Sleeping In Our Bed...

[go4me77]

Our kittens are nearly 5 months old and they have always slept in our bed, but my husband and I aren't sleeping well WITH them. I have been reading up on what you should/should not do and I read that it wasn't a good thing to let your cat sleep in your bed. Uhoh. I want to break the habbit quickly now, but read that it's nearly impossible once they start.

I'm willing to try to change their behavior, but worried it won't help. I've had other cat owners tell me "lock them in a room at night" but I don't think that will help them or us. First of all, I think that's just inhuman. (think of how you would feel if someone locked you up at night.) Second, the cats would meow and cry all night. Again, not a solution to the issue.

The site recommended that you get them their own bed. (Ok, I can handle that) and let the cat sleep in your bedroom but not WITH you. They will know you are there, without having to be all over you.

Anyone else having an issue with a kitten/cat sleeping with you? Do you have any other ideas?

[Ducman69]

Originally Posted by go4me77

I'm willing to try to change their behavior, but worried it won't help. I've had other cat owners tell me "lock them in a room at night" but I don't think that will help them or us. First of all, I think that's just inhuman. (think of how you would feel if someone locked you up at night.)

Does a goldfish mind its fishbowl? Probably not.

Cats are not human and don't think like humans. Many cats live very happily in small rooms, and its even recommended when bringing a cat to a new home. My coworker's cat lived in his master bathroom for about a month before he felt like expanding his territory.

I'm having issues with mine as well, as they like to nuzzle in between my legs or right up against my chest or back, which renders me immobile, heh.

I've kept them locked out without much fuss. If the kitty is meowing at the door, just purchase a SCATTT (think thats the spelling) motion sensor air spray. It merely startles them, but cats hate to be startled and to them its a magical keep-away force that isn't associated with you and they'll avoid the area and not attempt to bug you.

[Heidi n Q]

I don't have issues with cats sleeping with me as long as they don't excessively groom or play. If they are sleeping/resting, all is fine. If they are too active and disturb my sleep ... OUT of the bedroom they go! They adjust.

[antigone21]

I set up my cat's bed on the other side of my bedroom door which is kept closed. She used to sleep with us but sometimes started to play under the bed and kept us awake. It took a couple of nights to adjust, she would scratch under the door. The trick is not to give in and open the door and they will soon understand that scratching leads to nothing. She now happily sleeps on her bed (which is an old pillow covered by a cute kitty blanket) right next to our door and has the freedom to go play if she wants to. When we open the door in the morning, she has the right to come in and cuddle in the bed for a couple minutes. Sometimes we even leave the door open but she doesn't come bother us anymore, she stays on her little bed!

[marie73]

My cats start out sleeping with me, but some mornings, like today, they get booted out in the wee hours if they get too restless.

[Jess041]

My cat starts out sleeping with me, but sometimes she leaves because I'm moving around too much!

Sometimes she'll try to play in the middle of the night with her toys and bring them up on my bed.. but I just take them away from her and she'll stop. When she was a kitten and she would try to play when I was trying to sleep, I would put her in the bathroom (connected to my room). She figured it out after 2 or 3 nights.

Lexi has a bed that she sleeps in when she gets tired of my tossing and turning. It's also where she naps during the day because I set it by the window. Keep in mind that even if you buy a cat bed.. that doesn't mean your cats will sleep in it!

[Chieftain]

My cat Marley HATED his bed. I rubbed catnip on it and everything and when I went to show it to him, his paws touched it and it was a reaction like "Ew this feels nasty."

He'd rather sleep on the coffee table or my desk chair. We've had him for about half a year now and he's always had access to our room. He might come up to snuggle but he'd rather be on the chairs, and when he gets restless we just lock him out of the room. Only had to do it once, he complained for a couple of minutes maybe.

Considering they're young and there's plenty of them I think they'd be fine free-roaming the house if they bother you too much at night, might whine a bit but they'll keep themselves entertained after a bit.

Good luck!

[Susan]

I actually wish my cats would sleep with me, but they choose not to, because I spoiled them early in life. When Muffin was a baby, she would sleep under my bed (she was fearful and used to hide a lot). To convince her to stay more out in the open, I put a small cat tree beside my bedroom window, and she’s slept in the tree since the day I bought it. When I adopted Abby, she wanted to sleep in Muffin’s tree, and poor Muffin ended up back under the bed (the tree only accomodates one cat). So, off to the store with me for another small cat tree, which now sits at the other side of my bedroom window. The girls rarely sleep anywhere else.

[Sinatra-Butters]

The only time my kids get kicked out of my room is if they are wrestling or Sinatra is crawling on my face at 5am because he wants some treats. Nutmeg doesn't sleep with me because my bed is Sinatra's territory. I wish she would though, I would love to have both of them sleep with me! I love cuddling up with Sinatra at night, I would be sad if he stopped.

[BarkingPup]

Both my cats sleep in my bed when they want to; not necessarily when I want them to. I can't lock them out of my room because I have no door so I'm kinda stuck.

I don't know why they usually opt not to sleep with me. Maybe I move too much? I learned to sleep through their playing pretty quickly and it usually doesn't get me up anymore. I just ignored their crying and they got the hint pretty quickly. Um... yeah, I would definitely miss my morning alarm-clock via cat in the face if I locked them outta my room ,tho. ^^