Our Cat Sandy ain’t allowed in the Bedroom.
For a brief period shortly after we adopted her, our little buddy was free to spend the night with us. After a couple sleepless attempts though, we realized that this just wasn’t gonna work. She bounced off the walls and galloped around like a little horse all night. Incredible that such a sweet little thing by day could become such a terror when the sun went down!
I understand that some folks do allow their cats to sleep with them. To these people, I say “Kudos!”
A part of me wishes that Sandy could sleep peacefully at the foot of our bed through the night. Those first few hellacious nights have convinced us she’s unable to do so though. And there are a few other reasons we choose to make the bedroom a feline free zone. If you’re on the fence as to whether or not you should let your cat hang out in the bedroom – consider the points below:
Allergies
My wife isn’t super allergic to cats but is affected by them to a certain degree. Her symptoms, namely sneezing, tend to get worse at night. Of course, trying to sleep while fighting a sneeze isn’t much fun for her. And her being tired and grumpy isn’t much fun for me…
Having a little fur ball in a room just seems counter-intuitive to someone trying to hold allergies in check.
Potential accident
A friend of mine told me a story that involved his female cat Suzy urinating on his pillow. I can’t recall the specific details but know that I don’t want this.
Also, some cats like peeing on piles of laundry. While Sandy has never had this problem, it could possibly be because we generally don’t leave laundry lying around the house. I have been known to leave a pair of jeans or boxers on the floor in our bedroom though. The last thing I want to do is help Sandy develop a new bad habit.
Cats are nocturnal (and get kinda crazy at night!)
- Cats smell your face while you’re trying to sleep
- Cats find their way into box springs and burrow around in there
- Cats bathe themselves and tend to make a ton of noise doing so at night
Regardless of whether or not you let your cat sleep with you, I think it’s important to remain consistent. Letting your cat in some nights and locking her out other nights is a recipe for disaster. This practice will likely result in a 4 AM wake-up call on the nights you close the door.
Do you let your cat sleep with you? Any tips?
Photo by Dubravko Sorić, available under a Creative Commons license
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