5 reasons why a cat sleeps next to its owner

Cats are interesting animals. They are quite independent, but at the same time insist on regular attention from their family members. They often sleep, but can be quite playful while they are awake. Sometimes they can be loud and annoying, and sometimes they can be sweet and cuddly. Luckily, most cats like to rest at night, just like their human companions.

Getting settled at night usually means going to bed. So, you might be wondering why your cat likes to sleep next to you every night. Is their own bed not comfortable enough? It turns out that cats like to sleep next to people for more reasons than comfort. Here are the reasons why your cat may like to sleep next to you at night.

They defend their territory

One of the main reasons why cats love to sleep with their owners is to protect their territory. They consider the entire house to be their territory, but they also take pride in being part of the family pack. So, when their family sleeps, they want to be there to protect them as part of their territory. Their most valuable "possession" is their people, so naturally they will want to be around you all night as well as during the day.

Your own tuning fork

Our body is able to repair itself while it sleeps. To do this, it has its own internal system, which operates on the basis of very weak electrical impulses. These impulses are produced by the brain and are used to communicate between cells. After all, what is our body? Basically - water with a high content of minerals, that is, an electrically conductive environment. The cells of the brain, bones, nerves - all vibrate at their own frequencies, and our body acts as a tuning fork tuning them to the desired frequency. This phenomenon has a scientific name - resonance. But if other, foreign vibrations (an external electric field) arise nearby, the body's cells will be confused about what they should do and how quickly. And in the place where we sleep, the impact of external sources (electrical wiring in ceilings, walls and floors) on the body becomes thousands of times stronger than the effect of the electrical system of our own body. Long-term exposure to these electric fields can disrupt the ability of our body's cells to communicate within themselves. In fact, a person spends approximately one third of his life sleeping, which is why it is important for us to make sure that our bedroom is protected from electromagnetic field disturbances.

They like communication

Another reason why cats love to sleep with their human companions is that they love companionship, and having you go to bed every night is familiar to them. If you let your cat sleep with you even occasionally, it can quickly become a habit that's hard to break, especially on nights when you don't want her to sleep with you.

Cat and man

It is important for cats to take part in the life of the owner and be part of the events that happen. By lying down in a person's place, his clothes, or jumping into his arms, they feel in the thick of things, and with the help of smell they receive additional information.

When a cat rubs against a person and his things, she leaves her scent and accepts him as a member of her pack. Especially if the kitten was separated from its mother early, this is exactly how it perceives the person. The cat worries about him and if he senses problems in his body, he lies down on the weak spot, sharing his healing energy.

For reasons unknown to humans, a cat likes to fall asleep not in a cat house, but in a human bed or in a chair. Pregnant women most often experience discomfort when an animal sits on their stomach. They worry that the pet will cause harm by the pressure of its weight on the developing fetus. And some are afraid that the cat feels some kind of deviation. In fact, the animal is simply leaning against a warm and living place.

Ways to get your cat out of bed

If you don't want your cat to sleep next to you every night, there are a few things you can try to get her to startle before bed. Start by simply asking your cat to get out of bed before bed. If this doesn't help, try the following options:

Move the cat bed . Remove a bedside table or place a TV tray next to the bed and place one of your cat's beds on top. Hopefully your cat will sleep in her own bed and feel as if she's sleeping in yours.
Close your door . Closing the bedroom door is a surefire way to keep your cat out of bed at night. They may meow and howl the first few nights, but patience and persistence on your part should curb the irritation and help your cat accept his nighttime reality.
Offer to a friend for the night . Give your cat a new furry bedtime buddy to cuddle with in bed. With luck, they will be satisfied with the warmth, friendship and security it offers.

One or all of these options may be right for you and your cat, so it's a good idea to try them all before deciding which ones are best for your family.

Be sure to feed your cat at night

Check what time you feed your cat. He might be waking you up because he's hungry. It is recommended to feed cats 3-4 times a day with breaks of 6-8 hours. So that your cat can sleep peacefully for the allotted time and not wake up from hunger, feed her before you go to bed yourself.

An automatic feeder will also be useful. It will save you from the hassle of morning feeding, because it’s more pleasant to lie in bed on a day off than to run to the kitchen to feed a hungry cat. Automatic feeders can dispense food at a certain time, and the pet waiting for breakfast will hang around near it, and not near your bed.

Final comments

Many people don't mind their cats sleeping next to them. However, not every cat owner feels the same way. I hope the information presented here will help you understand the reasons why your cat insists on sleeping with you and what you can do about it if you don't like it. How do you feel about cats sleeping with their human companions? Let us know what you think in our comments section.

Posted by Christian Adams An American expat living in Metro Manila, Philippines for over a decade, Christian is a lifelong cat lover and the proud father of two rescue cats, Trixie and Chloe. Both girls used to be among the crowds of homeless people who roam the cities and countryside. Three-year-old Trixie was rescued from a litter found under a neighbor's porch, and two-year-old Chloe was brought home by Christian's young son, Henry, who discovered the crying kitten in the parking lot.

Sleep norm for a cat

It’s worth starting with the fact that long sleep is considered normal for representatives of this species. Our pets are descendants of wild cats, and some habits remain in the blood of domesticated animals.

In nature, cats can sleep sweetly only after a successful hunt and on a full stomach. During rest, food is digested. If the animal is hungry, it falls asleep for a short time and sleeps restlessly.

In modern conditions of a comfortable life, pets do not need to spend a long time looking for food, because caring owners feed them regularly. The cat will spend more time digesting food, because he does not need to recuperate for hunting.

There is no single sleep standard for cats. It is believed that an individual can spend 12 to 16 hours sleeping per day. The duration of sleep depends on many factors: age, living conditions, temperament of the pet, health status and even its breed.

Age

The period of growing up requires an abundance of energy, so newborn kittens can sleep 20-22 hours a day, waking up only to snack. By three months they sleep 16-18 hours a day, and by the eighth month of life they begin to sleep like adults.

If you have an older pet over 8 years old, be prepared for him to spend more time sleeping to regain his strength.

Breed

Carefully bred breeds for domestic keeping are far removed from their wild ancestors and they retain less and less of the typical behavioral responses of a wild cat.

The British Shorthair, Maine Coon, and Siberian cats like to sleep longer. But emotional and active Abyssinians, Siamese cats, and Orientals will devote less time to rest.

Conditions of detention

In the cold season, animals tend to take a place near a heat source - they sleep better there, so their rest becomes longer. Some cats also react to the weather - when it’s cloudy outside, relaxation in the warmth lengthens. At the same time, if it is very hot outside, cats often rest for a long time, thanks to which they normalize their body temperature and cope with high temperatures.

If you pick up an animal on the street and are worried that it sleeps a lot, don’t worry, most likely, the pet is simply sleeping in a comfortable environment.

I invite you to watch a video that contains interesting facts about the duration of a cat’s rest:

Metal in bed

Most beds and sofas have metal springs or parts. Unfortunately, this metal can enhance and distort the Earth's natural magnetic field, leading to restless sleep, nightmares, headaches, anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue, eyestrain, and muscle spasms. To find out whether your bed contains residual magnetism and whether it can be magnetized, Vicki Warren advises using a compass - slowly moving it across the bed every 30-35 centimeters. The compass needle should point north. If this is not the case, you should be wary. It is very important to protect pregnant women and young children from exposure to electromagnetic fields. It is harmful for a child to sleep in a metal bed, since the baby’s body is extremely susceptible to electromagnetic fields. A safer alternative is a wooden cradle or crib. Moreover, it turns out that high levels of electromagnetic fields in a pregnant woman's bedroom can contribute to the birth of a child with autism! If throughout pregnancy a woman sleeps in strong electromagnetic fields, her child may develop some deviations from the norm in mental development during the first years of life.

Signs of a cat's rest

Recently, more and more different signs about representatives of the feline family in the bed of their owner have been popping up on the Internet. Until now, experts continue to argue about why pets do this, but there are several plausible assumptions:

Pets are designed in such a way that they have very strong energy, so they can easily find pain points on the human body and begin to heal them. If the owner has a headache, then for this reason the animal can lie down in the area of the head and try to “cure it.”
an independent cat who has chosen a certain person as her owner believes that this person is a stronghold of security for her, so she lies down on his pillow or head and finds a calm place;
if a pet sleeps in its owner’s bed, it shows its love and devotion;
cats are extremely heat-loving animals; they are constantly looking for a warm place in the house. One of the sources of heat is a person, so it is logical that a pet is looking for a place near its owner.

Symptoms of diseases with drowsiness

A cause for concern is the baby's unhealthy appearance and passive behavior. Diseases can be identified by the following signs:

refusal of food, water;
dry or too wet nose;
lethargy;
limb weakness;
brittle wool;
increased body temperature;
underweight;
plaintive meow.

With the help of sleep, the animal tries to overcome the disease, but it does not always work. To restore the kitten's strength, the intervention of a veterinarian or a change in the owner's attitude is required. For example, you should change the food, take your pet for a walk when it is fresh, etc.

Where in the house do cats usually sleep?

Having figured out where and why cats like to sleep, let’s move on to what exactly a cat’s corner should look like. In addition to the most attractive locations, it is recommended to pay attention to those that may be dangerous.

What places need to be better equipped?

Based on your pet's preferences. Observe where he rests most often and do everything possible for comfort and safety.

If your cat loves heights, give him a separate space on a closet or windowsill, adding a soft blanket or bed from the store. If he gravitates more towards secluded locations such as a laundry basket, replace it with a comfortable cup-shaped bed from a pet store. Also suitable in this situation is a wicker basket or cardboard box, which you can decorate as you wish. The main thing is that the inside is warm, dry and clean - periodically any bed needs to be cleaned and washed with odorless products.

Where is it better to keep your pet out?

Despite the cat's dissatisfaction, it is recommended to leave some places off-limits. These include:

baby's cradle;
allergy room;
kitchen set and dining table;
cornice in the absence of a protective mesh “anti-cat”;
a rug in the hallway containing a large amount of dirt and germs;
washing machine;
a system unit that is often damaged as a result of overheating from cat hair.

All of the above poses a danger to the health of the animal itself and its owners, as well as their property. Stop sleeping in restricted areas from the first days of your pet's arrival. Special repellent sprays, citrus peels, rustling foil and tape are suitable for this.

Peekaboo

How many times have you run around your apartment in a panic, looking for a cat that seemed to have disappeared into thin air? Yes, most cats have this crazy habit of settling down to sleep in a secluded place. Hiding is normal behavior for cats, especially when they want to get a good night's sleep. They do not like noise and value privacy, usually finding a quiet and dark place, such as in a laundry basket or on the top of a clothes rack, where they sleep most of the day.

Most often they go to places that have only one entrance. This way they don't have to stay on guard all the time. They often choose spaces that are away from family members. Tight and confined boxes make cats feel safe. The sides of the container act as armor that protects the animal from predators. This way he doesn't have to be on guard all the time, making it easier to relax. In addition, boxes help cats reduce stress.

Why does a cat take the owner's place?

If a cat lives in the house, then its owner cannot help but notice some peculiarities in the behavior of his animal. Cats and cats can surprise; they give rise to a lot of questions and superstitions. If a person is about to sit down on a chair, then the cat is right there. The pet jumps onto the chair right in front of the owner's nose.

It seems that the pet is doing this on purpose, as if he wants to demonstrate his leadership and audacity. The owner at this moment usually adjusts and does not interfere. However, the situation is somewhat different. The cat tries to take exactly the place of the owner, since the elusive smell of a person remains there. Cats have a keen sense of smell.

The pet expresses the mood to be close to its owner. The same thing happens when a cat goes to sleep on its owner's clothes.

After the owner gets up from the chair, the seat retains heat for some time. A soft, warm chair that also retains its owner's scent is a great place to sleep. If a feline jumps onto a chair before the owner sits down, this is a sign that the pet is attracting attention. You need to try to give the animal some of your time, communicate, scratch the cat behind the ear.