Cats chewing on cardboard has long been a common behavior exhibited by cats around the world. Whether your cat is chewing on a cardboard box, or the toilet paper roll, you are most likely very confused as to why your cat is chewing on cardboard. In today’s article, we are going to discuss this common cat behavior, and explain how chewing cardboard is very natural for cats.
Why do cats chew on cardboard?
Cats chew on cardboard for the following reasons:
Natural Instinct
When cat’s are in the wild, they usually hunt small rodents such as mice or moles. Perhaps your cat still brings these animals back to your porch, and maybe even puts the carcases in your shoe. When cats live in the wild and must eat these rodents as their food, they are forced to chop up the bodies into really small pieces so that they can fit in their little mouth and be digested. They spend a very long time chewing their prey in order to achieve this. This natural chewing instinct is one of the reasons why cats chew on cardboard.
Tooth Pain
Chewing on cardboard can be very soothing for a cat that is dealing with tooth pain. Since cardboard is nice and soft, and provides a nice relief to an inflamed tooth or gum. Kittens will often chew on cardboard when they are going through the painful process of teething. Adult cats might chew on cardboard in order to soothe a toothache or inflamed gum.
Leaving their mark
Similar to dog’s peeing on every tree they pass, cats love leaving their mark. Cat’s usually do this by passing on the scent from their fur or face on to objects in order to let other animals know that the cat was there. Similarly, your cat may be chewing on cardboard in order to leave their mark by creating hundreds of little pieces of cardboard with their saliva and scent on it.
Bored
A cat may also chew on cardboard because they are very bored. They probably view cardboard as another toy to play with. They may also know that chewing up the cardboard will help get your attention. If you do not want your cat chewing up cardboard, we recommend spending a lot of time interacting with your cat so it doesn’t feel the urge to chew up cardboard.
