Whiskerbox Review – December 2018

Whiskerbox is a monthly subscription filled with artisanal products for your cat(s)!

This box was sent to us at no cost for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

About Whiskerbox

The Subscription Box: Whiskerbox

The Cost:  $34.95 for the “Mew” subscription (3-4 items not including apparel), $49.95 for the “Meow” subscription (4-6 items including apparel)

This is a review of the $49.95/month “Meow” subscription.

The Products: Cat apparel, cat toys and treats, and other cat-related goodies.

Ships to: US and Canada (free), International for $15

Whiskerbox December 2018 Review

One thing that’s great about Whiskerbox is the items are usually off the beaten path when it comes to cat subscriptions – you don’t see these anywhere else!  Let’s see what was in store this month:

This month the information card doesn’t contain a list of items.

Fromm Lamb Pate (5.5 oz) – Buy 12 Cans for $25.02

This is a high-quality food that actually doesn’t contain any chicken ingredients, though it does have a little bit of pork and pearled barley. So, I can’t use it for an IBD cat like Mr. Kitty but it is definitely a good choice for an otherwise healthy cat or one with chicken, wheat, corn, or soy sensitivities. I put this out on a plate and Sneaky and Madison were the primary consumers (Monkey is not super food-motivated and Angus is on a restricted diet right now). It is nice to get a single can of a premium food that may not be easy to find in stores because I kind of don’t like buying a whole case only to find out it won’t work (let me tell you how many almost-full cases I have right now, I think it’s like 5 or 6 different foods…).

Knitted Santa Hat

This is exclusive to the box and I don’t really know how to estimate a value. It appears to be hand-knitted (but still well-made). You will usually receive either a collar + bowtie, a knitted hat, or a full costume in Whiskerbox, so this is a good subscription for those of us who like putting our cats in costumes for pictures. Madison and Monkey are pictured wearing this below.

BC Buddy Catnip Refillable Mouse – Retail Value $7.32 (found here for $2.19)

This appears to be a Canadian product so the prices are a little odd because they were in Canadian dollars. Anyway, these canvas/hemp catnip toys are huge hits with my crew. Monkey usually just licks them. But the tail on this one was very interesting to several cats, and this is a good size for general play as well.

Kit Cat Purr Puree Plus Collagen Care (15g x 4 sachets) – Estimated Value $4

I found a similar product here at Petsmart, which is where I got the value, but this variety doesn’t seem to be available in the US just yet. The collagen is supposed to help with hairballs and if that is true, as soon as I can find this for sale, I am snatching up like a case of it. Because Monkey likes this stuff and he has the worst hairball problems. This is generally just fun to feed to cats, anyway, as you will see below.

Gratuitous cat photos:

Angus was in a playful mood.

Madison made some good faces this month.

Monkey liked the treats. The hat, not so much.

I love how Sneaky got this all over her face and she doesn’t even care.

Mr. Kitty is taking a break from photos for a while. He just got over an ear infection and his head is still kind of crusty and oily from the ear medicine I had to put in (it’s a messy process) but overall he is doing quite well.

Verdict: I could not calculate a total value for the December 2018 Whiskerbox. The toy was $7.32, leaving $42.63 for the month-to-month subscription price. We can estimate the food to be about $2 for one can and the treats to be about $4, based on prices for the full-sized packaging or similar items, now leaving $36.63 for the hat. In past months, when a price for the hats has been provided, it’s been around $35. So you’re coming out about even (and don’t forget, this comes with free shipping from Canada, which is not cheap). I personally love the hats (not sure my cats feel the same way) and I have never tried either the food or the treats on my cats before, and the toy was pretty popular, so this was a good month for us.

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, this was December’s box.  Whiskerbox ships on the 15th of the month so if you sign up before then (assuming they haven’t sold out), you would get January’s box as your first box.

Value Breakdown: At $49.95 for this box, the per-item average value is about $12.49.

Check out lots of other great boxes for cats and cat lovers in the Pet Subscription Box Directory!

What do you think of December's Whiskerbox? Do you subscribe to any cat boxes?