Turns Out, Cats Love Boxes So Much Because They Reduce Stress
Everyone knows that cats love to stuff themselves into compartments of any size. Whether it’s a laundry basket, a drawer or their all-time favorite cardboard box, these fluffy felines just can’t resist them. While it’s a little frustrating when you get your cat a brand new bed and they end up napping in the box it came in, there’s an explanation to this obsession.
More info: sciencedirect.com
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It has been theorized that cats feel so content in boxes because they reduce stress. In 2014, researchers from the University of Utrecht decided to put this theory to the test by conducting a study.
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What they have found will not surprise you — laying in boxes do, in fact, reduce cats’ stress levels. The researchers carried out a study at a Dutch shelter, involving 19 shelter cats, 10 of which had a box with them.
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The scientists stated in their study: “Stressful experiences can have a major impact on the cats’ welfare and may cause higher incidences of infectious diseases in the shelters due to raised cortisol levels causing immunodeficiency. Though several studies showed a preference for hiding places and stress-reducing effects of hiding boxes on cats in combined studies, none of these studies determined if proper hiding enrichment would be effective in a quarantine cattery.”
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Immediately, they noticed a difference between the group of cats who were kept with a box and those who were not provided the box. Cat stress level was determined by using the Kessler and Turner Cat-Stress Score (CSS). After a few days, the cats with a box recorded a lower stress level than a non-boxed group of cats. A few weeks later, both groups recorded the same CSS.
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The scientists concluded: “The hiding box appears to be an important enrichment for the cat to cope effectively with stressors in a new shelter environment the first weeks after arrival.” Scientists stated that further study is needed to determine what effect the hiding box has on house cats, its long term effects, and correlation with outbreak frequencies of infectious diseases.
Here’s how people reacted
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Share on FacebookTurns Out, People Looking At Pics Of Cats In Boxes Are Less Stressed
Me to, but now we can say we did it for scientific purposes.
Load More Replies...I find myself asking the same question on a daily basis. I have three and they're more entertaining than television ever has been.
Load More Replies...My two cats have fun in boxes more than bags, therefore, I keep a couple for them in my living room, they will suddenly sneak up on one another, in and out of the box, I am always entertained, I often laugh out loud, would be lost without them !!!
My rescue kitty loves this and can vouch!!! She often comes up onto my bed and sleeps under the covers on me, heccin adorable
Thank you for rescuing kitty. This year I have adopted a 14 year old cat. He does not like boxes. But he does follow me from room to room :)
Load More Replies...I have a cat that's a burrower... He likes to burrow under blankets, throw rugs and even clothes if they're left out. He's too big for the cat sacks, so I got him a children's sleeping bag. It's his favorite place!
I must be part cat. I prefer my cubicle to an open space. I like the corner table in restaurants. If I'm distressed, I might hide in the closet. Monday mornings bring out the cat in many of us, wanting to hide under the covers.
Monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday ... same.
Load More Replies...My guinea pigs love boxes and paper bag it's a great way to provide some cheap enrichment
My old kitty was a fatty and kept trying to squeeze himself into those skinny rectangular soda boxes. He’d get his head in the box and his giant butt would just stick out the back. Lol.
It's because cat's tend to lose their shape over time - just stretch one out & you'll see. If they sit in a box for a while, it helps regain their shape, so reduces stress.
Comfort. Heat. Privacy. Safety. Able To Hide. Own Space. But, caretakers can find them anyways,if they want to, cats and boxes.....
If a cat owns you. You can never have enough boxes or places to chill for them.
Kitties and cardboard boxes is one of the few true purrfect combinations you can have.
Cats in boxes is one of the cutest things ever. The reason for the box is not important.
My cat has no interest in boxes, I have offered all sizes. Not interested in catnip either. She likes her wall bed and watching wildlife, and is very chilled anyway.
I mean… doing things you love often makes you comforted/less stressed. So this "finding" is meaningless. "Why do cats love boxes?" "They make them less stressed." "Why do they make them less stressed?" "They love them." "Why… um…" Still, most excellent pictures. ;-)
I had a cat that would sit on paper. It didn't matter how big (or small) the paper was, she sat on paper. I started to toss pieces of paper on the floor for her. They got progressively smaller. Eventually there were only paper dots for her on the floor. She would find a dot (from a hole punch) and sit on it. If I tossed a new "hole" on the floor, she abandoned her current one and ran to the new one. I miss that cat. Not the paper dots, but definitely the cat.
my petshop shipps goods in box from which you can fold into little house (with perforated hole in front which you can punch out) for your furry baby IMG_201911...1cc9e8.jpg
I think I'm a cat. Being in small, inclosed places helps me relax.
Someone had to study this to know it was true? DUH. ANyone who met a cat knows: Cat. Box. Happier cat. And, squee! Cats!
It's not exactly new info - I remember reading about this when I worked in animal welfare too many years ago.
Load More Replies...it's usually how I feel when I wake up and that my two cats are using 75% of the space of my bed.
Load More Replies...I bought my cat the cutest unicorn kitty cave with a fluffy bed and everything, and she was more interested in the box it came in...so now I save my money and leave boxes of different sizes around the house for her to lounge in
I can relate. being in my room makes me less stressed...then my dad barges in and yells at me because i forgot ONE. LITTLE. THING!!!
Turns Out, People Looking At Pics Of Cats In Boxes Are Less Stressed
Me to, but now we can say we did it for scientific purposes.
Load More Replies...I find myself asking the same question on a daily basis. I have three and they're more entertaining than television ever has been.
Load More Replies...My two cats have fun in boxes more than bags, therefore, I keep a couple for them in my living room, they will suddenly sneak up on one another, in and out of the box, I am always entertained, I often laugh out loud, would be lost without them !!!
My rescue kitty loves this and can vouch!!! She often comes up onto my bed and sleeps under the covers on me, heccin adorable
Thank you for rescuing kitty. This year I have adopted a 14 year old cat. He does not like boxes. But he does follow me from room to room :)
Load More Replies...I have a cat that's a burrower... He likes to burrow under blankets, throw rugs and even clothes if they're left out. He's too big for the cat sacks, so I got him a children's sleeping bag. It's his favorite place!
I must be part cat. I prefer my cubicle to an open space. I like the corner table in restaurants. If I'm distressed, I might hide in the closet. Monday mornings bring out the cat in many of us, wanting to hide under the covers.
Monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday ... same.
Load More Replies...My guinea pigs love boxes and paper bag it's a great way to provide some cheap enrichment
My old kitty was a fatty and kept trying to squeeze himself into those skinny rectangular soda boxes. He’d get his head in the box and his giant butt would just stick out the back. Lol.
It's because cat's tend to lose their shape over time - just stretch one out & you'll see. If they sit in a box for a while, it helps regain their shape, so reduces stress.
Comfort. Heat. Privacy. Safety. Able To Hide. Own Space. But, caretakers can find them anyways,if they want to, cats and boxes.....
If a cat owns you. You can never have enough boxes or places to chill for them.
Kitties and cardboard boxes is one of the few true purrfect combinations you can have.
Cats in boxes is one of the cutest things ever. The reason for the box is not important.
My cat has no interest in boxes, I have offered all sizes. Not interested in catnip either. She likes her wall bed and watching wildlife, and is very chilled anyway.
I mean… doing things you love often makes you comforted/less stressed. So this "finding" is meaningless. "Why do cats love boxes?" "They make them less stressed." "Why do they make them less stressed?" "They love them." "Why… um…" Still, most excellent pictures. ;-)
I had a cat that would sit on paper. It didn't matter how big (or small) the paper was, she sat on paper. I started to toss pieces of paper on the floor for her. They got progressively smaller. Eventually there were only paper dots for her on the floor. She would find a dot (from a hole punch) and sit on it. If I tossed a new "hole" on the floor, she abandoned her current one and ran to the new one. I miss that cat. Not the paper dots, but definitely the cat.
my petshop shipps goods in box from which you can fold into little house (with perforated hole in front which you can punch out) for your furry baby IMG_201911...1cc9e8.jpg
I think I'm a cat. Being in small, inclosed places helps me relax.
Someone had to study this to know it was true? DUH. ANyone who met a cat knows: Cat. Box. Happier cat. And, squee! Cats!
It's not exactly new info - I remember reading about this when I worked in animal welfare too many years ago.
Load More Replies...it's usually how I feel when I wake up and that my two cats are using 75% of the space of my bed.
Load More Replies...I bought my cat the cutest unicorn kitty cave with a fluffy bed and everything, and she was more interested in the box it came in...so now I save my money and leave boxes of different sizes around the house for her to lounge in
I can relate. being in my room makes me less stressed...then my dad barges in and yells at me because i forgot ONE. LITTLE. THING!!!
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