Do you let your cat sleep in your bed with you at night?

DoomsDave said:

Here's Big Boy. He takes up a bit of space (like me) but he's mostly quiet and cooperative.

IMG_2084.JPG

• doomsdave
• Feb 28, 2017

Click to expand...

Handsome big fluffy gentleman. How much does he weigh?

And I like your jammies, too.

catspaw66 said:

Handsome big fluffy gentleman. How much does he weigh?

And I like your jammies, too.

Click to expand...

​It was a cold night. Better than being photographed without them . . .

Big Boy weighed about 15 pounds at the vet's when I took him more than a month ago. I think he's heavier now. He certainly looks big. He's not a pure Maine Coon, and he's well past full grown.

we have a complicated lifestyle, I go to bed at10, to wind down from the day. Us oldies do things like that. Daughter goes to her boyfriend's for the evening, coming home later than that. So... by the time she arrives home, one cat has stolen my chair (for the umpteenth time) and the other cat, the one with the strongest bond to her, is curled up next to my pillow. He doesn't sleep with her like that, she has to have an arm round him. With me he has taken over the spot next to the pillow.

And so, there we are, cat curled up, me curled up, when daughter comes in, gets ready for bed and comes in to sit on my floor and tell me about the evening. Sometimes she's there for a while and I am aware the cat has gone to sleep,deep sleep at that. She prods him, says 'goodnight then, turncoat' and stomps off to bed. Sometimes cat 2 comes up to sleep on her feet before coming in and sleeping with me.  Cat 1 usually crashes out for a few hours, then he gets up, stretches, looks at me, goes 'huuunmp' and gets off the bed to go and sleep with her.

My alarm goes off at 7, feeding time. Before then, cat 2 is on the windowsill, eyeing up the birds he cannot reach (seagulls and pigeons...) and cat 1 is demonstrating his ability to tell the time. About 30 seconds before the alarm goes off, he is busy throwing himself at the end of the bed, clawing and tearing at the fabric covering the bed drawer...

Cat 1 has permanently dented the duvet as he sleeps in the same place every day, right in the middle of my bed. Good job my migraines have settled to the point when I no longer need to lie down during the day...

Wonderful post. I can see it in my mind. [emoji]128568[/emoji]

I love it!  "Cat 1" and "Cat 2" especially.  Is that what you address them as?  

YOU try telling her she can't sleep on the bed

OMC why WOULD anyone?!! Quite the opposite! 

This is Ozzy's previous bed before he started sleeping with us and took over the humans' bed.  You can see he's always liked comfy places to sleep.  
But now that he's discovered the bed, why go back to the couch?

their names are Kit, ka KitKat or Kitsie and Kai, aka Mr Grumpy Boots. He's 3 years younger than Kit, but acts like an old cat determined 'these youngsters won't have fun' and leaps on him to stop the play.

When I am with one, I will tell them they are the No 1 Cat, likewise when I am with the other one, that way there's no resentment or jealousy.

BTW, I've been a published writer for well over 30 years now and a professional editor for about 25 years, I think. I'm also a medium. Sometimes I see their auras clearly, then I look for any anomalies. So far they're fine. Since they've been with us (rescue cats, both of them) their coats have become incredibly glossy and good to touch and their energy seems to know no bounds at times.

I allowed Tiger (RIP) to sleep with me for about 12 years. I regret that! She would wake me up at 3pm faithfully with her pawing or other things she doing while I'm sleeping.

When I get a new cat/dog. I will have a room with a daybed for the animals to sleep on together. I do not want anymore animals sleeping with me.

Gracie has always slept in our bed. she has her own blanket at the bottom of the bed! I was up late watching tv and she was nodding off on the sofa so I carried her to the bed and left her there to sleep ! She used to wake us up early by walking over us however now she knows not to bother until our alarm goes off ! Its so funny ! I sometimes wake before the alarm and she just lays there and went the alarm goes she gets up and does her back stretch then walks over us !

At napping time found the bedroom door closed.  For the first time in over 5 years decided to try her ignored bed.

Golondrina said:

At napping time found the bedroom door closed.  For the first time in over 5 years decided to try her ignored bed.

Click to expand...

Nice curled up sleep. You can post this photo here too :-
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/306324/post-your-most-circular-cat-photo

Thank you Tabby Tom. I have just posted my photo as you suggested.

Golondrina said:

Thank you Tabby Tom. I have just posted my photo as you suggested.ix:

Click to expand...

Yep, I saw it already! [emoji]128515[/emoji]

We rate our cats based on whether or not they are good sleeping cats and how good they are at lapping. My best sleeping cat ever was a large tattered ear grey rescue named Harold. Harold would cuddle into the sweet spot just under my arm and I would fall asleep to his purring. In the morning I would wake up with him in almost the same spot and he would be purring. It always felt like he had purred all night long.

Besides the purring the best sleeping cats have the ability to move with you as you turn in your sleep. They don't become bricks that make you find a way around them and they aren't flinchy or super sensitive so that you are afraid to move in your sleep. Not all cats are up to the task. 

My best lapping cat was a tortoiseshell named Turtle (don't judge my originality). Turtle was the ninja-sensi master of lapping. She could lap a complete stranger without them knowing it. They would go to move and discover there was a cat in their lap. They would have no idea when or how she got there. She could do this with anyone -  even those who claimed to hate cats.

Good lapping cats are non-demanding. They fit comfortably in the lap and are able to ride it out when you shift  your legs. They are also capable of being transferred from one lap to another with no real disruption (lap transfers). I have a calico now who is a Roman lapper. She conquers the lap and holds it. She is the complete opposite of a master lapper. She will not give ground and she will not be transferred. She claims her laps. 

Fuzzycat

Oh, and for those with multiple cats, the cat who sleeps closest to your head wins!

Fuzzycat

I have to say Honeybee must be the master lapper. I can pick her up and rearrange her as long as she has her fuzzy red velvet blanket and if she is making biscuits in it she will pass out later. She gets warm so I have learned to not cover her up. Last night Jon put her on me around 10pm and she stayed until midnight. 3am I was awake again and she came back up. She stayed until the Alarm went off at 4:53am then she jumps down and jumps up on her table waiting for treats. Not sure where she went after that. Love it when she sleeps on me. and she rolls with me. usually ends up on her back with paws in the air.

Sometimes war breaks out in the bedroom. Among the cats, as well as others . . . .

Big Boy has for now mostly chased off everyone else who wanted to sleep with me. No more four or five kitties on the bed; just him, most of the time. And, it's warming up a bit anyway.

(So I try to give everyone else a bit of lap time during the day.)

But Zika, the Snowshoe, has gradually crept back in. So soft and fuzzy.

I have cat wars, too. Sheba is 'Queen of the Bed' and sometimes chases the others completely off.

I have cats beside me when I go to sleep and when I wake up. What they do after I go to sleep only they know.