Why cats love boxes (and other odd places)
By Midge Raymond
As anyone who is owned by a cat knows, they adore boxes. And bowls. And even dish racks. And many other places you wouldn’t think they could possibly fit into comfortably.
What you may not know is that there’s a reason for this phenomenon (also known as “if I fits, I sits”): Studies have shown that providing boxes to caged cats in laboratory or shelter settings helps decrease stress. In fact, shelter cats have long been observed to hide behind litter boxes if they’re not given a proper box to climb into. But for the ordinary housecat? It’s mostly just for fun.
Both indoor and indoor/outdoor cats often find boxes comforting as well as fun. There are myriad reasons they seek these physical boundaries, whether boxes or laptop keyboards — from feeling safe to finding warmth to wanting to be close to their humans.
For hours of fun (and I do mean hours), try Googling “If I fits, I sits” and enjoy all the cats in boxes, in vases, in jars, in fishbowls, in shoe caddies, in kitchenware and so on. And keep in mind it’s not only our domestic felines who love boxes; if big cats fits, they sits, too, as you’ll see with lions, tigers and more in this video from Big Cat Rescue.
Do your felines love boxes? Send your photos to CattyCornerAshland@gmail.com!
Ashland resident Midge Raymond is co-founder of Ashland Creek Press and author of the novels “Floreana” and “My Last Continent” and co-author of “Devils Island.” Email suggestions and questions for Catty Corner to her at CattyCornerAshland@gmail.com.
