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Cat Proof Bread Box – How Can I Do This?

If you have seen your cat playing with your bread box you may be concerned and looking for solutions to stop it…

Why are cats attracted to bread boxes?

Most cats seem to absolutely love bread. There’s something about the consistency and the taste of the yeast that cats can’t seem to get enough of. This can result in trying to get into the bread box and some cats will even try to snatch your sandwich while you’re eating it!

While they like bread, they only need 200 to 250 calories a day for a healthy diet, and bread should only make up about 20 calories of that. Simply put, your cat can have bread, but the recommended size is ab but about the size of your smallest fingernail. Sadly, it definitely appears that they want much more than that!

What is a bread box?

Before bread was commercially produced in airtight wrappers to keep it fresh, people would bring home a loaf from the bakery and put it in their ‘bread box’, which is just a container for keeping bread fresh. These are still in use in the modern-day, with fancy wooden bread boxes or simple Tupperware solutions.

Everyone likes their bread to be fresh, after all!

How can I cat proof my bread box?

Keeping a clever kitty out of the bread box can take a little work, but it doesn’t have to cost a lot of dough (sorry, I couldn’t resist!). Let’s take a look at some popular means of keeping your bakery goods safely away from your kitty!

Put a baby latch on it

Baby latches are designed for keeping kids out of cabinets and they work wonderfully for keeping kitties out as well. They consist of a knob to be placed on both sides of the opening, with a plastic pressure-release ‘bridge’ that goes between them.

Since your cat would have to depress the release to open it, your bread stays relatively safe inside.

Attach a strap to keep it closed

A simple strap that can loop-in like a belt strap or one that fastens to a button can help to keep the bread box closed and safely secured against your cunning cat. They are quite affordable and can really work a treat.

Lock the room where the bread box is

Your cat can’t get into the bread if they can’t get anywhere near it. Closing the door to the kitchen can keep your cat out, but this isn’t always a great solution as many people also feed their cat in the kitchen (or at least open their food cans, which brings the cat running away).

This works, but it takes away the joys of seeing your kitty running up to see what you are opening, so it might not be a good fit for everyone as a bread-box defense solution.

What other alternatives to a breadbox are there?

If you find that defending the breadbox is a losing battle then you can always adopt other strategies to keep your bread fresh and as cat-free as possible. Below we’ve compiled a few options that you can put to good use.

Freeze the bread and toast it

If you are using the bread strictly for your toast requirements, then a nice trick is to simply put it in your freezer so that you can take pieces out and toast them as needed. The freezer is high enough on your fridge that your kitty can’t open the door to try and get it.

Plus, it can defrost in about 5 or 10 minutes quite efficiently!

Put the bread in the refrigerator

Putting your bread in the refrigerator will make homemade bread last up to 3 extra days, while commercial loaves will last up to 5 more days than bread simply stored outside of it. The caveat is that some clever kitties know that the bread is in there and can become quite adept at opening the fridge.

This could get them into dangerous and potentially fatal trouble if they end up getting shut into it, so if you use this trick then keep a close eye on your cat to make sure that they don’t start trying to open the fridge in their ‘bread lust’.

Place the bread in a microwave for storage

An easy spot to keep the bread safe is your microwave. The odds of your cat pawing at a button and making the microwave start heating are very, very low, and microwaves latch shut and often have a black border that obscures the view of the bread unless you are looking from the center of the glass.

That said, you still have to take the bread out to use it, and some furry ‘breadheads’ are perfectly willing to wait for their opportunity when you do!

Can cats eat bread?

Yes, cats can eat bread, but due to their daily caloric intake being around 200 to 250  calories, you can’t give them very much bread. A whole slice of white bread has about 66 calories on average, whole wheat is about 69 calories – around 25% of the calories that they are supposed to have.

You want to limit their bread to 20 calorie servings, which amount to a cubed piece about the size of the fingernail on your pinkie!

Is it worth getting a bread box?

Bread boxes can be nice. If you don’t overfill them, then there is less overall humidity inside the box, and your bread will stay quite firm and fresh. If you like your bread a little more moist, adding more bread in the box can help to achieve this.

If you really love bread, a breadbox is definitely worth it – they are relatively inexpensive and they do what they are supposed to!

Do bread savers work?

Yes, bread boxes do work. Since they are more ‘airy’ than a plastic bag, the bread can ‘breathe’ and lose a little moisture with normal use. As it’s a box, some moisture is also retained, with these two qualities working together to keep your bread at the optimal balance between humidity and dryness.

Basically, it works to keep your bread the same way that it was when you first opened the bag, which is an excellent function indeed if you love eating bread.