ASHLAND – About three years ago, Dawn LaFontaine was cat sitting for her mother when she noticed an eyesore in the house.

“I saw all these cardboard boxes in her otherwise beautiful living room,” Fontaine said. The boxes were for her mother’s cats. “It got me thinking … I always wanted to start my own business. I knew I could create something a little more interesting and a little more fun and a little safer than the disgusting amazon boxes that she had in her living room that day.”

Cheese cat condo. Submitted photo

As a result, LaFontaine started Cat in the Box, a Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) certified company that designs, manufactures and sells stylish and fun cardboard cat condos that are 100 percent animal safe. The company recently was accepted as a cohort member of StartUp Worcester, which encourages and nurtures new businesses in the Worcester area.

LaFontaine said anyone who owns a cat knows cats love boxes, particularly boxes made of corrugated cardboard, which is cardboard usually made of three different layers, the two outer layers having a smooth surface while the central inner layer is grooved or ridged inside. She said there are scientific reasons for cats’ love of corrugated boxes. They help cats control their temperature and relieve stress.

On her Cat in the Box website, LaFontaine cites a 2006 study by the National Research Council that states a cat’s thermoneutral zone is between 86- and 97-degrees Fahrenheit, which is a good 20 degrees higher than that of human owners. The NRC study also found that cats are typically housed at around 72 degrees, which is at least 14 degrees too cool for a cat.

“I have a true, deep, and primary commitment to animal welfare,” she said. “Cats want corrugated cardboard. They don’t want any ordinary box. They would probably sit in any box, but they want the corrugation because it makes cardboard very insulating. Cats have an issue with the way we heat our homes. They like things warmer than we do. So that’s one of the things they like about corrugated cardboard. It keeps them warm.”

A study of boxes and cats conducted by Ethologist Claudia Vinke of Utrecht University in the Netherlands said the corrugated cardboard

Gingerbread cat condo. Submitted photo.

boxes provide relief to stressed out cats because it gives them an opportunity to hide. “It’s natural for a stressed cat to withdraw to a hiding place, like a cardboard box, to self soothe,” LaFontaine said. 

Some of LaFonataine’s premium corrugated cardboard cat condos available include the Spooky Cat Haunted House Cardboard Condo, the Cat in the Box Gift Card, the Gingerbread Cat Playhouse, the Monster Cheese Wedge, and Mega Milk Carton. 

LaFontaine not only wanted cats to enjoy her boxes, it was important for cat guardians to enjoy the product as well. “Other than my commitment to animal welfare, my second interest is just being creative and this is a very fun and creative product,” she said. Condos like the milk carton and the cheese come already decorated, but others like the gingerbread house come as a plain box that people assemble and decorate themselves with stickers.

“Everyone who gets one of these boxes can decorate them and do it differently,” LaFontaine said. “They can do all kinds of super creative things with them. They can decorate it however they like. They get the plain box gingerbread house and it comes with the stickers. People go crazy. They put Christmas lights on them. For the beach cottage, someone made an actual beach. It was like a sandy litter box for their cats. They put fish netting over it. They put starfish and real shells all over it. People really go crazy and really love the creative arts and crafts part of the product.”

LaFontaine said the difference between her boxes and a used shipping box is that cat owners can be assured that her boxes will be safe for their pet. “What cat owners don’t want is a filthy, dirty old Amazon box that’s been in and out of off-loading docks, in and out of trucks, with unknown inks on it in their homes,” she said. “They want something that’s clean, that’s cat dedicated, and reasonably attractive. So, some people will get them, assemble them and not decorate them. They just want something safe.” 

LaFontaine said there are no standards for pets regarding inks, but there are FDA standards for humans, “so, the best that I could do is go by human standards.” She uses human-grade water and soy-based inks. The adhesives, stickers, and the toners are FDA approved for contact with human food. “The toners and adhesives on the stickers are specially manufactured with materials that are FDA approved for direct contact for human food,” she said. The boxes are also eco-friendly, made from 100 percent recycled material, as well as being 100 percent recyclable. 

LaFontaine has been merging her love of animals and her creative imagination ever since she was a young girl. “As kids, I was probably about seven-years-old, before Habitrails had existed, my sister and I made Habitrails for our gerbils. I used tissue boxes, toilet paper tubes, and paper towel tubes to entertain my small animals. I had every kind of pet imaginable as a child. I built things, sewed things, designed things for my pets.”

As an adult, she made winter coats for her 160-pound Great Dane and washable igloos for her pet guinea pigs. “As an adult, when I couldn’t find what I was looking for in the big box pet stores, I created it for my own pets,” she said. “The problem is the big box stores address a certain audience. They’re looking to sell things that everybody needs, leashes and collars and food dishes, but the really unique things that pet owners may want for their pets, like creative things, they don’t have.”

Dog coats and igloos just led to cat condos as just another creative avenue for LaFontaine. Chris, her husband, has been very helpful in her cat condo business venture. 

“He’s very supportive,” she said pointing to the wall of packed cat condo boxes all along the walls of her basement office. “First of all, he’s packed every single one of these boxes over there. I’m actually paying someone to pack them now, but he has packed thousands of boxes. He goes with me to UPS, to FedEx, to the Post Office to help me carry some of my wholesale orders that have to be shipped. He’s beyond supportive.” 

“I just thought it was a terrific idea to combine all of her interests and all of her passions for being creative and doing something with animals,” Chris said. “It just seemed like a perfect fit. You can see the passion in the products that she brings from her passion for pets. I absolutely completely support what she’s done.”

The response for the cat condos has been great. She’s had orders from Canada, France, and Germany. “Well, that’s the best thing,” LaFontaine said. “The world of social media. I actually don’t have to create any of my own content for social media, because people send me, literally every single day, photos of their pets enjoying my products or videos of pets enjoying my products. All I do is repost what they have sent me.”

People can decorate their own cat condos. Submitted photo.

As a new member of the StartUp Worcester cohort, LaFontaine said she is grateful for the business opportunities the program provides. “The kick-off meeting was literally a few days ago,” she said. “I’m so excited to be a part of that program. I was thrilled to hear my application had been accepted. It was a very small cohort of a dozen small companies. The opportunity it’s going to provide for me is tremendous. I get to work with a mentor. I get to avail myself with all the facilities and resources that the Worcester Chamber of Commerce has to offer. I’m thrilled.”

As LaFontaine continues to grow her business, the experience has been rewarding. “What’s been most gratifying is being able to connect people to other cat and animal lovers all over the world,” she said. “It’s just wonderful to have these like-minded people who love animals as much as I do in my life.”

For more information about LaFontaine and her cat condos, visit her website at www.thecatisinthebox.com.