I Think I Know Why Flojo Is Terrified Of Boxes
By Janey1966
@Janey1966 (24170)
Carlisle, England
April 29, 2013 2:18pm CST
When we picked up my computer chair from next door it came in a massive box, as it was stored upright due to it being fully assembled.
Anyway, as soon as Flojo saw this box she was absolutely TERRIFIED of it, to the point where she had to do another wee in her tray.
After John had taken the chair out he proceeded to take the huge box to pieces in order for it to go in the boot, ready for the Recycling Centre. During that time Flojo ran around the room, terrified again and she NEVER took her eyes off the box.
Once John put the pieces in his boot I picked Flojo up and she was literally shaking with fear and pulled herself closer to me.
I have no doubt in my mind (now) that the previous owners tried dumping her in a box, as she was a Rescue Cat. The story was that Flojo was 'found' and brought back to a house, where she attacked the kids in the family, so then she was given up to Cat's Paws.
I think it was the other way round though. I think this wonderful 'family' tried dumping her in a box and she tried following them back home, thus they had no alternative but to give her up to Cat's Paws.
I know most cats don't like big boxes and (in particular) bin bags but..I dunno, the way she clung on to me as if her life depended on it, does make me wonder. It was quite a while she was in my arms before I could put her back down on the floor again.
I have no doubt in my mind (now) that the previous owners tried dumping her in a box, as she was a Rescue Cat. The story was that Flojo was 'found' and brought back to a house, where she attacked the kids in the family, so then she was given up to Cat's Paws.
I think it was the other way round though. I think this wonderful 'family' tried dumping her in a box and she tried following them back home, thus they had no alternative but to give her up to Cat's Paws.
I know most cats don't like big boxes and (in particular) bin bags but..I dunno, the way she clung on to me as if her life depended on it, does make me wonder. It was quite a while she was in my arms before I could put her back down on the floor again.1 person likes this
12 responses
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
29 Apr 13
Bless her heart! I'm so sad to hear what might have happened to her. I had a cat and she loved boxes. I had a big computer boc that I put holes in it and she used it as her cat house for play. I miss her so much. CatsandDogs has her. It's been about 4 years now that I had to give her up. Broke my heart. Anyway, does she like to play in small boxes? Coke boxes are such fun for cats.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
30 Apr 13
Funnily enough, John has a box with some Irn Bru in it so I might chuck it on the floor when he's finished with it, to see what Flojo does.
She loves the cardboard toilet roll thingy. In fact, toys in general bore her, she likes playing with everyday stuff..and she loves the ping pong ball. If we bought her a ball with a bell in it she wouldn't be interested.
Is there any way of finding out what happened to your cat? Many years ago I had to give up a stray to the RSPCA as my Dad wouldn't allow me to keep him (we had 3 cats at that time) and I named this cat FOUR as a joke and the name stuck. I was on employment benefit then and I even used some of it in order to get him 'done' but Dad still wouldn't let me keep him.
Anyway, once I got a job I would ring the RSPCA up each day to see if FOUR had got re-homed. After about two weeks he did. I wasn't given the exact details, only that it was a single guy who laughed (apparently) when he saw the cat's name on his pen..and that was it. Re-homed.
I hope something similar has happened to your cat.
Is there any way of finding out what happened to your cat? Many years ago I had to give up a stray to the RSPCA as my Dad wouldn't allow me to keep him (we had 3 cats at that time) and I named this cat FOUR as a joke and the name stuck. I was on employment benefit then and I even used some of it in order to get him 'done' but Dad still wouldn't let me keep him.
Anyway, once I got a job I would ring the RSPCA up each day to see if FOUR had got re-homed. After about two weeks he did. I wasn't given the exact details, only that it was a single guy who laughed (apparently) when he saw the cat's name on his pen..and that was it. Re-homed.
I hope something similar has happened to your cat.@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
30 Apr 13
Oh I see, sorry I didn't realise. Do you ever see pics of her?
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
30 Apr 13
I know where Sassy is. She lives With a mylotter friend in North Carolina. She is her mommy now. If I could have her, I would but its out of the question.
@spicysweetie21 (2573)
• United States
29 Apr 13
That's so sad that someone could have done that to her. When I hear about people neglecting or being cruel to animals, it just makes my blood boil. I have never experienced a cat that was scared of big boxes, my cats are the opposite of that in fact. My cats LOVE boxes. They like to make a game out of jumping in and out of them, they love sleeping in them. Cardboard boxes make them so happy that whenever we get a new appliance, we don't throw or recycle the box for about a week, we leave it empty in the living room so they can have fun with it for awhile 
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
29 Apr 13
This box was rather massive though as it had to house a fully assembled computer chair with a high back. I also think the noise of the cardboard being ripped up by hubby spooked her as well.
1 person likes this
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
29 Apr 13
I love animals like they are children. I wish our landlord (family) felt the same. They won't let our animals come into the house. I miss that because we had our dogs in our other house. But because Rosie tore up the carpet and the tile flooring in the other house. Family owned that too.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
30 Apr 13
We let Flojo go where she likes. When she had her cystitis a while back to relieve the pain she would stretch upwards, invariably scratching our NEW wallpaper in the hallway. She didn't scratch the crappy stuff, oh, no! I couldn't shout at her because - well - what's the point? She was telling us she was in pain and scratching was her way of communicating that fact.
Fortunately, after a visit to the vets and changes in her diet, she's fine now.
@wolfie34 (26771)
• United Kingdom
29 Apr 13
That definitely adds up, otherwise why else would she be so scared stiff of boxes, and cat's are pretty intelligent and not much scares them, I mean, really scares them. People can be so cruel, I know when we got our cat from the sanctuary, the woman who had Meg the cat, wanted the sanctuary to take her, but, because the sanctuary was full up at the time, the woman said, quite casually I'll let the cat out and drive off, so the sanctuary had no choice but to take her. Fortunately for he she found a good home with us and here she is, 20 in November bless her, although I seriously think when she goes for her check up in July the vet will recommend she is put to sleep.
@wolfie34 (26771)
• United Kingdom
29 Apr 13
They are like our surrogate children in a way, you know I still really miss my beautiful ginger and white cat, Zeus, I had to leave him behind, I have a photo of him in my arms which is framed in my bedroom. I loved that cat sooo much, but I couldn't take him with me. There was only two things I missed when I left my ex, the cat (I know we had four and you shouldn't have favourites) but he was my son in a way, oh and the washing machine, I missed that
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
30 Apr 13
LOL. I had to leave the washer/dryer behind as well.
I could take Jodie the cat with me though. He'd be under the floorboards if left to Blobby.
@ElicBxn (63235)
• United States
30 Apr 13
Oh my! You are probably right. All my cats like boxes and have loads of fun in them. However, lots of cats also like to get under the sheets when you make a bed and stuff. Not The Doctor, if you covered him with a sheet he panicked. He'd start backing up until he got trapped at the end of the bed. He finally would let me cover him, so long as I kept the sheet off him by tenting it with my leg, and even then he didn't last long under there. I suspect that when he had been dumped, and he was found in a parking lot at a busy intersection, someone had stuffed him in a pillow case.
I know people that can carry their cats to the vet in one, I never have been able to.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
30 Apr 13
The guy who wrote 'A Street Cat Named Bob' (James Bowen) said in his book that he had to take Bob to the RSPCA vet in a recycling box as he had nothing else at the time. If you ever come across the book please buy it as it's wonderfully uplifting in many ways.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdAFjB7AeYA
1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
30 Apr 13
If only they could speak, we'd get to know such a lot about them!
@Loverbear (4918)
• United States
3 May 13
It sounds like Flojo was abused with a box. If the people that had her had children they could have forced her into a box and closed it so the cat couldn't escape. It also could be that they threw boxes at her, or turned her in to the humane society in a sealed box without breathing holes. It's hard to figure out what kind of abuse an animal had before we adopted them.
Murphy, who passed away Feb 22, 2013, was terrified of being in the car. I would put her in her carrier and she would vomit and poop continuously until I got her to the vet and when I picked her up she was the same way on the way home. I only took her to the vet once and then that was it, the poor thing had enough trauma. I couldn't even take her outside because she would panic so badly. It stems from her being dumped at the humane society one night. The person didn't close the door properly and she escaped. It took them three days to capture her and get her inside. That terror remained with her until the day she passed away. I had her 19 years and she was totally happy being house bound and not going outside.
I would love to get a hold of the people who abuse animals...I would start by doing to them what they do to the animals!!!! There is NO excuse for abusing animals!!!!!
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
30 Apr 13
oh the poor baby. im so glad you are such a good mom. she is very lucky now and will likely soon settle down with your loving care and have more confidence.the last owner certainly hurt her feelings i think @Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
30 Apr 13
We have had her since 2008 and she's now 6 years old so..the people who had her before us had her as a kitten then (probably) got bored with her once she grew out of the kitten stage.
In my experience, cats play MORE once they get older. I've witnessed this many times and it's so cute. People who don't experience older cats don't know what they're missing.
@wilsongoddard (7291)
• United States
29 Apr 13
Quite likely your theory is correct. Poor Flojo. Give her an extra hug and tell her that my trio send meows.
My cats love boxes. An unguarded box is likely to be turned into a cat cave--whether it is a shoebox or a large box. Of course, the closet has also been taken over by them... and dresser drawers... and any unguarded suitcase... and the top of the washer/dryer... and... Well, you get the picture. It's their place, and we just pay the rent on it.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
29 Apr 13
Yes, my first cat Tibby liked to climb in cupboards, including the airing cupboard (for obvious reasons) lol.
Hugs duly received and returned.
@Shellyann36 (11385)
• United States
30 Apr 13
That poor baby. Most of the cats that I have had experience with have not liked boxes unless they were small enough for the cat to stand in them and be able to see out of them. I am glad she has a nice family like you that loves her.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
30 Apr 13
We've had her since 2008 and she's 6 this year, so still a baby I suppose. I couldn't really cuddle her when we first got her but now she can't get enough of it lol.
@randylovesdar (4932)
• United States
30 Apr 13
I have a couple of cats who are afraid of plastic grocery bags and we think it may because the old owners would crumble them up as punishment. Our old cat Tommy was a stray and we do not know who had him last and our cat Blackee came from an animal shelter called 4 Paws and is also scared of plastic bags. My cat Blackee loves boxes and sleeps in them every chance she gets. The smaller the box the better.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
30 Apr 13
In some cases it could be the rattling that bags make that cats don't like..but Mum's cats actually RUN AWAY from bin bags, in particular and they're rescues. Locked in a shed to starve whilst the owners moved house. Fortunately, a kindly neighbour fed them and gave them up to the RSPCA as I don't think he could afford to keep both cats. They're a mother and daughter combination and Cat's Paws (shelter) insisted they stayed together as that's how they were found..together in the shed. The Mum is now 10 and the daughter 9, so they're getting on a bit but still the most wonderful, loving cats. Amazing considering what they'd been through previously. In fact, they've always been that way. The younger one is a bit timid but still extremely affectionate once her head gets stroked...which is a lot when I'm there lol.
@tinym8 (420)
• United States
29 Apr 13
Hi Janey,
Yes, I also think your theory of why Flojo is afraid of boxes is correct. Cats do usually love boxes. It was two of my cats favorite thing to go inside boxes. They would also scoot them along the floor. Sometimes they jumped at them down at the bottom so the box would bounce and go across the floor.
When they were kittens it was so cute when they both got inside a tissue box at once. Their two little heads popped up the hole in the top. Soooo cute!
Try to get Flojo used to boxes so she isn't so terrified when she sees one. Start with a very small box and work up to tissue size, then a little larger, etc. Leave a tiny box near her for a while and see how she reacts. She will be much calmer and happier if she can get used to them. All households have boxes! Good luck with it.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
29 Apr 13
She's OK with smaller boxes, it's just this one was..well, MASSIVE is the word as the chair was assembled. Usually, things like this are flat-packed (as my computer desk was recently) and she can cope with that.
I did plug the Feliway diffuser in soon after the 'incident' and it zonked her out, causing her to purr wildly. I've now turned it off and she's fine.
