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.
This review is of the Bronze Level Cat subscription for $29.95 a month.
This month is the first time I think I’ve seen crinkly paper instead of tissue paper in this box.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
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 July 2018 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.
Petstages Dangle Bug – Retail Value $4.99
I found this toy at prices ranging from $1.47 (at Petsmart) to over $10 (at Amazon), but I used this value as it seems most in line with retail values of this type of toy based on my experience reviewing (many) cat subscription boxes.
This is designed for nighttime play. The wings are supposed to be shiny in low light so I have left this where Angus can find it at night. (We have to shut him out of the bedroom because he makes too much noise, but inside the bedroom, we have blackout curtains, so it is basically no light instead of low light…) My cats are, in general, fans of toys with multiple textures and this definitely has a few.
Petlinks Kookie Kutie – Retail Value $5.99 (found here for $4.39)
This has something called “hypernip,” which is a mix of silvervine and catnip. (If you have seen the Mad Cat toys in some of my past reviews, they also have silvervine and catnip.) My cats are pretty big fans of silvervine, especially Madison, and he did enjoy this toy quite a bit. Naturally, AFTER I was done taking photos and had put the camera away. Sigh. (The different textures were interesting to some of my other cats, as well.)
Petstages Dental Plaque Away Pretzel – Retail Value $4.99 (found here for $1.99)
Cats are supposed to chew on this and the texture is supposed to help clean up plaque. I don’t know about that, but mine do like biting it. This is lightweight and can easily be tossed around by a playful kitty, or chewed on by an older, mostly sedentary kitty, so it has wide appeal among my crew.
Petlinks Tea Zing (3 count toys x 2) – Total Retail Value $6.58 ($3.29 each, found here for $2.69 each)
I’m not sure if I was supposed to receive two of these or not, as this is typically a five-item (four toys and a treat) box, but one of these was buried at the bottom under all the paper filling, so whoever packed the box may not have known they already included one.
At any rate, these are tea bag-shaped toys with a catnip (and no stuffing) filling. Some of my older cats enjoyed biting them, and Madison was also a fan of the strings (so was Angus).
Emerald Pet Feline Dental Treats (chicken, 3 oz) – Retail Value $3.99
OK, this is at least the third month in a row I’ve received this same treat from Cuddle Crate (in chicken flavor, too!). My cats, especially Sneaky and Madison, do like them, but there are so many cat treat brands out there, and other flavors of this treat, and I’d like to see something else for once. Of course they will get eaten, but still.
Angus chewed these into bits and ate some of the bits but left others on the carpet. 20 minutes later I saw Mr. Kitty with his e-collar pressed to the floor. Turns out he had found the pieces Angus left (and I didn’t see) and was trying to eat them. Poor guy. (He can’t have these.)
Gratuitous cat photo time:
These pictures are the prelude to Angus chewing this into small pieces and leaving a few on the floor.
He was batting at the tag but of course, the camera didn’t catch it.
Madison has the biggest tongue I’ve seen on a cat.
He looks miffed here but he actually liked this toy a lot.
Monkey just wants to rub his chin on everything. It doesn’t make for good pictures.
Monkey was hungry, having just coughed up a major hairball that had kept him from eating for a few days (story of my summer…), so he actually ate treats.
Sneaky’s entire life is like a desperate treat grab.
She’s thinking “that’s only PRETEND food.”
Posing for the camera.
Mr. Kitty was a big fan of the pretzel. Too bad his teeth are way too far gone for it to help. (We can’t do a dental appointment for him because of some of his other health issues and medications. He eats wet food pureed with water.)
Verdict: I calculated a value of $26.54 for the July Cuddle Crate for cats subscription box. That is a few dollars below the cost of the box. You can get a little better deal by signing up for a longer subscription, of course, and the mixed-pet subscription options may have a little more value as well. I would like to see a different kind of treats next month, for a change, but overall, the toys were well received, especially because of the various textures and materials they comprised.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, you will receive the August box. Also, there is some customization involved, especially for the multi-pet boxes, so there may be some variation even among July boxes.
Coupon - Use code MSA15 to save 15% off any subscription!
Value Breakdown: At $29.95 for the box, you are paying approximately the following for each item:
- Dangle bug $5.63
- Kookie kutie $6.76
- Pretzel $5.63
- Tea bag toys $7.43
- Treats $4.50
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 July Cuddle Crate? Do you subscribe to any dog or cat boxes?
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