Cuddle Crate is a monthly subscription box for pets. You can opt for a dog box (choose your dog size), a cat box, or a small animal box (select gerbil/hamster or rabbit/guinea pig). You can also combine pet types with higher tier subscriptions (i.e., get a combined cat/rabbit box) and opt for a bi-monthly box if monthly is too often for you.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
This review is of the Bronze Level Cat subscription for $29.95 a month.
About Cuddle Crate
The Subscription Box: Cuddle Crate (for cats)
The Cost: $29.95 per month for the bronze level (3-5 items for one type of pet); $39.95 a month for the silver level (6-8 items for up to two types of pet); $49.95 a month for the gold level (9+ items for three types of pets); save with longer subscriptions.
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 15% off any subscription!
CODE: MSA15
The Products: Toys, treats, and supplies for your dog, cat, rabbit, guinea pig, gerbil, or hamster.
Ships to: U.S. (free shipping to the continental U.S.)
Cuddle Crate December 2017 Review
Cuddle Crate typically sends out a variety of toy types as well as (usually) one package of treats if you have the single pet type option selected. Let’s see what the cats got this month:
They’ve moved away from an information card listing the items in the box and instead are directing you to a URL where you can look up more information about the items.
V.I.P. Christmas Playbag from Vo-Toys – Estimated Value $3.99
I looked for this item from a couple of different pet wholesalers where I’d found Vo-Toys items in the past, but didn’t manage to locate it. However, there was a price sticker on the label that said $3.99 so that is what I’m going with. This has a bell so I’m sure Angus will discover it in the middle of the night, though he wasn’t much into it when I first took photos (to be fair, that’s true of a lot of cat toys). I’m not sure the satin outer material was the best choice as it shows dirt pretty easily.
Redbarn Naturals Freeze Dried Whitefish (0.75 oz) – Retail Value $3.99
Sneaky and Madison competed over this but later when I went back to the area where they’d been eating treats, half of them were still on the bed. I am pretty sure Sneaky ate hers (she’s angry if she’s not eating every five minutes), so I guess Madison wasn’t into them. (Angus liked them all right, too, I suppose.) My cats are generally iffy on freeze-dried meat so I’m not surprised. I just wish it wasn’t so popular in subscription boxes – my cats really like other types of treats a lot more.
Imperial Cat Refillable Christmas Tree – Retail Value $3.99
My cats have been more into refillable toys lately, especially when I am messy about getting the catnip inside and it ends up all over the outer part of the toy. Monkey likes to lick toys like this, which is what he did here, and Mr. Kitty likes the texture of the little sparkle balls that are attached.
Imperial Cat Sam Snowman Refillable Catnip Toy – Retail Value $6.50
Here is another refillable catnip toy; this one was also popular with my cats (especially the fringe on the scarf). Both this one and the one above come with small packets of catnip for you to add as needed.
Imperial Cat Hanging Scratcher – Retail Value $7.95
This is a scratcher that is meant to be hung on a doorknob, but I find my cats don’t really play with scratchers that are hanging like that (plus it is a little annoying if you have to open and close the door in question very often). However, I just put this flat on the floor and it seemed to be quite well-liked that way. (At one point, Angus was trying to pick it up and drag it by the twine in his teeth, which was really funny.)
Gratuitous cat photos below:
Angus checks out a treat.
Madison was willing to pose for the camera with treats but he didn’t actually eat many (any?) of them.
Monkey wasn’t having any of this.
But he was perfectly happy to lick catnip off the scratcher.
And off the snowman toy!
Sneaky was also a fan of licking catnip.
This picture is a little blurry, but this was the only other thing Sneaky would do for the camera. She did eat the treats and seemed to like them well enough.
Mr. Kitty is still recovering from his eye removal surgery. He is taking a long time because of his inflammatory bowel disease medications. But he is making progress and seeing the veterinary ophthalmologist regularly and I’m hoping that by this time next month he will be ready for photos again.
Verdict: I calculated a value of about $26.42 for the December Cuddle Crate for cats box. That is lower than the month-to-month cost of the box by a little bit, but it is somewhat better than last month. It might be nice to receive just one more small item to round out the value. (Cats are usually just fine with inexpensive toys!) The item types were appropriate and the Christmas theme was pretty obvious, even without a detailed information card. My cats were especially fans of the Imperial Cat items. If you have multiple pet types, this box may work better for you. Also, you can sign up for a bi-monthly plan with this subscription if you’d like to get shipments a little less often, which is something that most other boxes don’t offer.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? December boxes all ship about the same time, so no. Also, there is some customization involved, especially for the multi-pet boxes, so there may be some variation even among December boxes.
Value Breakdown: At $29.95 for the box, you are paying approximately the following for each item:
- V.I.P. Christmas Playbag from Vo-Toys: $4.52
- Redbarn Naturals Freeze Dried Whitefish: $4.52
- Imperial Cat Refillable Christmas Tree: $4.52
- Imperial Cat Sam Snowman Refillable Catnip Toy: $7.37
- Imperial Cat Hanging Scratcher: $9.01
Check out all of our Cuddle Crate reviews and lots of great boxes for cats in the Pet Subscription Box Directory!
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What do you think of the December Cuddle Crate? Do you subscribe to any dog or cat boxes?
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