This pet parent benefits from having her cat sleep in bed with her.

Sleeping with Your Cat – It’s Mutually Beneficial

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Sleeping with your cat or kitten can have enormous wellness benefits. But as with many parenting decisions, there are some drawbacks too. So, if you do decide to let your meow in bed with you when they’re still small, make sure it’s an informed decision. They won’t feel happy if you change your mind later…

Of course, letting your fur-legged friend share your bed is ultimately up to you – and your cat.

Here are some facts to help you decide.

Sleeping with your cat has health benefits

A cat’s purr has between 20 and 30 vibrations per second. The constant rhythmic vibration helps to relieve stress and lower blood pressure. In fact, purr frequencies correspond to vibrational/electrical frequencies used to treat many painful conditions.

These include:   

  • Bone growth
  • Healing fractures
  • Pain reduction
  • Swelling
  • Muscle growth
  • Muscle strain
  • Joint flexibility
  • Difficulty breathing (dyspnea)

To sum it up, cats may purr to heal themselves and stay healthy but their purrs also provide us with healing benefits too. In fact, cat owners may have 40% less risk of having a heart attack.  

Lastly, have you ever wondered is a cat purr really peaceful? As it turns out, a cat’s purr is used to communicate a multitude of feelings, from fear, to a request for food and of course contentment.

What all the purrs have in common is that they promote wellness, making them an ideal sleep tonic.

This sleeping cat's purr could promote many aspects of health for its own wellbeing and its owners if they sleep in the same bed.

Cats’ body temperature

Cats have a higher body temperature than we do. This slight temperature difference can make sleeping so much cosier. Your cat loves the warmth they get from you too. Cats love to be where the heat is.

Have you ever seen a cat sitting next to a ray of sun? Exactly, the answer is no. Rather, cats will always sit directly in the light to get the maximum temperature benefit, even on a warm day.

The human cat connection when sleeping with your cat

Sleeping with your cat can be comforting and provide a sense of security. These benefits are reciprocal. Cats are by instinct always on the alert, so when they sleep in your bed it means they feel secure with you.

Kittens sleep in litters, so by sleeping with you your cat is showing affection and creating a deeper bond with you. In addition, cats are territorial. By sharing your bed, your feline bestie is saying “you’re my person.” Knowing you’re wanted and needed makes for a good night’s sleep.

Kittens sleep together so if your cat sleeps with you they trust you.

Are cats nocturnal

Not 100%. So while many cat parents might have concerns about being kept awake at night, it’s noteworthy that cats are actually crepuscular. This means they’re most active at dusk and dawn (when rats and mice are most active).

So, while it’s true that cats are more active than humans are at night, this can be curbed by routine playtime in the evenings. An hour or two of playtime before bedtime (your bedtime) will help allow you and your fur-legged bestie to lock into a similar sleep routine.

Here’s a video to help you train your cat to let you sleep.

Drawbacks of sleeping with your cat

Of course, if you have an outdoor cat, you might find co-sleeping with them leads to all sorts of weird debris landing up under the covers. If this is a problem but you’d still like your cat in your bed, try a cat basket on your bed. Then there’s also the possibility of finding a dead mouse in your bed or worse… Cats can be quirky sometimes.

PD Insurance recently did a survey of 1000+ pet parents and discovered one feisty feline pooped on their pet parent while they were sleeping. Then buried the poop in the duvet. This could give you nightmares!

Children can benefit from the companionship of having their cat sleep in bed with them.

Sleeping on our head or face

Another concern might be cats sleeping on your head, neck or face. Cats have a reputation for sleeping on faces, which would be dangerous for children and babies.

 But do note that children also benefit from the security and companionship of having a cat sleeping with them. Just make sure they’re old enough to push puss off if necessary.

The reason many cats prefer to stay near our head is that we tend to move our arm and legs when we’re asleep, which is disturbing to our feline friends.

Health concerns

Sometimes people have allergic reactions to cats. If so, sleeping with a cat can make symptoms worse. Unwanted cat fur, fleabites, germs and parasites can also be a concern for co-sleeping with your cat.

Happily, routine pet care such as grooming, worm/flea treatments, and vaccinations can help curb these risks. So, regular visits to the vet could improve your chances of peaceful co-sleeping with your feline bestie.

This kitten is resting after getting it's routine vaccinations.

A good night’s sleep

The best night’s sleep often comes from knowing your loved ones are protected. Pet insurance protects your pocket so you can give your cat or dog medical protection when they need it the most.

And did you know that if you buy your cat insurance plan online with us, you’ll get one or more months for free plus no lock-in contract? Sleeping with your cat will happen even more soundly after that!

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