Cat in a Box

Cat owners will be familiar with this scene: You've bought your cat an expensive toy, and what does the cat do? It ignores the toy and jumps straight into the box that the toy came in. No one knows why cats are drawn to boxes like moths to a flame. However, there are a couple of theories.

The first is that small, tight spaces give cats a pleasant, secure feeling. In the wild or on the streets, cats will retreat to caves or holes when threatened. In your home, a box is the perfect replacement. In fact, just having a box nearby makes cats feel less stressed and more willing to interact with humans.

The second theory is that boxes are nice and cozy. One study found that cats are most comfortable when the temperature of the environment is between 30 and 36 degrees Celsius. That's around ten degrees higher than how most cat owners like to keep their homes. Therefore, your cat probably feels chilly most of the time. Surprisingly, cardboard boxes are good heat insulators, so they allow cats to retain body heat.

Put simply, boxes are warm, stress-relieving, and safe to cats. They're the perfect kitty comfort zones!

為何貓咪愛紙箱？
貓飼主會很熟悉這個場景：你為你的貓買了一個昂貴的玩具，而貓會怎麼樣呢？牠不會理會這個玩具而直接跳進裝玩具的箱子裡。沒有人知道為什麼貓被紙箱吸引就像飛蛾撲火一般。然而，有幾種看法。
第一種是狹小緊密的空間帶給貓咪愉快、安全的感覺。在野外或街頭，貓受到威脅時會退到洞穴或坑洞裡。在你家裡，箱子是完美的替代品。事實上，只要附近有個箱子就可以讓貓覺得壓力沒那麼大而且比較願意和人互動。
第二種看法是箱子怡人又舒適。一項研究發現貓在環境氣溫介於攝氏三十到三十六度之間時覺得最舒服。那比大多數貓飼主喜歡讓家裡保持的溫度大約還要高十度。因此，你的貓可能大部分的時候都覺得冷。令人驚訝的是，紙箱是很好的隔熱絕緣體，所以它們能讓貓保持體溫。
簡單來說，箱子對貓而言溫暖、減輕壓力又安全。它們是最適合小貓的舒適區！

automaker 汽車製造業者
mobility 機動性；移動性
sentient 有感知能力的；有知覺力的
navigate 導航；駕駛
voice-controlled 聲控的

We used a GPS device to help navigate us to our destination.
我們用全球定位系統裝置幫我們導航到我們的目的地。

2016/03/09(三)