Does your cat have a favorite hiding place? Does she like to crawl into an empty box, a gift bag or an ordinary grocery bag? Cats seem to enjoy cat trees with tunnels and hidey holes. I guess that’s why there are so many cat trees and jungle gyms with a place for the cat to hide or hang out.
In our home, we often drape blankets or sheets over furniture for our cats enjoyment—especially when it’s chilly and we’re going to be gone for a while. Our scaredy cats—those who hide from visitors—even feel secure inside the tents and will stay cozied down inside even while a stranger is sitting right next to them on the sofa.
In fact, that seems to be the key to why cats love boxes, bags, and other small cubbies. They feel secure and safe.
Do you ever create a cardboard box house for your cat? We like to turn a large box upside
down, cut doors and windows in it and leave it out for the cats to explore. Especially when there are two cats—one goes inside and bats and teases the one who’s outside. Then they trade places. Around the holidays this year, we received something in a large box. This time, I set it on the side and left a few sheets of packing paper in it. Sophie immediately took it over. She shredded the paper, making herself a bed and began hanging out in the box every afternoon. Cute.
I saw an adorable video on the Internet the other day showing a large cat trying to crawl into a very small box. Finally, he put one paw in it and laid down with look of satisfaction. Here’s a site that try to explain why a cat ignores the gift or surprise inside a box or paper bag and immediately dives inside. https://www.wired.com/2015/02/whats-up-with-cats-and-boxes/
. There are collections of videos showing cats in a variety of small spaces. Here are a few: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rDCdqeTD0o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J11uu8L8FTY
https://www.thedodo.com/cats-whose-boxes-are-too-small-1071685972.html
