No products in the cart.
Actually, it isn’t just circles, but any defined area. We set something down—a box, a bag, a neatly folded sweater—and within minutes, our cat is sitting in it. Not near it or investigating it, but fully, deliberately in it.
Even when there’s nothing there at all the same thing happens. A faint outline on the floor. A patch of sunlight. An invisible boundary that only the cat seems to understand compells them to take up residence in it, however temporarily.
This behavior is surprisingly consistent and surprisingly common. Cats are drawn to defined spaces—edges, borders, however loosley defined. Anything, even a just the suggestion of a boundry that creates a sense of enclosure is enough.
And that, it is thought, is the key – enclosure. We all know how cats adore boxes. To be in one gives them comfort. Not necessarily physical comfort. They’ll climb into the tiniest boxes which certainly cannot be comfortable – but psychologically such enclosures – defined spaces – give a sense of security – of being in a space which is easily protected while all around them is shifting and changing and in which anything can happen – but not within their newely claimed enclave.
Inside a boundary, a cat can relax more deeply. Their guard drops. Next time your cat climbs into such a space, look for this relaxion taking place. The space doesn’t have to be soft or warm. It just has to feel contained. And it makes cats feel contented, safe.
There’s also an element of control. Cats don’t just stumble into these spaces—they choose them. And once they do, they tend to settle in with intention, as if they’ve claimed something that wasn’t there a moment ago.
If you watch closely, you’ll notice they don’t fidget much once they’ve decided. They arrive, turn once or twice, and then become still.
It’s a small act, but a very complete one.
Maybe that’s part of what makes it so satisfying for them to experience and for us to watch. In a way that feels almost deliberate, they create a place—and then fully inhabit it. Pure contentment.