If you own a cat, you probably already know how much your furry friend adores one of the most basic contraptions made by man: boxes. These cat owners definitely do, and we eat it right up from this side of the screen—there’s something inexplicably adorable about a cat trying to squeeze in a box at least five sizes too small for it. Uggghhhhh, don’t give up, kitty! Dare to defeat the impossible!
As cute as it may be, there’s actually a science behind why cats love boxes so darn much. Wired went so far as to break it down for us, and we love them for it According to their research it boils down to three things:
As cute as it may be, there’s actually a science behind why cats love boxes so darn much. Wired went so far as to break it down for us, and we love them for it According to their research it boils down to three things:
1. It’s a coping mechanism for cats in new environments. Veterinarian Claudia Vinke of Utrecht University in the Netherlands did a study where she provided boxes for newly arrived domestic cats in a shelter, and for a different group of cats, completely deprived them of boxes. There were totally varying levels of stress between the two groups of cats, with the cats who had boxes getting used to their environment at a much faster rate and feeling less stressed while also wanting to socialize more.
2. It’s serves as an escape for these anti-social critters. Apparently, cats are totally awful at conflict resolution, and instead of facing their issues head on (LOL, cats need therapy), kitties basically run away from their probs and hide in a box. In other words, for a cat, a box is a safe zone where negative feelings diminish.
