(In the webmaster chat last week, someone asked about my cats, so I thought I’d throw out a cat post.)
A little while ago someone mentioned the Kitt-In Box. It’s like an inbox for your desk, except that it holds cats. My cat Emmy likes to hang out in box-like objects, e.g.
So I decided to try this Kit-InBox thingie. Lo and behold, she loves it! Here she is giving it a good workout:
Now I get to type without Emmy perching on me as much, and she gets to stay nearby. Every cat is different, but if your cat likes small spaces and boxes too, I’d say to give the kitty inbox a try.
{ 39 comments… read them below or add one }
My cat loves small spaces and boxes too.
Unfortunately, he’s an 18lb cat, so he doesn’t fit too well. (see below) In fact, he frequently knocks me out of bed onto the floor.
Atkins makes his butt look big
I wonder if I can get one of these kitt-in-boxes things for my bed…
I work from my recliner, using my laptop. Someone needs to make one to fit the recliner, so that my bengal kitty, Cinnamon, stops climbing on me and sticking her butt in my face while I’m working!
Matt, how much do you charge for product reviews? :.)
Todd Mintz, I only review stuff that I genuinely want to, and accept no payment. Just to be clear.
netmeg, maybe you need to compute the volume of your cat.
Matt,
Thanks for the update. And my good friend SEO-Emmy looks as great as ever!
I would be very surprised if you can get Oz to jump in that Kit-InBox thing
I already know the volume of my cat. Too Much and Too Loud.
LoL
Matt you are one busy lad
not only webmaster stuff but kitty stuff also
Cool… this is exactly what I need for my cat! I think my keyboard is his favorite place to hang out.
My cat likes to lay across the keyboard, so I’m not sure this would help me. Maybe I just need to buy him a keyboard of his own
This is so much better than the pillow on my desk for my furball! Now I can tell people i am not a pushover to let my cat on my desk, but a very organized cat lover!
Sean, an extra keyboard would be cheaper, so I might try that first.
Why not give Emmy a full-blown computer to go with that keyboard? Put some birdcams on screen and she’ll be entertained for hours … plus sign her up for Google’s Search Quality Team and she can assess the relevance of Google Birdcam Searches!
BTW, I actually had a birdcam up until very recently watching four baby house finch chicks, It was darn cute … until a mean ‘ol Blue Jay grabbed three of ‘em – pretty wild seeing the cruelty of nature – at least it wasn’t the neighbors cat.
Here in the Netherlands we have a saying, which translates as “that’s a cat in a box”. Meaning, that is very easy to achieve. Well, that’s exactly correct.
My previous cat had the habit of curling up on top of my CRT monitor. Now, I have another cat and too bad for him I also have LCD monitors. Maybe, for cat’s sake we should all go back to CRT monitors.
Cats may appear cute and cuddly to Humans because we are to big to be prey.
But just remember, they are of the same family as lions, tigers etc. If were were tiny animals and invaded their space – we would be attacked and killed.
[quote]Cats may appear cute and cuddly to Humans because we are to big to be prey[/quote]
Yes, but they don’t fear us because we’re too big, they feel superior (and slightly contemptuous) to us because we’re not *cats*.
I read somewhere once that the reason cats bring us their kill is not out of affection, as we tend to anthropomorphize, but because they think we’re too stupid to hunt. If we’re not going to feed ourselves, then okay, they’ll step in and provide.
I’ve had maybe 48 cats over my lifetime, and that theory fits pretty well with many of my feline experiences.
Cats are natural born hunters & killers that end-up killing the native wildlife into extinction due to irresponsible cat owners.
Matt, I sure hope your cats aren’t allowed to wander freely?
Yes, we Japanese also know cats prefer a small place.
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=GGaOGw7-HOc
This is not a keyboard thing, but I think you might be interested in using the cooking utensil to rest your cats
I KNEW a cat mastermind was behind all this SEO things
My cat loves being in a box also… I will definitely setup a kitty inbox
I am curious, the objects in the second box are for Emmy? you leave the objects inside the box and she plays with it?
Dave (Original)
“Matt, I sure hope your cats aren’t allowed to wander freely?”
SEO Emmy is a scaredy-cat which likes small spaces and boxes, not a hunter at all. And Ozzie in fact is a vegetarian cat
Hmm, now you can’t do a Doctor Claw on your kitties ass any more!
“Next time Gadget, next time!”
I too had a small kitten from last 2 years, but never thought of kitty inbox.
Will try today for my sweet loving kitten
Thanks Matt
Wish I had my old monstro-desk back – there’s no room on the new one.
My kitties would LOVE this product. It satisfies 3 all important requirements:
1. Be ON stuff – preferably stuff that a human is using at that exact moment. Kitt-in-box is ON the humans desk.
2. Be IN stuff – it’s a BOX – what could be more perfect!
3. Be ASLEEP – judging from the photo – mission accomplished.
And isn’t Emmy looking so very pretty in hers.
Nice! thanks for sharing. I’ll definitely try getting one. But i’m not sure whether my cat can actually fit on one of those. HE is HUGEEE and HEAVY…and he loves my notebook keyboard cuz its always WARM….
How old is Emmy? Mine (“ICE”) is 1.4 years.
re cat volumes just take em down to ILM and get them scanned and converted into a 3d model – it just struck me I am being abit geeky here.
Folks,
Pls. keep in mind, this post of Matt is more than a “Review: Kitt-In Box”. Its also about Advanced Ethical SEO
Matt Cutts Illustrates: What are the links that will stand the test of time?
Hey Matt,
I was one of those people asking you about your cats, after I said I’d got 2 persians. I’ve found a distributor for the comb thing in the UK so I’m getting one!
My cats sleep anywhere too, usually on my laptop when I’m trying to work! They’ve sent emails for me before now when they’re half written by stepping on the send button!
The laundry basket is another favourite of theirs for hiding out in and the top of my Cable TV box, they’ve already broken one of them by making it overheat!
Looks like that would work out better than my current solution… at least it would if I had a desk to put it on.
Maybe my girl is right and the only good cat is a stuffed one!
Looks interesting, but I can’t believe that any cat would have be interested in not sitting *in the way*.
That said, I was just wondering the other day if anyone has ever researched the psychology of cats and their interest in boxes. Any new box or bag is welcomed with a grand investigation from both my cats. It’s certainly better entertainment than any “reality” show on television.
…..
Read this tale of the cat with no face – who is inspiring deformed humans
chasenoface.blogspot.com/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2186047/%27Cat-with-no-face%27-becomes-a-blogging-success.html
As aspiring techies, my cats are currently hanging out in an empty Lenovo ThinkPad box.
What I don’t understand is why a product even needs to be sold for this specific purpose when it could be made just as easily from common objects for nothing.
Just take an old cardboard box, cut the top off of it with a utility knife, throw an old pillow inside of it and an old blanket to cover up the sharp edges of the box (alternatively, you could tape them with packing tape and it works).
It would save at least $45 to do it this way (more if you have the old blanket and pillow), and the animal never knows the difference. I did that once with a dog and she loved the thing…so I built her a second and third (for the living room and my bedroom, respectively). Didn’t cost a dime.
There’s what you need, though, Matt…a dog. They’re smarter, more loyal, and just a plain better pet overall.
It’s a good thing Blogs include nofollow in links posted by Harith
If that SPIN site isn’t a “bad neighborhood”, neither is down-town Bagdad.
@Dave (Original) & Multi-Worded Adam
And I thought you are good friends
Why haven’t you sent some Sphinn Love to my fantastic submission which I mentioned in my previous comment? C’mon be generous
Huh? What did I have to do with Dave?
MWA
As far as I could read comments exchange between you and Dave, I thought you are PALS
I don’t have time for “friends”
My cat Miyu, too, sometimes interrupts me when I use my PC, treading on the keyboard and making noise like “boop!” or putting “ppppppppppp” on the monitor.
The Kitt-In Box seems so comfortable for cats! I wonder if I can get one also in Japan.
(P.S. Emmy has so many toys!)
I have 3 cats, and realized that they like boxes and walls, too. After getting a $80 cat tower, I wondered why they like to lean. Cats either sit or lay or stand all day. Just like us they like to repose, like we do on the couch. How often do you sit in the middle, without leaning on the arm rest. It’s a form of stretching to lean against something. Most of us are more comfortable on one side versus the other, and I suspect cats are too.
These cat boxes are great, but for improvement, lower the sides to about 3 inches, and leave one long side open. They can step in and out easily, and can rest their head or body on one “armrest” or the other. Take care!