Do you let your pets sleep in your bed?
I usually let my cat sleep next to me. What about you?
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
79 Answers
Dawww, my beloved cat used to sleep on my pillow every night :’-(
We had a whole routine and she’d start off hanging out on the foot of my bed in the evening, gradually creep up the bed, and by the morning she’d have taken over the whole damn pillow, haha.
My dog is far too big to sleep on the bed when I and my partner are both there. When he’s not around I let her lay on the bed but she won’t stay there for long. I think it’s too warm for her; she usually spends most of the night stretched out on the landing floor.
I have no problem with it, but usually my pets don’t. It seems to be their preference, which might have something to do with the fact that I kick in my sleep.
Of course. Where else would my kitty sleep ?
When I had three cats it was a bit hard to change my position since I had one on either side and the third preferred to be between my feet. If it was warmer weather she was on top of the blanket so I was really pinned down. But most of the time she pregfered being under the covers. Don’t ask me how she managed to breathe :) but she was the one who decided on it. She would keep pestering me and nudging her nose trying to get me to lift up the covers so she could crawl under. A very persistent cat.
It was great insulation for cold winter nights.
Our cats are mortal enemies, so we have to separate them at night. The one that has access to our room usually comes up on the bed at some point.
Are you saying that we have a choice in the matter? It doesn’t always feel that way.
One of my dogs usually sleeps on the bed with me and often finds her way under the covers during the night. When my boyfriend isn’t with me I find it very comforting to have the dog nearby, I wouldn’t say it makes me feel safer, just less alone. I know many people think it is unhygienic to have animals on the bed and I even saw a study once in a newspaper that claimed people who shared their beds with animals had a shorter life expectancy than those that don’t. I don’t care though.
Yes, when I had cats and I let my medium-sized dog sleep in bed.
I agree with @Pied_Pfeffer – when were we given a choice? :D My boys sleep on the bed, but they never get under the covers with me. Even if I try to remove them, they just wait until I fall asleep and then they’re right back up there. And shutting the bedroom door is not an option – they’ll simply hurl themselves against the door to make as much noise as possible, thereby removing sleep as a possibility for me.
@Leanne1986 Our parents had a dachshund who slept under the covers and at the foot of the bed.
@laurenkem Exactly. When our Sheltie got banned from the housemate’s bedroom after he got a water bed, Kimo decided to adopt my bed. There is still scarring on the door frame where he would claw at it until he was let in.
Wouldn’t have it any other way. My cat [and formerly her brother] sleep snuggled up against me. She also has a hideout kitty-bed under the bed whenever she wants to use that. Her brother then used to wake us up for breakfast by turning on the clock radio. She just looks at me and mouths the word “Eat?” after patting my face.
And there are bed games like “pounce on the moving foot-lump” [and once ‘pon time, Jilly pounce on the Jacky-lump, Jacky pounce on the Jilly-lump], and hide-and-seek under the covers.
@hearkat how do you deal with mortal-enemy cats? And doesn’t the one who is shut out feel like an unloved stepchild or at least second banana?
I wish. My parents don’t like having him in bed, and if they close their door, he’ll paw at it and make a lot of noise. So the cat gets banished to the basement at night. But our female cat, who recently died, was very close with me, and my parents would usually wake up before me and let her up, and she would climb into bed with me. I usually woke up with her cuddled by my feet. She also did like @Buttonstc described and burrowed. We always had to check blankets before sitting on them to make sure none of the lumps were her.
Nope. Dog stays on the floor. She does have a little doggie poster-bed my daughter got her though – which is hilarious.
Cloudy sleeps with us for most of the night, though sometimes she does wander off. Rishy comes down for his bedtime treats and leaves after a little bit of ear scratching and petting.
MIlo here: I’d prefer, of course, that Gail sleep in the basement, but she is sneaky and persistent; so is easier for me to acquiesce. However, I make sure that it is really awkward for her to climb over me at 3 :00 AM in order to pee.
And if she hogs too much of the bed and duvet, I give her a swipe with my paws, claws extended. That is very effective.
@tedibear: Rusty is probably busy marking the cards in order to win the next poker game.
Yes, my two cats sleep with or near me every night.
I have a cat tree at the foot of my bed and whomever does not get the top tier gets the bed. lol
Myles in my avatar likes the cat condo and usually claims that and my female Siamese “Mia” is always right next to me in bed.
Right now we do nightly sticker checks and brushies so I don’t wake up with a foxtail in my undies. haha
Actually, last night I gave Myles a bath in the garden hose as it was a hot day, in the 90’s. He is so mellow. Just let me give him a quickie bath, and he felt sooo good and soft last night. I could tell he enjoyed not being a dirt bag inspite of his summer shave job. lol
My dog sleeps with us at night but its on and off. I think at times he either gets too hot or doesn’t care for us moving. But in the morning he will jump right up on the pillow of who ever leaves the bed first and if you try to move him he does a whole dead weight thing so you have to actually lift and move him. I think its his way of protesting the idea that you have come back to bed. Like its his turn on the pillow. Luckily he only weighs 10 lbs but he will scoff off and give you a nasty look if you take him off the pillow. Sometimes he’ll come back up and lay on your pillow behind you and breath heavy on your neck. Like sighs. Very annoying, and I think he knows this.
Never, because there’s a risk.
Stupid spaniel dog does. Dakota, our German Shepherd, only sleeps on the bed when Rick is gone.
A risk of what @mattbrowne?
@mattbrowne What risks?
Kitty suffocating you by sleeping on your face? lol
35 years of sleeping with cats and frogs, frogs carry a much bigger risk. haha
@Dutchess_III I have, yes. Real frogs and man frogs. lol
I often wake up to tree frogs on my pillow. haha
BAHAHAHA. If anyone were going to be sleeping with frogs, it’d be @Coloma. I missed you, lady!
Anyway, to answer the question, of course I let my pets sleep with me. I have 2 cats and there’s usually one or the other on the bed at any given time during the night. When I lived with my parents, the dog would come sleep in my bed after my mom got up :)
I don’t understand people who won’t allow pets to sleep with them. I have a friend who closes the bedroom door every night to keep their 2 cats out, and I just think it’s so weird! If you love your animals enough to let them live in your house, why not in your bed?
Cats are ok to sleep with, but the damn dogs are dirty. I have to wash everything once a week. I’d rather they not sleep with me but I’m not going to sweat the small stuff.
Imagine you had a permanent fur coat . . . and you only bathed once a week (to be generous, but I imagine most pet owners don’t even bathe their pets that often) . . . and you stand in a litter box where you piss and poop . . . would you let YOURSELF sleep in your bed ?!?!?!
I refuse to let my imagination run rampant over things like that. I’d have to start wearing freshly washed and bleached pajamas that covered me head to foot because of all the “nasty” I’d physically encountered that day, and didn’t even know I had. Although freshly washed and bleached PJ’s would really do me any good if you think about it.
Maybe I could get so paranoid that I have to bleach myself before I got to bed every night. And wash the sheets every single day, and once in the middle of the night because of the imaginary nasties.
I’ve slept with some dogs in my time (blame it on being drunk) but never any with four legs.
@Dutchess_III everything in moderation!!! You can’t go getting all germy just to prevent yourself from being a germaphobe!
Yes, no offense dog lovers, but I would never have a dog on the bed.
I slept with a couple of dogs over the years too, no thanks, cats rule! ;-)
One of the all time worst memories of a camping trip was when my ex and I had this monster Coonhound named ” Ruckus” who weighed about 95 lbs. and could drop you to your knees with his 40,000 decibel howl. lol
OMG! In a tent at the beach on a windy night with a crazed Coonhound going off next to your head and sprawled out he was about 4.5 feet long and took over the tent.
If ever I could have killed, the dog and the ex would have been a target.
” Woman found guilty of shooting dog and man at state park campground” lolol
I just don’t worry about silly things @mrrich724, like thinking in detail about cats and dogs going potty, then getting scared to pet them.
@mrrich724
Sooo, you wouldn’t kiss my goose on the beak?
@gailcalled The others already warned him about the loaded Yahtzee dice, so I’m not sure he’ll try that.
Bilbo doesn’t like to sleep with Smaug
...hey wait…intruders…sheep…shoohhh….shooohhh…go away…hooffffff….Bilbo moved into a new hole with door instead…aahhh…precious!
@mrrich724 Oh, I do agree with you assessment of cats that use a litter box. That’s why I don’t use a litter box. My cats go outside.
I like that bed @gailcalled! I want to sleep in it too! Milo can come.
@Dutchess_III: You’re negotiating with the wrong person. I just follow orders.
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. In general, we don’t mind the cats sleeping with us but…
1) Every once in a while, I can’t stand the extra fur floating around getting in my nose when I’m trying to sleep.
2) We have a window unit air conditioner in our bedroom, and they tend to push the door wide open, letting all the cold out.
3) Then there’s a little problem my kitten is having with liking to pee on our clothes when they’re in a pile on the floor (dirty) or in a laundry basket (clean, folded clothes!) Ugh.
Most of the time, we shut the bedroom door because of those things. When I sleep on the couch, though, I’ve got one on my shoulder/arm (I sleep on my side, she sleeps on top of me), and often, another at my feet. When we leave the bedroom door open, both of them end up in bed with us.
@Coloma: Does your goose give good beak?
My female cat does, and my male cat will occasionally visit during the night, but he never stays long. My dog prefers her crate. Even when I pat my hand on the bed for her, she just looks at me like, “Why do I want to get up there? I’m fine.”
But my little female cat constantly switches things up; she sleeps at the foot of the bed, between my hubby and me, right up against my side, draped across my chest, and on my pillow.
When I was a teenager, my parents traveled on business meetings, and I was sent to stay with my sister and BIL at their farmhouse. The only source of heating was a wood-burning stove on the ground floor. During the frigid winter time, I appreciated having their two cats and German shepherd sleep on top of my bed for the additional warmth.
They let me sleep with them.
My dog Ginger used to sneak up on my bed during the night,
one
very
slow
foot
at
a
time.
She thought she was fooling me, but I felt it from the first. When I woke up in the morning I would have that 75 pound dog and 3 cats with me on my bed.
@bewailknot: Perhaps Ginger was trying to avoid the cats taking notice of her. You may be the lowest man on this totem pole.
My animals have always slept outside but several years ago my daughter left me with a six-month-old cat temporarily, I don’t know quite how it happened but he ended up sleeping inside, not only that, he ended up sleeping in my bed, not only that, I ended up completely besotted with him. I missed Bobcat when a home was eventually found for him, would have kept him had it not been for my very possessive cat, to put it mildly Lucy would have had a fit if I had kept him, she never would have forgiven me.
Question is, do my cats let me sleep in the bed…
My cats usually sleep on, or around the bed. I like when they do, and I love when they purr really loud, it’s really comforting. And sometimes they just fight on the bed and won’t let me sleep haha.
When I was a little girl, my first cat slept on my pillow, draped around the top of my head like a hat. I loved that.
Haven’t yet read any of the other answers, but YES! You bet your bippie! My puddy tat sleeps with me! I can’t imagine sleeping any other way. I love the warmth and the sound of “whee, whee whee” very soothing. Soft tummies and yawns in the morning : ) The best thing, ever.
My cat sleeps with us occasionally. He sleeps wrapped around our heads, or on our pillows or if it is very cold, he forces his way in between us and sleeps under the blankets.
We used to let the dogs sleep on the end of the bed until we realised we were sleeping really badly because they hog a lot of bed space. So, we evicted them. They could still see us for a while and had nice, comfy beds – just not ours. We used a baby gate and then gradually moved it so now they sleep in the hallway. In the morning they are allowed to jump on the bed for cuddles.
Yes I do. My kitty sleeps with me :)
@Kardamom “you bet your bippie” I actually Lol’d quite hard!
@Symbeline; “You bet your sweet bippy” was a catch-phrase from Laugh-In, a very successful and funny (for the time) comedy variety show that ran from 1968 to 1973 on CBS.
Goldie Hawn, Lilly Tomlin, Rowan and Martin, Flip Wilson, Sammy Davis jr. and a host of other familiar faces and jokes that are now part of the common parlance.
@gailcalled Laugh In was THE BEST!! Still is! Here com’ de judge! Here com’ de judge!
And Nixon in his deadpan “Sock it to me”
:D
@Pied_Pfeffer not quite the 3-dog night, but at least a 3-critter night in tht chilly farmhouse.
Milo here; With Gail in bed with me, it is much easier to give her a serious swat across her face when I need feeding, often at 4:00AM.
@Coloma I don’t think I’d kiss a goose on a beak, LOL
@Dutchess_III I’m not scared to pet them. I just don’t want them climbing on my pillow! :)
If letting your pet sleep in your bed were actually dangerous, then you should also never let them sit on your couch, and you could never sit on the floor where they’ve been sitting. Oh shit, you should probably never even touch your pets. OMG!
@Dutchess_III – Not everyone thinks it’s a problem. But I’d say if only 60% of all scientists come to the conclusion there can be a problem I opt for better safe than sorry.
I’ll bet 100% of scientists will tell you run a pretty tremendous risk every time you get in a car. FAR more risky than letting pets sleep in your bed. Shouldn’t you opt for safety instead?
Almost everything we do is a risk in some way. The issue is whether benefits outweigh the risks. Cars as an important part of industrialized societies which have given us life expectancies of 80 years and more. They save numerous lives in emergency situations. Pets also have tremendous benefits, but as far as I know you still get these benefits with pets sleeping next to your bed or in the next room. When we sleep our noses and mouths are extremely close to sheets and pillow cases for a whole 8 hours or so.
So maybe a better comparison would be whether you drive around in your car with or without a seat belt.
@mattbrowne The main thing is, all the horrible diseases you can possibly get from cats and dogs you can get just because you have them…dogs and cats. Sleeping with them is no different than letting them sleep on your lap or petting them.
@Dutchess_III – Sorry, I disagree. Sleeping with them is different from letting them sleep on your lap or petting them (unless you lick your hands or pick your nose before washing your hands).
Having pets in your bed is like driving a car without a seat belt. You see, most of the time we don’t have accidents. So why have seat belts?
@mattbrowne‘s point is not totally without merit. He just takes it to a farther degree than most of us do.
There are certain diseases and other nasties which can be passed to us from our pets. Granted, not a whole lot, but there are some.
I don’t allow any of my pets to lick my face or near my mouth. I know where else that tongue has recently been :) its not currently a problem cuz my current cat is not really a face picker. But years ago I had a cat who was super friendly and constantly grooming me and anyone else who would let her. And her first instinct upon getting anywhere near my face was to try to lick madly. This was just an integral part of her very friendly personality.
It took me quite a while to break her of Ghent habit. I would just blow in her face to discourage her And then she would reluctantly settle for one of my arms or legs. But she kept on trying for the face. Took quite a while for her to get the point :)
Many people are OK with the puppy licking their child’s face and mouth but its just not a healthy thing for the child.
I find it hard to sleep without a kitty on my feet.
MIlo here; I move from bed to bed in my household. Here I am color-coordinated with the decor in a guest room.
Milo rests
Man I wish I was a cat. I’d hang around in beds constantly!
I woke up this morning to look into the sleepy, yellow eyes of my tom cat, who promptly went back to sleep, while I worried about what time it was and I don’t want to sleep too long. Didn’t have to get up for any reason, that’s just me feeling guilty. I wish I was a cat too. A dog would work too!
Answer this question 
