Pictures of big cats in boxes proves they like them too

People ask if big cats like boxes. They are referring to the large wild cats normally the lion, tiger, leopard and jaguar. You don’t have to look very hard to find pictures of big cats enjoying snoozing, sleeping and generally messing around in boxes. Yes, they like boxes. Although we are always referring to captive wild cats. You won’t find cardboard boxes in the wild ? but there are rock crevices, caves and impenetrable thickets which serve the purpose. Tigresses select them for birthing.

Do big cats like boxes? Yes, because they are like dens to females
Do big cats like boxes? Yes, because they are like dens to females and safe places to males. Image in the public domain.
Two useful tags. Click either to see the articles: Toxic to cats | Dangers to cats

Large wild cats must have an instinctive drive to use places which provide protection on all sides and the large cardboard box does nicely in captivity. And the protection and reassurance that the box provides goes right the way through the family of cats to the domestic cat. We don’t really need pictures of big cats in boxes to prove it, but they make good pics.

Big Cat Rescue (BCR) provide boxes, catnip and balls to hide in and play with. They know that at heart the big wild cat is the same as a domestic cat and vice versa. Fundamentally, there is just size difference and domestication which separates the tiger from the cuddly tabby.

Lion enjoys the equivalent of a box
Lion enjoys the equivalent of a box. Image in the public domain.

Here are some other ways domestic cats are like big cats: they both knead, like catnip, rely on scent marking of territory, autogroom (self-groom) a lot, chase laser pointers and other play objects and enjoy messing around with toilet paper.

A little bit about birth dens – the wild equivalent of the cardboard box

Incidentally many breeders provide cardboard boxes for their breeding queens to use as dens for birthing. And for the tiger during the first few weeks of the lives of her cubs she spends most of her time in the den. She leaves for short periods to hunt and drink. Her normal movements are hugely curtailed, and her home range shrinks dramatically to a fraction of its former size reports Mel Sunquist in The Social Organisation of tigers in Royal Chitwan National Park (1981).

Tigresses behave like domestic cats when caring for their young. They are very cautious and protective and will move their cubs to a new den if they are disturbed or threatened.

Below are some pages on big cats.

The clouded it is insufficiently protected and is being illegally traded as a consequence

The clouded leopard is insufficiently protected and is being illegally traded as a consequence

A study published in 2015 paints a damning picture of the protections afforded the clouded leopard which are clearly insufficient ...
Jaguar

Exceptionally rarely jaguars attack humans but have any humans been killed?

I've been digging around the Internet looking for information about jaguars attacking humans and even killing them. There is no ...
Mystery big cat sighting in Berlin was a wild boar

Mystery big cat sightings are always recorded in fuzzy videos

Every time - and I mean every time - I read a report about a mysterious big cat sighting the ...
Can tigers mate with lions, leopards and jaguars?

Can tigers mate with: leopards, jaguars and lions?

The best source for information of this kind is Sarah Hartwell's messybeast.com. She is quite clear on this. While lions, ...
Kodkod with coniferous forest as backdrop

Wild cat conservation is on our doorstep as everything is connected

Forest Dwelling Cats This is an update from an e-zine I used to write many years ago. The point made ...
Picture of two male lions in the pouring rain

Lion pictures – plus a map showing where they were taken

I wanted to build a page on lion pictures. But how to do it a bit differently and usefully was ...

Please search using the search box at the top of the site. You are bound to find what you are looking for.

Useful tag. Click to see the articles: Cat behavior
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Note: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified.

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