Won't sleep in cat bed

Bobsk8

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I bought 2 different beds for my cat which I adopted about 6 weeks ago. She will sleep on her cat tree bed, on my sofa, but seems totally indifferent to either cat bed. Any suggestions.
 

neely

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I bought 2 different beds for my cat which I adopted about 6 weeks ago. She will sleep on her cat tree bed, on my sofa, but seems totally indifferent to either cat bed.
You're in good company, most but not all, of our cats have not slept in the beds we bought for them either. In fact, one of our cats would only sleep in the dog's bed. :biggrin: Our present cat prefers the sofa or "our bed." However, I leave his cat bed out and if I'm in the same room he will stay in it for awhile. Perhaps if you're in the same room as her she may get accustomed to the cat bed but if not don't worry as long as she's happy and healthy she will choose her favorite sleeping spots.:sleepycat:
 

susanm9006

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Sometimes these new things come in with an odor the cat just doesn’t like, sometimes they don’t like the feel or the placement of the bed and sometimes it just isn’t quite the right size. Also, some locations are preferred in one season over the other. This is why cat owners shouldn’t pay lots for a cat bed and should offer the cat a variety of bed and places to sleep. My cats have always changed their favorite sleeping spots at least a few times a year

You can try throwing a fuzzy, fleece or fake fur blanket over the bed since many cats find this kind of material irresistible. Or move the beds to a different spot, or just let them sit to see if in a few months they begin using it.
 

LTS3

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Cats will sleep wherever they want :lol: You can buy all the fancy cat beds out there only to find that your cat prefers to sleep on the sofa, the laundry basket, an empty box, anywhere but the cat bed. You can donate the unused cat beds to a shelter or just keep them around and maybe one day the cat will decide to sleep in it.
 

ArtNJ

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Get a kitten. Then you will have a brand new 50/50 chance that the cat bed will be used. Haha, funny but true. That said, if you put it in the safe room when the kitten is first brought home, it will probably be used, at least for a while.)

If you want better odds, all the cats I've had have at one time or another liked to sleep in the bowl tops of those pretty common scratching posts with a sisile rope post and a circular bowl up top. The nice thing about those is that you can position them near your chairs, so the cat is near you when it wants to be. When it doesn't want to be near you, viola, cup holder!
 

Mamanyt1953

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If I had a dollar for every dollar I have spent on beds that Hekitty will not sleep in, I'd have all my dollars back! Cats are notorious about things like that. However, there's a good chance that if you stick the bed in corner somewhere and give up entirely, your cat will decide that there is NOTHING IN THIS WORLD BETTER THAN THAT BED! Except, of course, the box it came in. Because cat.
 

Lillyenn

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We bought a cat bed maybe 2 months ago for our kitten Kovu (it's so soft I would gladly sleep in it if I were cat). No one really used it first because it's a new unfamiliar looking and smelling thing and there are so many other places a cat can use for sleeping so the cats were totally unintrested. But the kitten figured out how comfortable it is one day, and since then he regularly uses it (and so does his mom). Getting some clothes/little blankets that they are familiar with or favorite toys etc. in them might get the cats to explore the beds. But even then they might never use them for the intended purpose. Some cats are more picky with sleeping places than others. And here is my orange tabby Kumal preffering the literal most uncomfortable "sleeping" places I have ever seen over the soft ones:
 

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Jewely

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Try placing a well worn, unwashed T-shirt of yours in the bed. That’s how I got mine interested in his bed after he ignored it after I bought it. I left it in there for I think a little less than a week and that’s all it took!
 

Krienze

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We recently adopted two kittens. I bought them both a bed. Only the girl will sleep in it, the male? He wants to sleep EVERYWHERE else, including my kitchen table. lol
 

jcat

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Sometimes it helps to put the cat bed on a sofa, table, desk, spare bed, etc., in other words, in an elevated spot.
 

pearl99

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I have a cat that likes to be under things, so I put the new bed on the shelf of an end table that is near the floor. Bingo! And, if you put it on a couch where you sit the kitty may like that.
Experiment, something may happen. Or not. :redtabby:
 

Drewster

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I bought my cat a little bed for his cat tree to make his cat tree a little more alluring to him since he never used it. For a good month he never went up there to try his new bed, i would pick him up and put him in the bed to get a feel for it and he would just jump right off. One day i came home and he was laying in the bed and i thought it was just a fluke. But now he hangs out up there and sleeps there all the time, half the time he doesnt come up to bed he just sleeps in his little bed. So maybe just give it a little time, he may wander up there in time
 

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Neko-chan's mama

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In the 10 months I've had her, Neko-chan has never used her cat bed. She likes the top of her cat tree, the couch, our bed, or the office chair. Sometimes she goes in it to hide from her prey while playing. Cats choose their favorite beds.
 

Kat0121

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Mine don't use theirs either. I have them all over the place. Sophie will curl up on the floor NEXT to one of the soft, cozy beds I got her. Her #1 favorite nap spot though is right smack in the middle of MY favorite pillow. Lilith likes my bed and most of her sleeping is done there.
 

Kat0121

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I've tried everything to interest them in using the bed. After a couple years trying, I use it as a foot warmer in the TV room.
You and me both. I sometimes wonder if they don't want them simply because WE want them to want them. :lol:

Mine aren't interested in their own toys but love playing with anything of mine.
 

Coolgram

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I bought 2 different beds for my cat which I adopted about 6 weeks ago. She will sleep on her cat tree bed, on my sofa, but seems totally indifferent to either cat bed. Any suggestions.
I'm glad to hear I'm not alone with this problem. I've had my 1-1/2 yr. old, Gracie, for almost a year now and about 6 months ago I bought her a lovely (I thought!) bed, kind of like a little cave, all comfy with a reversible mattress. I thought what cat wouldn't love this. Nope, not her. She won't touch it with a ten foot pole. I've moved it to many different spots but it doesn't matter where it is, she won't get in it. I even sprinkled a little catnip in it once and even that didn't do it. I also tossed some favorite toys in it, hoping she'll go in to retrieve them and decide she likes it. Nope. As a last resort I put an unwashed t-shirt of mine over the mattress. Nothing. It's become sort of an obsession with me that she likes it, and I suppose that's why she doesn't - she's going to win this battle of wits! I guess in the grand scheme of things it's a minor problem to have but I understand your frustration. Good luck!
 

Kat0121

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I'm glad to hear I'm not alone with this problem. I've had my 1-1/2 yr. old, Gracie, for almost a year now and about 6 months ago I bought her a lovely (I thought!) bed, kind of like a little cave, all comfy with a reversible mattress. I thought what cat wouldn't love this. Nope, not her. She won't touch it with a ten foot pole. I've moved it to many different spots but it doesn't matter where it is, she won't get in it. I even sprinkled a little catnip in it once and even that didn't do it. I also tossed some favorite toys in it, hoping she'll go in to retrieve them and decide she likes it. Nope. As a last resort I put an unwashed t-shirt of mine over the mattress. Nothing. It's become sort of an obsession with me that she likes it, and I suppose that's why she doesn't - she's going to win this battle of wits! I guess in the grand scheme of things it's a minor problem to have but I understand your frustration. Good luck!
Same here. I have done everything you have described and gotten the same results. :ohwell:
 

pearl99

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Have you tried putting her favorite food in there? :devilcat:
 
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