What is a Cat Lady Box?
Cat Lady Box is a cat subscription box that mails out an assortment of exclusive cat-themed items for cat ladies and their kitty companions. Every month, subscribers receive unique goods that smash outdated cat ladies’ stereotypes.
Dorian Wagner, a self-proclaimed crazy cat lady founded the company in 2015. Wagner says, “CatLadyBox was born out of my love for cats, my passion for cat rescue, and my determination to change the way the world thinks of cat ladies.”.
We love that this was one of the first cat-themed boxes to hit the scene when subscription boxes were #trending. And we love that the company often chooses independent artists or small businesses to curate the cat lady exclusive items!
But even more than that, as huge advocates for the “adopt don’t shop” philosophy, we can’t gush enough about how Cat Lady Box also supports real cats!
With the CatLadyBox Cares Program, the company donates part of its proceeds every month to cat rescues, shelters, or TNR programs.
What subscription levels does Cat Lady Box offer?
Cat Lady Box offers two different boxes, Crazy Cat Lady Box and Cat Lady Box. You can subscribe for a single month for yourself or as a gift to your cat lady BFF. Or you could sign up for the 3-month or 6-month plan to save a few dollars.
CrazyCatLady Box
This subscription box includes an assortment of 3 – 4 cat-themed items and 2 goodies for your cats! The items include anything from apparel, jewelry, and accessories to artwork and home décor. The exclusive cat lady items for your kitties are often toys or other treats. $39.99/month
CatLady Box
This is the OG Cat Lady Box subscription. This box only includes an assortment of 3 – 4 cat-themed exclusive cat lady items for humans. No cat toys or treats for your kitty in this box. $34.99/month
Unboxing the CrazyCatLady Box
This year we had the opportunity to unbox January 2021’s CrazyCatLady Box.
Our staff writer and junior editor Victoria recruited 10-month-old twin tuxedo kittens, Rocket and Rosie, to see if Cat Lady Box is anything worth meowing about. Here’s the scoop.
Featured Cat Lady artist: Sara Gontero
Italian illustrator Sara Gontero’s mini print “Nevica!”, which fittingly translates to “It’s snowing!” in English, features a fluffy tabby trekking through great mounds of pristine white snow.
This mini print captures the essence of winter. The details, like the powdery snowflakes flecking the kitty’s tawny face and the textured snowdrifts, make the artwork pop.
This is an iconic little snapshot of winter from a kitty’s perspective, and I absolutely love it. I plan on either getting a little frame for this or finding a space to display it on one of my bookshelves. It’s also inspired me to check out Gontero’s other feline fine arts on Etsy!
This postcard-sized print also doubles as a guide to the items in January’s Crazy Cat Lady Box. Even better, the descriptions of each product are full of hilarious and dorky cat puns.
Brilliant Cat Glasses
The first item that jumps out in this box is this pair of glasses. (And a good thing too, because the first things to jump into the box were the feline dynamic duo Rosie and Rocket). These posh 8-ounce tumblers appear as if they’re made from crystal and have a very 1920’s art deco aesthetic to them.
The crisp, sharp lines on the glasses create a gorgeously geometrically stylized cat – whiskers and all! They’d be great to bust out for a little cocktail pawty.
Be sure to keep them away from curious kitten paws though!
Fluffy Cat Pen
Cat Lady box describes this fuzzy pen as a way to kick off your mew year with a boost of inspawration. As someone who loves writing by hand and has a thing for cute pens, this is one of the items in the box that has me most excited!
I had to grab this out of the box lightning-fast, otherwise, this cute kitty would’ve succumbed to the vicious claws and teeth of Rocket and Rosie. They’d for sure pounce on this like it was one of their new toys and would demolish it in less than a day.
Thankfully my speedy reflexes didn’t fail me, and I was able to save this! I journal almost daily and write to a pen pal every week, so I’m definitely going to get the most use of this item.
I do wonder how long the ink in this ballpoint style pen will last. I wish that it was more of a smooth, inky, gel-style pen.
But, this kitty pen makes me giddy, and that’s all that matters!
2021 Mew Year Shirt
A show of hands (and paws) for those of you there who are more than ready to say bye to 2020. This flashy black unisex tee features a dazzling 2021 logo, so you could ring in the mew year looking fab-mew-lous.
The glitzy logo on this tee is a color crossed between champagne and rose gold with just the right amount of sparkle. It features the same stylized and geometric art deco aesthetic as the Brilliant Cat Glasses.
Toss on a leopard print cardigan or a kitty ears beanie with this tee for chic feline vibes. If you want to take it a crazy cat lady step further, leave this tee out on your bed and let your black and white kittens sleep on it for a good eighteen-hours, then proceed to wear it, as usual, rocking the “covered in cat hair” look.
Petie the Penguin Catnip Toy
Petie the Penguin was an INSTANT hit with Rocket! It was love at first sniff. This feathered friend is filled with a hefty dose of premium catnip (aka a one-way-ticket to kitty bliss!) He was one of the two promised cat toys. And is, no joke, one of the best catnip toys I’ve encountered in my fifteen years of cat motherhood.
Rocket enthusiastically smushed his sniffer into Petie mere seconds after he was unearthed from the box. This chunky penguin is stuffed with catnip so potent even our inferior human noses can’t miss it!
Petie is also super soft and plush! For Rocket, who loves to carry his toys around in his mouth and sleep with them (before turning on them like a savage beast), this is a huge perk!
The best thing is that Petie is crafted from thicker material and is more like a children’s plush toy than a thin fabric catnip toy. This gives Petie the advantage when it comes to Rocket’s rough play. (C’mon Petie hang in there!)
Flurry of Snowballs wand toy
I knew right away that this poofy pom-pom on a string wand toy wouldn’t last. The Tuxedo twins are terrors when it comes to toys on strings.
This CrazyCatLady box Flurry of Snowballs toy survived for a whole 48 hours.
We were able to re-tie the broken string back to the wand. But, Rosie and Rocket attack their toy they quickly snapped the string off again. They adore the puffy pom-poms and love carrying them around the house. So the toy is getting used, just not the way it was intended!
Is Cat Lady box worth it?
How Cat Lady Box shines
Let’s start with what’s most amazing about January’s subscription box.
Part of the proceeds of these boxes goes back to kitties in need. By treating yourself or gifting a Cat Lady Box you’re supporting shelters and rescues dedicated to caring for our feline friends. This month’s proceeds went to Cascades Humane Society, Calvert Animal Welfare League, Munchkins’ Mission, and Bloomfield Animal Shelter.
Another pawsitive point in favor of Cat Lady Box is that they include items crafted by independent artists. This makes the trinkets and treats in Cat Lady Box unique. And, you have the added benefit of knowing that you’re supporting cat lovers like you!
The best item in the January 2021 Mew Year box was, paws down, Petie the Penguin!
This toy’s quality is unlike any other catnip toy I’ve come across. More like a plush toy, this little guy is hardy enough to stand up to Rocket’s tooth-and-claw play!
And if you have a Catsgram, Petie might be the perfect wintery prop for your next kitty photo shoot.
Next, I adored the aesthetic of the Brilliant Cat Glasses. I typically drink from a series of Harry Potter and Disney mugs, so these chic crystal-style cat glasses up my cup game! I don’t drink alcohol so I love to use these for my lemon water, iced tea, or a little chaser of almond milk before I go to bed.
Thirdly, I looooove the fluffy white cat pen! It’s super cute and has held up to a few journal entries and two very lengthy letters I wrote to my pen pal. The ink is starting to dry up but even when that does happen, I plan on keeping it in the mug of cat pens (yes really) on my desk as kitty décor!
Lastly, the postcard-sized print from featured artist Sara Gontero is my new favorite piece of mini wall art. I’ve been through her Etsy shop and shared it with all my other cat lady friends. Of course, while spamming them with heart-eye cat emojis, because that’s how Gontero’s art makes me feel!
Where Cat Lady missed the mark
As cute as it is, the Flurry of Snowballs cat toy missed the mark. It’s your standard wand toy and not as original as the other items in this month’s box. This would be easy enough to find at your local pet store or even to DIY with a few simple arts and crafts supplies.
It also wasn’t strong enough to stand up to the rough play of two ten-month-old kittens. I wouldn’t be surprised if other multi-cat households also had problems with this toy breaking.
But, in its place, kittens Rosie and Rocket are still getting hours of entertainment from the empty box!
Cat Lady Box verdict
It’s so much fun to open and to discover what cute kitty treats and toys for you and your companion cats hide within its cardboard depths!
Although I don’t plan on subscribing to Cat Lady Box in the near future (I’ll hold off until October for Halloween and black cat-themed goodies!), this subscription box makes for a meowvelous gift for the cat ladies in your life!
You can subscribe to and find out more about Cat Lady Box on their website. And, if any of the items in our review jumped out at you, head over to the Cat Lady Box Past Boxes shop to get your paws on ‘em before they’re gone.
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