# Why are cats obsessed with boxes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 5, 2006, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cats-obsessed-with-boxes/371523 "2006-09-05T16:40:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2006, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cats-obsessed-with-boxes/371523/21 "2006-09-05T20:49:17Z")
In addition to cozy boxes, through the years I’ve run across cats who love BIG boxes…like your bathtub. If you run across a cat like that drop a ping-pong ball into the tub and watch your cat get his daily exercise! ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2006, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cats-obsessed-with-boxes/371523/22 "2006-09-05T20:55:13Z")
I’ve read that to keep your cat out of the dryer (which is obviously very dangerous), next time it goes in, shut the door and bang the hell out of the top. When you let the cat out, it should have no interest in going into the dryer again. We tried that with Dewey - he’s always sneaking into my Lazy Susan cabinet, the one that I keep my flour and stuff in. We shut it and banged and banged and then forgot he was in there, whoops. “Meow?” He still goes in there - didn’t work at all. He doesn’t play fetch, but he does drag his toys around with him like a dog. He’ll drop his feather-onna-stick in your lap, and you play with him for a bit with it, and let him “catch” it, and then he drops it in your lap again. Very irritating when you’re just trying to watch a movie in peace. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2006, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cats-obsessed-with-boxes/371523/23 "2006-09-05T23:15:31Z")
Well, for goodness sake, if someone came in and dropped a refrigerator-sized cardboard box in front of you, wouldn’t _you_ run in it and curl up? ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2006, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cats-obsessed-with-boxes/371523/24 "2006-09-05T23:23:32Z")
[QUOTE=Eve] Well, for goodness sake, if someone came in and dropped a refrigerator-sized cardboard box in front of you, wouldn’t _you_ run in it and curl up? [/QUOTE] When I was a kiddo, that was about the most fun thing to do outside with someone - get a bunch of big boxes and tie them together and cut doors in them and make tunnels and rooms. And the best of all boxes were the big washer and dryer ones. We’d go up to the appliance stores and drag the biggest boxes back and make huge mazes out on the lawn. I suppose if we could have found one from a refrigerator we would have been out of our minds with joy. Oh, I know what a cat likes and why he likes it. ---
**Author:** ![kmfsmith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/91b2a8/32.png) [@kmfsmith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kmfsmith)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2006, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cats-obsessed-with-boxes/371523/25 "2006-09-05T23:56:57Z")
I always thought the box thing might have something to do with people keeping kittens in cardboard boxes all together when they’re very young. Maybe it reminds them of that. Of course, I’m sure not all people keep their kittens in boxes, but everyone I knew as a little kid did, so when I was 10 this idea seemed perfectly logical. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cats-obsessed-with-boxes/371523/26 "2006-09-06T03:45:41Z")
[Cats in Sinks](http://catsinsinks.com/) ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cats-obsessed-with-boxes/371523/27 "2006-09-06T04:13:52Z")
[QUOTE=Lord Ashtar] I’m so glad to hear that. I thought there was something wrong with one of my cats. One time I heard him meowing. I thought maybe he had locked himself in the bathroom or laundry room again, as he has before. When I finally was able to pin it down, I noticed it was coming from the refridgerator. I have no idea how long he had been in there, but he sure was glad to get out. I think he’s learned his lesson, too. Dark and cold = no enter. [/QUOTE] [Hmmm…](http://home.comcast.net/~cpeek001/fridgecataf7.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Sharifa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@Sharifa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sharifa)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cats-obsessed-with-boxes/371523/28 "2006-09-06T06:01:06Z")
[Box-obsessed cats](http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2006/05/cat_box.html) Yay! My first post! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cats-obsessed-with-boxes/371523/29 "2006-09-07T02:47:35Z")
[QUOTE=MikeS] At least he hasn’t figured out [how to investigate the question on his own.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7Qe1muGKSg) [/QUOTE] Dead link. You mean this one? —\> [glumbert](http://www.glumbert.com/media/cattoilet.html) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cats-obsessed-with-boxes/371523/30 "2006-09-07T05:13:14Z")
A cat flushing a toilet is a YouTube terms of use violation? I’m not seeing how that would be… ---
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cats-obsessed-with-boxes/371523/31 "2006-09-07T05:28:24Z")
As an aside, cut holes in the boxes. These serve as entry/ambush points in the box, and they work best with multiple cats. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cats-obsessed-with-boxes/371523/32 "2006-09-07T07:35:26Z")
Here’s the one that puzzles me–see, I can see the charm of boxes and grocery bags and such for a cat, heck I’d probably play in them if I were that size, but the really weird one is this: In the very middle of a very large expanse of clean carpet, place one post it note sized piece of paper. The cat will ALWAYS curl up on that piece of paper, guaranteed. What is this all about, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cats-obsessed-with-boxes/371523/33 "2006-09-07T08:00:14Z")
Well, not always. Sometimes the cat will use that tiny bit of paper as cover. It’s hilarious to see a cat attempting to crouch behind a piece of paper, intent on ambushing the next thing that moves. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cats-obsessed-with-boxes/371523/34 "2006-09-07T11:26:52Z")
I bebop around [Boardgame Geek](http://www.boardgamegeek.com/) and a fairly common phenomenon is cats in board game box lids. I saw one game listed for sale with the disclaimer it was in near perfect condition but with the lid a little wonky from being inhabited by a cat. Although my search for said pics wasn’t as successful as I recall, I have discovered that they have become forbidden. Evidently, there were so MANY cat in box pics they had to put a stop to it. ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cats-obsessed-with-boxes/371523/35 "2006-09-07T11:35:27Z")
My current cat Judy has no interest in boxes, bags, drawers or anything ☹ Odd how you leave a cardboard box and the cats are all over it like a rash, but you put the cat carrier box down and every cat in a 50 mile radius vanishes ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cats-obsessed-with-boxes/371523/36 "2006-09-07T12:11:27Z")
[QUOTE=cerberus] As an aside, cut holes in the boxes. These serve as entry/ambush points in the box, and they work best with multiple cats. [/QUOTE] We bought a commercial mop bucket a while back and it came in a big square box with two holes cut on opposite sides of the box. Obviously, we would have thrown the box away, but the cats had so much fun with it, jumping in and out, popping their heads up and looking out and chasing each other round and round inside the box that we kept it for months. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-cats-obsessed-with-boxes/371523.md?page=1)