This Modular Cat House Kit Is the Upgraded Cardboard Box Your Pet Has Always Wanted

How many times have you bought your cat a fancy new bed only to discover that it prefers the box it came in? If you’re a long-time cat parent, the answer is probably “one too many.” Try as we might to impress our pet, cats just don’t seem to care.

So, instead of trying to force your cat inside yet another new “home” (trust me, it never works—I still have the scars to prove it) why not give it what it really wants? A box. Katbox, a new Kickstarter project, is a DIY modular cat house kit that, when assembled, looks like a big, stylish wooden box. 

However, what makes the Katbox stand out from similar products on the market is the interchangeable square pieces it’s made from. These interchangeable elements, made from biodegradable and recyclable products, can be used to build an unlimited array of fun (for your cat) structures. 

According to the Kickstarter page, depending on your imagination, the Katbox can become “a tent, room, attic, tower, hideaway, lookout tower: the list goes on and on.”

The Katbox is also fully upgradeable, which means that you can start with a simple design and then enhance it or rebuild it when your cat grows bored of it. Walkaways and ramps are also currently in development and will be on sale in the future. Since the Katbox “disassembles into a small pile,” it’s super easy to transport and store.

Even better, the Katbox is good not only for our cats but also for the environment. The modules are made from sustainable wood, whereas the rubber bands used to connect the modules are created from recycled bike tubes. Every DIY kit also comes with a wooden stick made of recycled chopsticks in case you need some help inserting the rubber bands. 

The project, which is led by Jaroslav Chorny, a graphic designer and professional 3D modeler, initially started as a fundraising idea for the non-profit Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association (VOKRA), an organization that was in a desperate need for a kitten ICU incubator. The fundraiser was a success, but Katbox proved so popular that it didn’t make any sense to keep the design a secret. So Chorny and his team decided to make the product available to the general public.

If you want to support the project (and receive your very own Katbox at 50% discount), you can choose to pledge anywhere between $19 and $110.