Conference misery::feline_v1

    Our eldest, Tigger (the tiger) won't sleep in anything but a cardboard
    box. We bought him a nice new bed one time. You know the kind. All
    nice and padded, high walls with an opening in the front. He pee'd
    in it. He got his cardboard bed back.
    
    Steve

    My cats love plain old cardboard boxes which have a corrugated side.
    Perhaps you could use some of those rather than buying a cardboard
    post - it'd be cheaper!

    In our house, all cardboard boxes have this invisible sign on them
    that only cats can see.  It says, "All cats enter here!"  This is
    the same with any bag left on the floor.
    
    Holly
    
    

    Aja HATES cardboard boxes....
    
    ...when she was about 6 months old and I had bought something that
    came in a VERY large cardboard box. Due to the size of the box,
    the only place I could store it (until dump day) was in the kitchen.
    
    Knowing how curious she was, I figured if I left the box open she'd
    get in there whilst I was at work. To prevent this, I securely folded
    the flaps in. (You know, the method where one side of the flap is
    visible and one side is tucked under...)
    
    ...so I get home and can't find the cat. The box is still solidly
    closed, so it never occurs to me to look in there. After a bit I
    hear a faint crying coming from... you guessed it... the box.
    
    It seems that Aja predictably jumped up on the box during the day.
    Her weight was enough to cause the flaps to bend in and drop her
    through. Then the flaps returned to their original position!
    
    She'd EXPLODE before using a cardboard litterbox...
    
    Edd

    As it happens, there are cardboard boxes scattered throughout the
    house.  And yes, the cats do love to play in them.
    
    However, they're not the same thing as the cardboard scratching
    box, and they don't really use the cardboard boxes for scratching.
    Although I suppose we could try taking some of the corrugated cardboard
    from the regular boxes, cutting it into strips, rolling it up, and
    putting it into the scratching box, to rejuvenate the box.  Still,
    I wish I could find the real things -- well worth the $5.
    
    Do the readers understand what I mean by a cardboard scratching
    box?  Or should I try to describe it?
    
       Gary

    re: .5  what is it?
    

    I don't know why I bothered asking, as I knew someone was going
    to want a description.  Here goes:
    
    The box we have is a long flat box, about 2-3 inches high, 4-5 inches
    wide, and a foot and a half to two feet long.  (You can tell I'm
    just guessing at the dimensions.)  To use it, you open up the entire
    front panel.
    
    Inside, it is filled with a single block of corrugated cardboard.
    The holes formed by the corrugation face you, so that it looks like
    the cardboard equivalent of honeycomb.  That way, the cats are not
    scratching a smooth sheet of paper on the outer surface of the
    cardboard (the way they do when they scratch ordinary cardboard
    boxes).  Instead, they get their claws into the honeycomb holes,
    and scratch through the tops of a few of the columns.  And by the
    way, there's catnip inside the box, under the honeycomb block.
    
    These things can be hung or otherwise positioned vertically on a
    wall.  We keep ours on the floor, and the cats have learned to 
    stand on the box when they scratch.  That way, there's no problem
    with the box moving out from under them.  When they scratch, it
    looks as though they're trying to dig through to the bottom.  (Perhaps
    they are.  They've also been known to tip the box over.  They really
    want to get at their weed.)  I can't say how effective it is at
    keeping their claws neat, but the it certainly gives them something
    fun to scratch.  (Fun for us, that is.)
    
    From the sound of these, you wouldn't think the box would last a
    week.  That's what I thought when I bought it, but I figured it
    was going to help a shelter, so I considered it a donation.  That
    was six or eight months ago, and it's still going strong.  The cats
    have worn it down to about half its original thickness, and it's
    getting to the point where it's no longer strong enough to give
    them any resistance.  
    
    Hope this makes it clear.
    
       Gary

    You asked this question a long time ago, I was wondering, did you
    every find a cardboard scratching post? And if so, where did you
    find one? My SO is moving in and I need to make sure that Bonkers
    won't attack any of her furniture, so it is time to really get a
    scratching post...
    
    	Marty

    I found some at Caldors in Westboro (off of Route 9). 
    Don't know if every Caldors carries them, but it's worth checking.

    Marleen (Sly, Adrienne, Springer, Paws, Midway)
    

    I also saw an ad in either CAT FANCY or CATS (can't remember which)
    last month.  I'll _try_ to remember to look it up tonight and post
    the address tomorrow.
    
    Bernice
    Mother_of_Trouble
   

    Holly-the-cat likes to use the cardboard case of CD as a scratching
    place.  I discovered this by accident when I left one on the floor
    in the kitchen instead of putting it away.  The box is maybe two
    feet long, maybe 18 inches wide, and 5 or 6 inches high.  She can
    almost stretch out on top and scratch, scratch, scratch.  The weight
    of the cans keeps it from moving or collapsing.  A case lasts several
    weeks.  On the other hand, open cardboard boxes have a sign that
    is visible only to Holly, and says "pee here".
                                      
    

    Yes, we got the boxes at Breeder's Pride, in Sudbury.  Thanks to
    Roberta Waxman for the pointer.
    
    So far, the cats don't seem to have attacked the carpeting in the
    new house.  I don't know whether it's because they have alternatives,
    or because the deeper pile (as compared to the old carpeting) isn't
    attractive to them.  They still sometimes attach the couch, though
    they clearly love and use their cardboard boxes.  We have three
    of them set up.
    
       Gary

    Lightning also sees the `sign' that says "This is Lightning's New
    Bed".  I don't care how small the box is, she will try to get in
    it.  She looks so cute laying in a small shoe box with her paws
    and her big fluffy tail sticking out.
    
    Sandi (Lightning's, DejaVu's & Thunder's mom)