The problem is that cats can flawlessly detect when something was made for them to use, and then will not deign to use it.

Meanwhile, the cardboard box you have forgotten to take to the recycling for three weeks will become their palace.

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fullstop 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I have food periodically delivered from Chewy, and I keep the box. Each month, the old box is recycled and the new box is put to use: https://i.imgur.com/lFgp63O.jpeg

There is definitely an attraction aspect related the "freshness" of the box, as there are squabbles over which cat gets to use the new box. These squabbles wane over time, until the new box arrives.

	▲	zdware 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Same habit here!

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mcswell 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

We got a nice cozy fuzzy cat bed. So naturally the cat decided to sit in...the cardboard box the bed came in.

	▲	bartvk 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		We once got a cat bed with a soft canopy. It held up due to the stiffness of the fabric. The cat found out that it’s possible to make the canopy sag by putting her full weight on it. She never actually slept inside it, only on top of it. When she died of old age, the bed looked old and disheveled, but the inside was pristine…

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rationalist 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I just put an appropriately-sized cardboard box on the corner of my desk.

	▲	linsomniac 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Ditto, a short box from wet cat food worked really well to keep my cats off the laptop. I have a USB keyboard and external monitors, so the laptop sits off to the side, and is warm, so they loved to sleep there. Particularly a problem since it also has a button that powers off the laptop. I made a keyboard cover, but even then it was problematic with them sleeping on it (thermal throttling). Putting a box on the desk solved that, they prefer it, until a second cat wants to join the party, which is thankfully rare.

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pdpi 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I deliberately leave the most recent delivery box out for my cat to lounge in. Sometimes it’s a small studio flat, other times (like when my 3d printer arrived) it’s a whole palace. She likes them either way.

	▲	PhilipRoman 6 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Mine likes them as well, but usually within 24 hours they're transformed into thousands of tiny cardboard pieces.
	▲	ChrisMarshallNY 5 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Chewy.com deliberately indicates that its boxes are for cats. Also, their brown paper filler is loved by my cat. He doesn’t like Amazon packaging paper, but is all over Chewy paper. I wonder if they add a scent.