Ask any cat parent what their pet’s favorite item is, and the answer might surprise you. It’s usually not the expensive bed or the fancy toy you bought for them, it’s the box it came in. Cardboard certainly has a strange appeal to cats. A viral video shows an orange cat proving that theory as he turns a cardboard box into a custom sleeping bed.
Cat steals owner’s spot on bed with custom cardboard bed in video
A video shared by @dextheorangecat shows an orange cat named Dexter busily creating what appears to be his own bed, right on top of his owner’s. The clip opens with the owner entering the bedroom, preparing to sleep, only to discover Dexter already hard at work on a cardboard box placed on the bed. Text over the video reads, “I was about to go to bed until I saw this,” setting the scene for the humorous discovery.
Dexter is seen chewing carefully along the edges of the cardboard. He pulls off small pieces, spits them out, and continues shaping the box with clear focus. The behavior looks deliberate, as if he’s customizing the box to suit his comfort better. Eventually, after finishing his “renovations,” Dexter curls up and falls asleep inside the makeshift cardboard bed, still positioned squarely on the owner’s side of the mattress.
The humor of the situation deepens when the camera pans to reveal a proper cat bed sitting right next to the human bed. Onscreen text points this out with the words, “His bed is right there,” highlighting the irony of Dexter’s choice. In the caption, the owner jokes, “I guess I’m not sleeping then.”
Viewers were quick to weigh in with funny reactions and theories about Dexter’s behavior. Some admired his determination, with one person saying they love it when cats “find themselves a little project.” Others joked that he was “softening the edge” like a professional craftsman, while another pointed out that leaving a box on the bed practically invited the situation.
Several commenters blamed what they called “orange cat syndrome,” a playful reference to the quirky online reputation orange cats have. Another viewer summed it up by calling Dexter “an artist working in recycled and reclaimed cardboard.”
