Why Do Cats Like Boxes So Much?
March 17, 2020
If you want to give your cat hours of enjoyment, get them a simple cardboard box and sit back and enjoy the show! Cats can’t resist boxes. It doesn’t matter what the dimensions, thin, small, or huge, if there’s a cardboard box in the room, your cat will take to it like a duck to water!
Most of us would be content to just observe our cats and the varied uses they get out of a simple cardboard box. But some of us want to know the logic behind this peculiar attraction.
First, let’s look at some of the ways your cat will enjoy a cardboard box:
- Spying on the outside world.
- Spinning and performing gymnastics.
- A warm place to curl up and fall asleep.
- Pouncing on unsuspecting prey (or toys and passing feet).
- As a kitty manicure by ripping and shredding.
- As a sanctuary to get away from it all.
The truth is, the number one reason your cat enjoys hiding inside a box is that it relieves stress and provides a place of safety and calm. A 2014 study published in the journal of Applied Animal Behaviour Science found that a simple cardboard box can relieve stress and provide great comfort especially to cats living in rescue shelters.
Experts are concerned about the stress levels of rescue shelter cats because of the effect it can have on their nervous system, not to mention their immune systems. Rescue shelter cats have a higher risk of contracting disease and infection because of stress. The study set out to find whether providing a cardboard box as a hiding place would lower stress levels in these cats.
A stress hormone by the name of cortisol was measured at different times of the day over the course of the 14-day study. The results showed that the rescue cats with boxes had significantly lower stress levels than the cats who were not given a box. As an added benefit, the cats with boxes adapted quicker in their new homes when adopted.
So if you happen to have a cat or you’ve just brought home a cat from a shelter, a cardboard box will give them much comfort and calm. Just make sure you remove any staples or tape.
Let’s take a look at Simon’s Cat in the video below and see what fun his amusing felines get up to with a cardboard box: