Cats in bedrooms at night or not?

Not Jackson Galaxy

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Do you allow cats in your bedroom at night? If so, do they disturb your sleep much?
If you don't allow them in your room, what is your advice for making this work please?

I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of two kitties so am thinking ahead here.
 

Caspers Human

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It's whatever you want.

If you like having your cats in bed with you, okay. If not, don't do it.

The secret to getting your cats to behave in bed is to not respond to their behaviors or, if they do something you don't like, kick them out of bed. Cats want to snuggle with their humans. If they don't get what they want, they'll need to behave well enough to get what they want.

If you decide that there should be no cats in the bedroom, close the door and roundly ignore your cat's every plea. It might take a while but they will eventually get the message.

I grew up, as a kid, where pets were not allowed in bed. Because of this, as an adult, I just never really got comfortable with it.
Casper likes to sleep in bed with his humans and his Girl-Human likes it so I gave in. After a while I started getting used to it.

Now, as long as Casper sleeps on Girl-Human's side of the bed or, if on my side, near my legs and not next to my head, I'm okay with it.

If Casper does something that bothers me in bed, I just gently pat him on the bum and say, "Move." He gets the message and goes somewhere else. He often comes back a few minutes later and moves in someplace else. If he's quiet, I let him stay.

So, basically, you've got some time to decide whether you like having cats in bed with you.

Hey! If I got used to it, almost anybody can. :)
 

klunick

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When they are small, they will most definitely interrupt your sleep. Night time is play time!! In fact, mine did zoomies between my room and the living room for about 30 minutes around 1am today. But it's short lived and then they will zonk out fast.
 
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Not Jackson Galaxy

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Cute. I don't think cats will want to sleep on the bed with me though, I thrash around in my sleep, i think my husband barely tolerates it in fact!
I guess all cats are different and these ones might be a pain at night or they might not. I like the idea of being very consistent right from when they're kittens rather than trying to train any new behaviours when they're older so maybe I have to decide before I really know how they're going to behave.
 

KittyCatCove

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I have a large bed and I never had a problem with it. My little girl Blackie sleeps with me every night, usually at the bottom of the bed. She comes to my face when I start waking up and rubs her chin on my face, then she flops down on her back and wants me to give her a belly rub while she purrs away. She never meows while I'm asleep, but she sometimes uses me as leverage while she's cleaning or scratching herself.
 

Pjg8r

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In the past I did allow my cats to sleep with me at night but not my current crew. In my opinion it’s easier if you have two to shut them out since they have each other to keep company. A routine really helped when mine were younger. I also put a baby gate across my doorway to make it harder for them to dash in when I go into my bedroom. They are allowed into the room in the morning while I’m scooping the boxes. They all come out when I put breakfast down and then I close the door. There’s no right or wrong answer but I think it’s harder to stop than it is to never let them get into the habit. Also I (usually) travel a lot and I think they are more comfortable alone at night since they aren’t used to sleeping with me anyway.
 

ArtNJ

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I'll say one thing - not having the option to decide is one reason why having cats in a studio is potentially miserable. I would especially never adopt two kittens in a studio. They used to run over us at 3 am in the middle of playing.

Nowadays I have sleep apnea and would never consider allowing them in the bedroom at night. In fact, we don't even allow them in the main levels - they sleep in the furnished basement and never bother us at night. Its one of the best things about having a furnished basement if you are someone like me that fights for every hour of sleep.
 

vince

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I always kept the bedroom door open when I didn't have cats. I kept it up after I got them. They do sleep with me, but come and go as the spirit moves them. The proportion of time they sleep in the bed varies with the season. They all tend to sleep by my feet. I guess I'm too active a sleeper for them to stay by my head.

I'm a sound sleeper, so they never seem to bother me. The only time they wake me is when I sleep in--then they either stick their wet noses in my ear and purr, or sit on my chest and meow.
 

Purr-fect

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Arnold was a bit confused when he read this tread.

After all its HIS bedroom, HIS bed and HE allows me to sleep with HIM.

Arnold and I do sleep together. Yes it does affect the quality of my sleep.....negatively.

But the benefits far far outweigh the negatives for me.

He shows me an intimacy and connection that (although we are close), I simply dont see any other time.

His desire to cuddle closely, his eye contact, the trust he shows, his purring and contentment and that he does this day after day, week after week and year after year is very special and i would have never experienced it otherwise.

In the middle of the night, I reach out and touch him, he stirs, purrs loudly and goes back to sleep. He will get up in the middle of the night, spin around a couple of times and drop down against me spooning. I turn over, he walks around me and drops back down, spooning again.

Its absolutley has grown our connection.

Two nights ago, I simply said "bed time" and he walked into the bedroom, jumped on the bed and waited for me.

Priceless.

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mightyboosh

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Dear reader, just substitute the name Oliver for Arnold. Thanks Purr-fect Purr-fect , it's too similar to my situation not to quote directly.

Arnold was a bit confused when he read this tread.

After all its HIS bedroom, HIS bed and HE allows me to sleep with HIM.

Arnold and I do sleep together. Yes it does affect the quality of my sleep.....negatively.

But the benefits far far outweigh the negatives for me.

He shows me an intimacy and connection that (although we are close), I simply dont see any other time.

His desire to cuddle closely, his eye contact, the trust he shows, his purring and contentment and that he does this day after day, week after week and year after year is very special and i would have never experienced it otherwise.

In the middle of the night, I reach out and touch him, he stirs, purrs loudly and goes back to sleep. He will get up in the middle of the night, spin around a couple of times and drop down against me spooning. I turn over, he walks around me and drops back down, spooning again.

Its absolutley has grown our connection.
 

Coolgram

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Do you allow cats in your bedroom at night? If so, do they disturb your sleep much?
If you don't allow them in your room, what is your advice for making this work please?

I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of two kitties so am thinking ahead here.
Gracie has been allowed to sleep with me since I first got her when she was 6 months old, except for a few weeks in the beginning when I was so sleep deprived I had no choice but to put her in a different room. Now that she has access to my room, I have to admit I still don't sleep as well as I used to before she came into the picture, but I love her sleeping with me nonetheless. In the very beginning though, she just wouldn't settle down and she insisted I should get up at 5:00am or even earlier. For awhile when she tried to wake me that early, I put her in the spare room where her food and litter box are and shut the door. But as she matured I tried allowing her back in with me and for the most part it has worked well. She comes and goes throughout the night, what she does when she's not in bed with me I don't have a clue, but sometimes I hear her zooming around playing with a toy. Conventional cat wisdom says when they try to wake you during the night, pretend you're asleep and don't respond. I tried that but I was a failure, I just have to pet her for awhile. Often that's enough for her and she settles back down. Not sure how it would work out with two kitties though. If you treasure your sleep it might be best to put them in another room at bedtime and maybe over time as they mature you could try bringing them into your room. Good luck!
 

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I would let Toffee and Fudge sleep in my room at night, though my goldfish lives in my bedroom currently so it's not an option at the moment, on top of the fact that it's important for me to get a good nights sleep because otherwise I become very irritable and don't function for at least half the next day. I have naps a lot because my job is tiring, so Toffee and Fudge sleep on my lap when I nap on the sofa as a substitute!

It really depends on you and your sleep routine.
 
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