Cat Beds ADVICE NEEDED!!!

[siberian kitty]

I'm getting a kitten very soon and I'm not very sure how many beds I need. I've heard that you should have one in every room but I wasn't sure if that was necessary. What beds are best for kittens, I'm guessing ones with no top but I'm not sure, it might like somewhere to hide. Also should I have a spare bed incase he gets his messy, or is this not likely?

Any suggestions would be really helpful.

 

[wasabibenny3]

How exciting, it sounds like this is your first cat! Cat beds are not necessary for a happy cat, they enjoy laying all over the place! They really like laying in open windows or doors (especially if you have a bird feeder by the window or squirrels running past), on the couch, sometimes mine even lay on the stairs and put their head through the banister to watch me below.

I do have several cat beds in the house- one by the fireplace in the winter, one close to the kitchen, one by my computer. Cats like to be where their humans are so they can keep an eye on the activity of the house. 

I also have a cat tree that I bought off of CraigsList pre-owned for $50 that I have in front of my sliding back door so that cats can watch animals outside. They like that the tree has a scratching post and different perches so they can see the room. 

Don't spend a ton of money on beds or trees, cats don't NEED these things to be happy and healthy. As you get to know your cat and see what activities they enjoy doing, then you should decide what would be best to spend money on in my opinion. 

Good luck! 

 

[minka]

You can get a bed for your kitten if you like (it can be good for when you go to the vet, you can put the bed in the cage), but its entirely up to the cat whether she'll use it or not. Some cats sleep on beds, some cats sleep on shelves, some cats sleep on blankets or chairs or tables.
I wouldn't buy 5 beds or anything, its very possible she'll never use any of them.

 

[missymotus]

We have all kinds here for cats and litters. Igloos, tents, doughnuts, lambswool, large dog pillows.  They like them around the fireplace and on the floor where the sun shines in, also on top of kitchen cabinets (though a SIB might not be so upwardly mobile). We move them around, put different ones out every so often to keep things interesting. 

I always feel a cat tree or 2 are needed, cats need their own place to scratch, climb and play, or they will claw your furniture. You can also ask the breeder what type the kitten is used to, sisal or carpet. 

 

[siberian kitty]

Thank you everyone for replying. I've heard that cats need a scratching post that is just as tall as them so they can stretch up but would a kitten only use a small one or could I get one made for an adult cat for it to grow into?

 

[tumbleweed01]

I wouldn't worry about getting a "cat bed" at a pet store. As others have said, cats like to sleep anywhere. They also LOVE cardboard boxes. I soon discovered that if I let an open card board box out the cat would soon find it, make it her own and sleep soundly in it for weeks or months at a time. My cat would also like to change up the locations where she slept after a period of time. For a while, she might like sleeping in a particular cardboard box, then change to sleeping on the sofa, then to sleeping on one of the people beds, then to sleeping on the rug in a corner, under a chair, etc, etc, etc. and even on to yet another cardboard box if one is available. Cats become adept in finding comfortable sleeping spots in places you might never expect.

I have also heard that it is true that cat scratching posts should be tall so that the cat can stretch it's muscles as much as possible while scratching. This helps their back, shoulders and other muscles. I would go ahead and get the kitten the larger scratching post. She will grow into it and that way you don't have to get another one as she gets older. Also, empty pizza boxes or other tall cardboard boxes also make great scratching posts for cats, as long as you don't mind occasionally cleaning up the shreds of cardboard that process produces.
 

 

[siberian kitty]

Thank you very much that was a very helpful post and I will defiantly use a cardboard box for a bed, do you flatten it out or make it into a house shape with a cutout doorway. I'm also glad to here that I don't have to buy 2 scratching posts, thanks for all the advice.

xxx

 

[mom2raven]

I have never bought a cat bed. The cats sleep on the couch, chair, laps, beds, random spots on floor, kitchen chairs, any place they feel like it :-)

 

[siberian kitty]

Thanks for the advice, I think I will buy one bed for when it's a kitten but does anyone have any thoughts on putting a bed, litter tray and water in a large cage for pets so at night I can put him in it and not worry about the danger he's getting himself into. Of course I wouldn't have him in it all the time just at night so he dosen't harm himself.

 

[jcat]

He'd probably be much happier and quieter confined to your bedroom at night. You might not get a lot of sleep at first, but it will relieve his separation anxiety to a certain extent.

The advice about the cardboard box(es) is great. I'd be surprised to learn there are members here who don't have cardboard boxes sitting around somewhere in their homes. Fleece blankets make really good cat beds, too - you can put them on chairs, sofas, at the foot of the bed, etc.. Cat hair tends to stick to them, but they're easy to wash, and most cats love them. I'd get a large scratching post (ours is a ceiling high tree; I hesitated to get one so high when Jamie was little, but he was getting up on top of kitchen cabinets and bookshelves, which were just as high) and, if possible, some window perches. A towel on a table level with the windowsill will do, too. Beds that are on top of furniture are more likely to be accepted than ones on the floor.

 

[siberian kitty]

I too think the cardboard bed is a really good idea and I have already started collecting cardboard

. And I will be sure to have fleece blankets lying around.

Thanks for replying

xxx

 

[orientalslave]

My cats have a huuuuge bed that they kindly share with me at night. 

They do like a radiator hammock, the sofa is popular, so is my lap, and the cat bed on the floor beside the radiator.

A cardboard box with fleece would be fine.

 

[mrblanche]

Buy something for your kitten...but keep the box.  You'll probably find the kitten prefers the box!

I don't know where you are, but there are "Kitty Play Cubes" sold at many stores in the U.S. (such as Walmart) for less than $10 that we have found cats love to play in, hide in, and sleep in.
 

 

[siberian kitty]

Thank you everyone who has replied. I have thought about a radiator hammock but would a siberian adult be too heavy and fall off?

 

[orientalslave]

My two Orientals - total weight nearly 9kg - are fine in one of the radiator hammocks.  The other one was a very cheap one and keeps coming apart so I've given up with it.

 

[tumbleweed01]

>>Thank you very much that was a very helpful post and I will defiantly use a cardboard box for a bed, do you flatten it out or make it into a house shape with a cutout doorway. I'm also glad to here that I don't have to buy 2 scratching posts, thanks for all the advice.<<

You don't have to flatten it or do anything else with it, just leave it in its normal box shape with the flaps lying open. The best size is one that that is several inches high on the sides, square (or almost square) and just big enough so that the kitty can lie down inside it and feel the sides pressing against him/her...in other words, a box that is just slightly smaller than the size of your kitty when curled up. My kitty always loved boxes and often when receiving a package at the door, she would get all excited at finding a new box entering our household, would check it out immediately and would even try to get inside it before I even had the contents removed from it!

 

[siberian kitty]

My two Orientals - total weight nearly 9kg - are fine in one of the radiator hammocks.  The other one was a very cheap one and keeps coming apart so I've given up with it.

Thanks, I'll make sure I spend a fair amount and nothing too cheap.

>>Thank you very much that was a very helpful post and I will defiantly use a cardboard box for a bed, do you flatten it out or make it into a house shape with a cutout doorway. I'm also glad to here that I don't have to buy 2 scratching posts, thanks for all the advice.<<

You don't have to flatten it or do anything else with it, just leave it in its normal box shape with the flaps lying open. The best size is one that that is several inches high on the sides, square (or almost square) and just big enough so that the kitty can lie down inside it and feel the sides pressing against him/her...in other words, a box that is just slightly smaller than the size of your kitty when curled up. My kitty always loved boxes and often when receiving a package at the door, she would get all excited at finding a new box entering our household, would check it out immediately and would even try to get inside it before I even had the contents removed from it!

Thanks for the advice.

 

[gemlady]

TCS members have come up with many ideas of cat furniture - from cat trees to cardboard box complexes to the Tupperlair.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/187480/cheap-ugly-but-huge-success is one example.

I searched for images of skippymjp's Tupperlair but all I got were red x's.

It it just up to your own imagination and source of materials.

 

[olivesmom]

I bought a small bed with sides for Olive when she was tiny and would put her in it when she fell asleep.

I have it at the foot of my bed now and really like that at night when she settles down to sleep, she will lay in her bed instead of trying to sleep all over me and or the pillows and I don't have to worry about squishing her in my sleep!

I think it is a good idea to have a blanket, bed or even their carrier out and about for them to lay in all the time. They know it is theirs, and if you travel with them, it is something familiar you can bring. When I visit my mom and bring Olive I bring her bed, and she will usually sleep in that even if it is placed some where else. 

She also loves cardboard boxes, baskets and fleece or soft blankets to lay on. Not sure if your cat is long haired, but when it gets warm, Olive loves laying on a rounded piece of glass instead of my carpeted floor.

 

[emilymaywilcha]

I never believed it made any sense to buy a cat bed when the kitty is purrfectly happy on beds made for people.

That was before I moved. When I lived in Ohio, my cats shared a chair in my bedroom I rarely sat in. Now I don't have that chair anymore so I ordered an unheated K&H bed on Amazon I knew she would love. Here it is:

a1e4199b_Patricia1360.jpeg

• katachtig
• Jul 25, 2012

Of course, there is a much cheaper bed that you don't have to wait a long time to get. Wash towels and keep them in the basket. Works every time.