Welcome to a weekly feature on my blog – Ben’s Zone. Written by husband… Ben. A foodie, coffee obsessed, ex-smoking, ex-drinking and Ridgeback loving Dad. Who is also seriously into his fitness.  You can find him on the blog (most) Sundays. Enjoy 🙂

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Purrfect Cat Box Review

I reviewed a Pawsome Box for dogs a few months back and was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the contents. Purrfect cat boxes are a monthly subscription based service and the cost works out to about £20 per month. I thought the dog box was an easy sell, as long as the items were of decent quality it was going to be a win as dogs love to eat and play. The cat box was always going to be pitched at a harder audience. I’ve had cats my whole life and my experience has been simple; the more you spend on stuff for them, the less likely they are to be interested. I thought I would give it a whirl anyway 😉 .

So, looking at the contents, our box for August arrived with the following:

• Small cloth mouse that can be filled with catnip (supplied)
• Dangly jingly mouse toy
• Pet Munchies (gourmet chicken liver treats)
• Pudding classic, some kind of squeezable cat treat
• Jingly cloth ball for chasing
• Plastic pet bowl with liquid layer that can be cooled for use in the summer

So in terms of straight up value, not bad really, probably £20 give or take, so decent value. How did it cope with a cat who is obstreperous even by cat standards, Scout? I will review each item in detail.

Pet Munchies Gourmet Chicken Liver Treats

These really really stink. That’s good for cats as stinky means ‘interesting’ and indeed Scout did get interested, but Florence (45kg Rhodesian Ridgeback) was more interested. Given that she has a longer history of getting treats (no urination on the floor, night time face clawing or morning attacks) she quite rightly thought they were for her. She went for the treat, Scout went for her, she was sorry. I’d probably feed them to Scout again but only if I wanted my remaining furniture trashed. Plus they make your hands stink.

In theory (5/5) in practice (3/5)

Pudding Classic

This is a squidgy substance that you squirt onto the tip of your finger. Thankfully it does not stink. The gentle feline then licks the pudding from your finger. It’s a deep bonding moment. Scout bites, it was painful. Upside, no stinky fingers.

Theory (4/5) Practice (4/5) just put it in their bowl.

Jingly Ball Thing

Nothing to say here, all cats like jingly balls, this is cloth so there’s something to get the claws into and really simulate ravaging a small animal. All round win.

In theory (5/5) in practice (5/5) classic feline business.

Dangly Jingly Toy

This is a great idea, you dangle the toy for the cat, the cat attacks the toy, you bond over a display of simulated savagery. Problem: cats are smart and notice that the dangling originates from your arm, thus, deal with problem at source, attack arm. It’s not fair to say the toy is a bad idea as for some time the cat runs around with the toy like a lion if that lion was small and had a very extreme case of short man syndrome.

In theory (5/5) in practice (3/5) yes, marked down because it hurt.

Liquid Lined Cool Bowl

In theory these are a good idea, you put them in the fridge, the liquid cools and so keeps the food cool when you serve it. Necessary if the food is out of the packet for longer than 9 nanoseconds but in our house if it’s down longer than that the dog eats it, not our daughter, never our daughter. Big plus of this is the plastic bowl meaning that if the cat attacks because the food is not being put on the floor quickly enough, the bowl does not smash, success.

In theory (4/5) in practice (4/5)

Cloth Mouse Filled With Catnip

Important point, cat nip has zero effect on kittens, so don’t bother. Next important point, never ever try and grow catnip unless you want your back garden to become a den of feline iniquity populated only by really stoned and jittery looking cats.

I’m sidetracked. Giving your cat catnip is very very funny every now and again, it sends them nuts and then it leaves them utterly spangled (technical term) and unwilling to move for several hours after. Don’t do it all the time or they’ll suffer all of the bad things that happens to people when they get unfettered access to narcotics (appearing on the daily mail website, shaving their head, silly clothes.).

So this toy is ace. Let them play with it, then put it away somewhere they cannot access. Catnip is like the reverse of booze, what is surly, taciturn and aggressive suddenly becomes relaxed, happy and seemingly connected to the universe as one single continuum. On the face of it, it’s far too good for cats.

In theory (5/5) in practice (7/5) simply for the peaceful afternoon.

Summary

In conclusion, if you fancy treating your pets to a monthly care package you could go far wrong with the Purrfect boxes. They’re generally good value, decent contents not punitively priced and would also make a great gift.

*Disclosure: We went sent this gift box for the purpose of this review, however, all opinions are our own.