An Orange Cat Found His Box Already Full of Chicks
A battered cardboard box sits on the living room floor, lined with straw, and three yellow chicks have settled into it as if it were a palace. Above the rim hangs the big, fluffy face of an orange longhair cat, peering down with the focused interest of an inspector at a building site. Blankets and bookshelves are blurred behind them.
If there is a box in the room, a cat is probably going to sit in it. Behavior experts often point to the sense of security that enclosed spaces offer. Cats are both predators and prey in the wild, so a box helps them feel hidden while still allowing a view of what is going on. A box also keeps in body heat, which cats appreciate, and it gives them a place to retreat.
Orange cats are not a breed but a color, and the gene that produces it is more common in males. Orange tabbies in particular have a reputation for being friendly and food-loving, though every cat is different. Whatever the coat, boxes tend to win over expensive beds.
For the chicks, the box is a safe little world, with straw to scratch and walls to lean against. The cat can only look in from above, but he seems perfectly content to stand guard. It is the simplest kind of friendship: a box, some straw, and good company.
