Amazon says it does not treat its cardboard shipping boxes with either pesticides or disinfectants. A box industry spokesman says he does not know of any shippers who spray cardboard boxes with chemicals harmful to pets. A chemist who studied potential risks of cardboard to pets said there is no danger.
A rumor spread around Christmastime with unsubstantiated claims of pets -- specifically pet rats and cats -- falling ill or dying after being in contact with shipping boxes, with the rumors focusing on Amazon packaging. A spokesperson for Amazon said nothing is sprayed on its boxes. A spokesperson for a national network of specialty and emergency pet hospitals said its facilities had not seen any cases "relating to cardboard box toxicity."