One of the highest-rated cat scratching posts on Amazon has thousands of glowing reviews — but the most upvoted one is a 1-star rating from an owner whose cat ignored the post entirely and slept inside the cardboard box it shipped in. “I have purchased my cat a $40 box,” the review reads. “Five stars for the box. One star for the post.” That review has racked up over 18,000 helpful votes since 2019, and it’s a perfect example of why pet product reviews that went viral have become their own corner of internet comedy.
From Amazon to Chewy to Petco, pet owners have been turning the review section into a full-blown comedy stage. The format works because the punchline writes itself: humans buy thoughtful products, pets do whatever they want, owners write detailed essays about it.
The Cat Post That Lost to a Cardboard Box
The cardboard box review is just the start. Hundreds of cat scratching posts on Amazon have similar 1-star reviews from owners whose cats refused to use them. One particularly viral review reads: “Bought this so my cat would stop scratching the couch. He now scratches the post AND the couch. Thank you for doubling his options.”
Another reviewer wrote a 600-word essay about the elaborate way her cat avoided the post entirely, sleeping in the empty box across the room and “looking at the post with disdain three times a day.” The review went viral on Twitter in 2021 and is widely considered the gold standard of cat product reviews.
The brand Frisco actually leaned into the joke — their marketing team posted a TikTok in 2023 saying “we know” and showing a cat ignoring their own product. That post hit 4 million views and became one of the brand’s most successful pieces of content of the year.
Dog Toys vs. Real Dogs: A Brutal Comedy
Dog toys generate some of the funniest pet reviews on the internet. One viral review of a “Tough Heavy-Duty Indestructible Bone” simply reads: “Lasted 9 minutes. The ‘before’ photo is a bone. The ‘after’ photo is just glitter on my carpet.” That review has been screenshotted and reshared on Reddit dozens of times since 2020.
Squeaky toys produce a different category of complaints. One reviewer wrote: “Worked great until my dog learned how to remove the squeaker. Now I just have a deflated rubber duck and a victorious dog. 5 stars for him. 1 star for the toy.”
The most legendary dog toy review on Amazon, however, comes from a customer whose dog “respectfully reviewed” a $30 puzzle feeder by sliding the entire device off the table, scattering kibble across the floor, and eating it from the carpet “like a Roomba.” The review went viral in 2022 and has been featured on multiple pet humor sites.
Are These Reviews Even Real?
Mostly yes. Amazon and Chewy both have verified-purchase systems that make obvious fake reviews easy to spot. The funniest pet reviews almost always come from genuine buyers who happened to have a moment of inspiration when writing feedback. The format thrives because pets really do behave this way.
Chewy in particular has built customer service stories into a brand identity. Their reviews section is full of stories about Chewy sending hand-painted portraits of customers’ pets after the pet passed away, or sending flowers and condolence cards to grieving owners. Many of those reviews go viral on a different emotional axis entirely.
The cycle of viral pet reviews has actually changed how pet brands write product descriptions. Several brands now use lines like “your cat will probably ignore this” and “your dog will definitely destroy it within an hour” right in their listings — the joke fully integrated into the marketing.
The Aquarium Reviews Nobody Saw Coming
Aquarium and fish product reviews tend to fly under the radar, but they generate their own genre of comedy. A popular fish tank decoration shaped like a tiny pirate ship has thousands of glowing reviews — and one viral 1-star review reading: “My betta fish has staged a mutiny and now refuses to enter the ship. Seven months of negotiation. No progress.”
Another aquarium owner reviewed a self-cleaning fish tank by writing a full short story from the perspective of the goldfish, complaining about being moved during cleaning. The review hit Reddit’s front page in 2023 and reportedly increased the product’s sales by triple digits the following month.
If you enjoyed our roundup of the funniest 1-star reviews of world wonders, the pet product genre is a smaller but possibly even more chaotic version of the same internet behavior.
The Hamster Review That Started It All
Many internet historians trace the modern viral pet review to a 2014 Amazon hamster wheel review titled simply “Hamster Refused to Run on Wheel.” The full review described the buyer’s hamster choosing to use the wheel as a hat, a bed, and occasionally a dining table — but never as exercise equipment. The review attracted hundreds of replies, and the format spread from there.
That format has now spread well beyond Amazon. Pet product reviews on Etsy, Petco, and Chewy regularly hit Reddit’s r/funny and TikTok compilation accounts. Entire YouTube channels exist solely to read funny pet reviews aloud, and several have racked up millions of subscribers.
The pet review genre might be the most consistently wholesome corner of internet comedy. There’s no target, no mean-spirited humor — just owners writing affectionate love letters to their chaotic pets disguised as product feedback.
One Last Pet Review That Will Live Forever
Saved for last: the legendary review of a self-cleaning litter box from 2019. The reviewer’s cat had figured out how to trigger the cleaning mechanism manually, then sit in front of the box and watch it run “like he’s at a car wash.” The review ended with: “I don’t know if this is what I bought, but I love watching it happen.”
What’s the funniest pet product review you’ve ever read or written? Drop the link or the quote in the comments. The internet’s most wholesome comedy genre lives or dies on people sharing the great ones.