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You finish opening that new package from Amazon and plop the box on the floor. Immediately, your cat appears as if summoned by the presence of cardboard in its domain. She delicately sniffs the box, prowls all around it to examine every inch, and then springs over the edge and lands inside. An hour later you walk by and can just see her eyes and ears peeking over the top at you. Claw marks on the outside edges indicate that she’s been hard at work showing that box who’s boss. You chuckle and wonder for the millionth time why your silly cat is so enamored of the simple cardboard box.
Sound familiar? Who has a giant cat that insists on squeezing into shoeboxes or has bought their cat a super-deluxe-mega-awesome cat tree only for kitty to spend the next week in the box it came in? Most humans lose interest in playing with cardboard boxes after about the age of eight, but cats seem to have an undying fascination with the things–sleeping in them, jumping in and out of them, ripping them to pieces. Why is that? Why do cats love boxes?
No One Will Find Me Here…
As is often the case with cats, there isn’t a simple answer, but it largely has to do with boxes being a confined space. Cats are both ambush predators and prey for larger animals, so they are very keen on hiding places from which to pounce on their prey and avoid being hunted themselves. Anyone who has been swatted at or pounced upon by a cat hiding in a box knows that boxes serve the purpose well. Cats may also want to hide from their problems. Cats are only somewhat social and as such don’t have instinctive conflict-resolution skills. They mostly just hide and hope the conflict goes away. #Relatable
Some cats like to hide more than others, but as a rule cats need hiding places to make them feel safe and relieve anxiety. Studies with shelter cats have found that providing hiding boxes decreases their stress levels [1, 2]. Even in a low-stress environment, everybody needs somewhere to decompress now and again. For a cat, that might be a good box.
The Wonders of Cardboard
There are other reasons cats love boxes, particularly of the cardboard variety. One you may have noticed yourself is that cardboard has a texture many cats enjoy sinking their claws into. Some enjoy chewing and generally mauling it as well. My cat Joon is quite fond of eating it. She’s not allowed to play in cardboard boxes anymore. For most cats it’s a very safe pastime, however. Just make sure there aren’t any staples or other things on the box they shouldn’t get in their mouths!
Cardboard is also a great insulator, and small spaces are great places for cats to curl up and be warm and cozy. A National Research Council study from 2006 found that the thermoneutral zone for cats, the range of temperatures in which they are comfortable and don’t need to expend energy to warm or cool themselves, is 86 to 97 degrees Fahrenheit (30 to 36 degrees Celsius) [3]. Most of us don’t keep our houses that warm, so housecats seek out warmth wherever they can. Cardboard boxes hold in their body heat when they snuggle down in them, so they make great places to play and sleep. You know, the things cats do best.
If you’re frustrated that your cat doesn’t like all the fancy toys you’ve bought them as much as they like shoving their entire body in an empty tissue box, keep in mind that it’s really the fault of the boxes for making such a perfect kitty cave. And you might be able to save a lot of money on cat accessories if you embrace your cat’s love of boxes.
Works Cited
- Kry, K & Casey, R. (2007). The effect of hiding enrichment on stress levels and behaviour of domestic cats (Felis sylvestris catus) in a shelter setting and the implications for adoption potential. Animal Welfare, 16(3), 375-383.
- Vinke, CM, Godijn, LM, & van der Leij, WJR. (2014). Will a hiding box provide stress reduction for shelter cats? Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 160, 86-93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2014.09.002
- National Research Council. (2006). Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats. National Academy Press.
Published December 23, 2019
Updated June 20, 2022
