feeders for cats and small animals.
Stainless Steel Dishes
Stainless steel feeding bowls for cats and dogs.
Why we recognized Van Ness
The House of Mittens Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose products consistently stand out in our vet-reviewed category guides. Van Ness earned it on the strength of the products below, evaluated the same way every product on this site is: assessed against feline-health criteria, used with real cats, and judged on merit.
Van Ness products we rated highly
Van Ness Cat Pan, Medium
An open plastic pan with sides about four inches high, low enough for a new kitten to step over from day one while it is still learning where to go. It is lightweight and simple to dump, rinse, and refill, and at fifteen by eleven inches it tucks into a small corner, bathroom, or crate, a sensible first box or spare sized for kittens before they move up to a full-size pan as adults.
Read the 11 Best Cat Litter Boxes of 2026 guide →What earned Van Ness the recognition
- Family-owned and operated since 1945, with more than 80 years making pet-care products.
- Says it uses only FDA-approved materials, with sourcing traceable back to origin.
- Makes a broad catalog of litter pans, carriers, feeders, and dishes for cats, dogs, and small animals, including the EcoWare line made from bamboo plant material and BPA-free plastic.
- The Cat Pan, Medium featured on our litter box page keeps sides about four inches high, low enough for a new kitten to step over from day one, on a design the company has kept essentially unchanged for decades.