Said It Here

Why do cats prefer cardboard boxes over expensive toys?

Cats naturally ignore expensive store-bought items in favor of ordinary cardboard boxes and paper bags. This leaves owners frustrated after spending money on elaborate cat furniture that their pets completely refuse to use.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

  1. 1
    Providing cardboard boxes instead of buying expensive toys
  2. 2
    giving cats simple boxes and paper bags instead of expensive furniture

In their words

Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.

If I bought them a million-dollar house, they’d still choose this cardboard box 😂source ↗

killuaeatsomeshrooms · r/cats · 10 upvotes

I bought my cat a cat tree with three floors, a hammock, a hiding box and a scratching post, for €75 and he prefers a paper bag or a simple box.source ↗

Jaumele · r/cats · 1 upvotes

Where this came up

People with this problem also raised