If there is one thing I have learned since Game Of Thrones Season 8 premiered, it’s that Etsy is full of delightful, GoT-themed items for your pets — and now, we’ve got another to add to the list: A Game Of Thrones cardboard cat house that looks like the Iron Throne. Made by Bulgaria-based Etsy shop CacaoPets, it’ll take your cat’s tendency to sit where they fit to a whole new level — one involving political intrigue and White Walkers and maybe a few dragons
I know, I know — didn’t we already look at something similar recently? And the answer is, yes, we did. However, our previous adventures examined the merits of an Iron Throne pet bed. This cat house isn’t meant for sleeping (although, hey, if your cat falls asleep in it, that’s A-OK, of course); it’s more like a really fancy box for your furry pal to hide in. And honestly, if you have a cat, rather than a dog, a fancy box is probably going to appeal to your pet more than a fancy bed will. Cats gonna cat.
CacaoPets is run by a family of engineers based in Rousse, Bulgaria. About 10 years ago, according to the shop’s About section, they gained a new family member in the form of Shusha, a cat. Like many cat people, they quickly discovered that Shusha had a fondness for cardboard boxes — sitting in them, climbing on them, playing in them — and, as they put it, “That’s when it came to us. Why not, instead of throwing away the cardboard, we could turn it into something much more useful?”
From there, they began developing a whole bunch of different designs for cardboard cat houses, using 3D CAD (Computer Aided Design) models to test out how they’d work in practice. They used Shusha to test out their early designs, working out the kinks as they watched her play inside their cardboard creations — and now, they offer a huge range of hilarious and amazing cat houses ranging from the pop culture-inspired to the simply fantastical. As one reviewer of the shop put it, a cat house from CacaoPets is “a totally ridiculous purchase, but it’s great.” Heck, and yes.
I won’t lie, though — the Iron Throne one is by far my favorite. Made from 4mm corrugated cardboard, it features not just the seat of the throne itself — complete with its sword-strewn back, of course — but also a little hidey hole under the seat with a cat face-shaped egress allowing your cat easy access. That’s what makes it different from the Iron Throne pet bed we looked at earlier: Your cat can sit on this throne. They can sit in this throne. They can comfortably rule the Seven Kingdoms from this throne, no matter what their preferred way to use it might be. All hail Mittens, First Of Her Name, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Lady Regent of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm.
The house arrives disassembled (it’s a lot easier to ship flat sheets of cardboard than a three-dimensional cardboard contraption), but a user manual with instructions on how to put the house together is including, ensuring you’ll be able to grab your screwdriver and assemble it without incident. Think of it as IKEA furniture for cats. And as a bonus, you can even disassemble it later on if you need to free up some space in your home temporarily — for your final GoT watch party, perhaps? — before putting it back together again whenever you like. Once it’s put together, the house will measure 370mm in length, 550mm in width, and 970mm in height, or about 14 and a half inches by 21 and two thirds of an inch by a little more than 38 inches.
Oh, and did I mention that it’s eco-friendly? Because they are. CacaoPets’ houses don’t need glue to hold them together, so once they’ve arrived at the end of their natural lifespans (they are made of cardboard, after all), you can just go ahead and recycle them instead of creating more trash to clog up the environment. Everybody wins, including the planet!
CacaoPets’ cardboard houses range somewhat dramatically in price depending on how elaborate the design is; at their cheapest, they’re just shy of $30, while the most elaborate ones are in the neighborhood of $75. The Iron Throne house lands nicely in the middle at $60. (And before you say, “$60?! I’m not paying $60 for a cardboard box!!!!”, remember that the houses are literally engineered for maximum stability and fun, and that a ton of labor goes into figuring out and making the designs. Just, y’know, keep that in mind.) They come in their natural cardboard color, but CacaoPets notes that you can paint them with acrylic paints yourself if you’d prefer something flashier.
Shipping for the houses can take a while; according to the Etsy shop’s policies, estimated shipping times for North America, for example can be around 15 to 20 business days. Check each item’s page for specific details, though — the Iron Throne house actually says that it’ll probably be ready to ship in three to five business days, so at least there’s that. Shipping can be pricey, too — if I were going to buy one and have it sent to the DC area, it would cost around $30. Still, though; it... honestly might be worth it, if it's in your budget.
Oh, and if Game Of Thrones isn’t your thing, you’ve got plenty of other options, including a TARDIS and a shark. Check out more at CacaoPets’ Etsy page and website. Looks like I know where part of my next paycheck is going…
