Should you let your cat share your bed?

When dog owners first bring home a new dog or puppy, one of the first things that they have do decide will be what the dog or puppy is allowed to do and not do-such as sleeping on the beds, or being allowed into certain rooms of the house. Issues such as these are less obvious when it comes to cats, as cats are of course much more independent and not amenable to training-but there are a few factors that you should consider from the get-go nonetheless, such as whether or not your cat will be allowed to sleep on your bed with you!

This question tends to polarise cat owners to some degree, with some finding that they cannot really sleep well without their cat, and others finding cats challenging sleeping partners who are not conducive to a restful night’s sleep! There are of course also a third group of cat owners when this question comes up too-those that would rather not share their beds with their cats, but their cats don’t give them a lot of say in the matter!

In this article, we will look at the various factors to consider when it comes to deciding whether or not you should allow your cat to sleep on your bed or not, and how to keep them from doing this if you decide that the answer is no! Read on to learn more.

Children, health and safety

First of all, it is really important that you do not allow your cat to sleep in a cot with a baby or young child, as very small children are not strong or experienced enough to move the cat if they are obstructing their breathing or movement, and this can be dangerous.

Older children who are experienced with cats and know how to treat and handle them may like to sleep with the cat in their bed or their room, but this is something that you should decide upon on a case by case basis.

Additionally, if you suffer from any allergies, breathing problems or other issues that could be exacerbated by close contact with the cat or a cat in your bed, it is probably a good idea to make a blanket rule that cats are not allowed onto the beds at all.

Can you sleep with your cat in the bed?

As we mentioned earlier on, some people find that they cannot sleep at all with their cat in the bed, for whatever reason-small cats can spread out to take up quite a lot of space, and they will often decide to stretch out in the middle of the bed to make this even more inconvenient!

If you find that once your cat has got into bed and settled down, you both sleep comfortably until morning and do not find that your cat disturbs you, this is fine-but be sure that you’re not going to change your mind later on if your cat begins to become a pain!

How many cats?

If you have more than one cat and they both decide that they like sleeping in your bed, this can cause double the challenges in terms of space, activity and comfort for all of you! It can be hard if not impossible to keep one cat from doing something that another one is allowed to do, and so if you find that you have too many cats to share a bed with or one of them is a constant pain, you might need to rule all cats out of the bed all of the time!

Comings and goings

Cats tend to be more active at night than they are during the day, and many cats spend a lot of their nights outside and do some of their best hunting in the dark hours! If your cat is coming in and out of the bedroom constantly throughout the night, and particularly if they keep waking you up (either deliberately or accidentally) you will probably find out in short order if you can get used to this and sleep through it, or if you cannot tolerate the movement and activity, keep your cat off the bed while you are sleeping.

Is it safe for your cat?

If you sleep fairly peacefully or seem to have an awareness even when asleep of your cat’s position and movements, your cat should be safe when you are sleeping. However, if your cat is not adept at moving out of the way, if you thrash about a lot or turn over quickly or if your bed is against a wall and your cat sleeps on the wall side, you may have to consider whether or not your cat would be able to move and get out if you turned over and landed on them!

Will your cat move if you need them to?

If you are going to consider allowing your cat to share your bed, it is important that you can move your cat if you need to-such as if they are hogging all of the space or trying to lie over your face!

While your cat might not be overly pleased to be moved, you should be able to do this without eliciting a hiss or scratch from your cat, and if you cannot, it is time to stop the cat from sleeping on the bed!

Keeping cats off the beds

If you do decide that your cats should not be allowed onto the beds for any reason, you will have to make this a firm rule and stick to it.

Close bedroom doors during the day and move your cat any time you catch them on the bed-and do what you can to provide them with appealing, comfortable alternatives, such as beds of their own.

When the weather and home is particularly cold, cats are more likely to want to sleep on the beds and share your warmth, so providing a heated cat bed or alternative can help with this too.