Cardboard cat shrine


Cats love making themselves comfortable anywhere and everywhere – including your keyboard. If you have a cat, you can probably relate to this and often find yourself letting them do whatever they want. With this cardboard cat shrine, you can take your love for your cats to the next level and worship them unironically.


A cardboard shrine for your cat


cardboard cat shrine - product shot
Image credit: Kibidango

cardboard cat shrine - cat in shrine
Image credit: @howaynekobu

Howay Industry – a Japanese manufacturer of cardboard products – recently released a do-it-yourself cardboard shrine for your cat to snuggle and chill in. The designer is Kimura, a cat-lover who has 4 cats of his own.

cardboard cat shrine - cat in shrine
Image credit: @howaynekobu

cardboard cat shrine - cat in shrine
Image credit: @howaynekobu

The design of the cardboard shrine is inspired by Shinto shrines in Japan. It includes a tiled roof, a suzu (bell), shide (zig-zag paper streamers), and a shrine donation box – all of which are common characteristics of Shinto shrines. 

cardboard cat shrine - specifications
Image credit: Kibidango

The cardboard shrine measures 64cm x 48cm x 58cm and weighs about 1kg. According to the website, it should take about 30 minutes to assemble the box using the instruction manual that comes with the package. 

cardboard cat shrine - cover litter box
Image adapted from: @howaynekobu and @howaynekobu

cardboard cat shrine - side opening
Image credit: @howaynekobu

The cardboard shrine doesn’t have a base so you can put it over your cat’s litter box or fill it with blankets and cushions for your cat to snuggle in. Make sure that the sides of your cat’s litter box don’t cover more than half of the opening, height-wise, or else your cat may have trouble going in and out of the shrine.


Accessories for the cardboard cat shrine


If you think just getting the cardboard shrine isn’t enough for your cat, you can always zhuzh it up with accessories that are sold separately. 

cardboard cat shrine - folding screen with cats
Image credit: Kibidango

cardboard cat shrine - nail sharpening tray
Nail sharpening tray, ¥3,410 (~USD32.61)
Image credit: Kibidango

Some of the individual items include a nail sharpening tray and a folding screen that can be used as a photo background. You can also get the cardboard shrine with a noren (curtain) for ¥5,390 (~USD51.55).

cardboard cat shrine - noren
Shrine with red or blue noren, ¥5,390 (~USD51.55)
Image credit: Kibidango

cardboard cat shrine - full set
Image credit: Kibidango

A full set with add-ons includes the cardboard shrine, a folding screen for photos, kadomatsu (a traditional Japanese decoration placed in pairs at the front of homes), noren, and a nail sharpening tray. This set costs ¥11,000 (~USD105.20).


How to buy the cardboard cat shrine


cardboard cat shrine - kibidango
Image credit: Kibidango

The shrine is currently available on Kibidango, a crowdfunding website. Even though Howay Industry has already reached their crowdfunding goal, you can still purchase the cardboard shrine for ¥4,840 (~USD46.29). Part of the sales will be channelled to Neko Republic, which runs a cat cafe that houses and protects rescue cats.

Delivery for the shrines are scheduled for mid to late December. They only deliver to Japan addresses, but you can still get your hands on it by using a parcel forwarding company.


Cardboard cat shrine


With this cardboard cat shrine, you can show your love for your cat by giving it its own space to snuggle and chill in. Your cat might even reciprocate your love – hopefully by not crashing your online meetings – and show you more affection after receiving this gift.

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Cover image adapted from: @howaynekobu and @howaynekobu

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