If you’re a feline fan, you’ve probably heard the term “If i fits, i sits” before, but where does it actually come from?

We’ve all seen it happen. You open up your recent order from Amazon, and leave the empty box by the door so you don’t furget to recycle it when you leave the house next. Before you know it, your cat has claimed that four-sided box and turned it into their feline fortress. It’s purrfectly cute and adorable, and only stings a little bit that they prefer that cardboard container more than the expensive cat bed you bought them that is specifically designed for maximum feline comfort. I’ve actually given up on buying my cats beds entirely, they’ll only use them if I put a cardboard box inside of the bed itself.

Thus, one of the internet’s oldest cat commandments was born: “If i fits, i sits.”

The phrase is classic Lolcat culture. In the early 2000s, USPS came out with the slogan “If it fits, it ships,” and the two are so close that we can’t believe that it’s merely a cute coincidence. This lines up with the rise in popularity of Lolcats memes, which started to gain traction on I Can Has Cheezburger in 2011. From there, it spread across Reddit, Tumblr, and basically every corner of the internet where people were posting pictures of cats in boxes, sinks, bowls, baskets, shoeboxes, and containers that are 3 sizes too small or 10 sizes too big.

If you don’t believe me, Google “if i fits, i sits.” You will be able to scroll for hours and never even reach half of the posts of cats in boxes. You might even find some posts of my cats in there, too!

The funny part is there may actually be some science behind this cat commandment known to felines and hoomans alike. Cats are naturally drawn to to enclosed spaces because hiding can make them feel safer. One study of shelter cats found that cats given hiding boxes showed their stress levels dropping faster than cats without them. 

Basically, all of this is to say that when your cat ignores the $70 orthopedic bed and crams themselves into your opened shipping boxes, they’re not being ungrateful (okay, maybe they are being a tiny bit ungrateful). They might just be following a very ancient feline instinct: find a tiny space, occupy tiny space, and become an unmovable loaf.