If we live with one or more cats, we will surely have slept at least once with our cat or on the bed at night or on the sofa after watching a movie or in an armchair after reading a good book. But is sleeping with the cat good for us or should we fear something? Let’s look at the correct behavior together!
Cat’s sleep
Cats living with other cats sleep either alone or in close contact with each other. Just born, my little brothers and sisters micetti sleep together, even one above the other, to feel protected and safe. This behavior keeps him even once he becomes an adult.
When they live with the human being, cats reproduce what they would normally do with their conspecifics. Very often, when we are sitting and / or lying down, they jump in our arms and crouch down purring, or even making pasta and they would sleep relaxed with us for hours and hours.
Why does the cat sleep on me?
Many cat owners wonder, “Why does the cat sleep on my belly?” Or even “Why does the cat sleep on my head?” Let’s see precisely why the cat sleeps above the master (even if the real master, in the man-cat relationship, is just … the cat!)
Let’s say the reason the cat sleeps on or over its owner is due to the fact that the close physical contact is a sign of a strong emotional bond: “I trust you, so I relax by being close to you”.
Moreover, the cat chooses very warm places of our body such as the belly and the head or very scented like hands and feet because they combine their sleep and feel our presence. That’s why, in our absence, they sleep on our newly raised clothes and / or the shoes just removed!
Is it good to sleep with the cat?
Sleeping with cats is tested to be very relaxing for us humans especially for those suffering from anxiety and / or panic attacks. Many people who have problems with insomnia can regulate their biorhythm just by sleeping with their cat.
Instead, sleeping with the cat during pregnancy is beneficial for the future mother, who feels loved and shares this wonderful experience with her four-legged friend, but also for the child who perceives the presence of the cat through his mewing and its purring.
Moreover, the cat itself begins to get used to the future change because it perceives with its developed sense organs the presence of another living being that moves inside its human friend and feels its heartbeat.
Does sleeping with the cat hurt?
This is the first thought, generally that you do when you start living with a cat. It is true that loving a pet is beautiful, but losing health is another matter, and then off to the thousand paranoia.
Does sleeping with the cat bring diseases? The zoonoses, that is the diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans, are easily avoidable through the correct hygiene that must be followed regardless of whether or not they cohabit with an animal. In pregnancy, toxoplasmosis is transmissible even with undercooked meat and / or badly washed vegetables and only in very low percentages from contact with the house cat. Read also: Cat and human pregnancy
As a child, I heard adults say that the cat’s breath brings “the worst diseases”. Well this is the umpteenth metropolitan legend because through the breath of cats, but also of dogs, there is no scientific confirmation of contracting diseases.
As for, however, children, especially newborns, it is inadvisable to let cats sleep with them, without checking, just because cats tend to sleep on their heads, as previously explained, and since the faces of children it is very small, it is easy to complicate the correct breathing of the infant, not wanting to.
But it is dangerous for the child to even make him sleep on his stomach regardless of whether he has a cat or not at home!
If our cat goes out on the street and sleeps with us it is good that he is vaccinated to protect his health, he is given the pesticide for fleas and other insects and he is cleaned regularly because we do not know where he has been (the same reasoning applies to the our shoes – who knows what we trample every day without our knowledge!).
So to say regardless of whether sleeping with the cat hurts or that sleeping with the cat brings disease is a completely wrong concept.
Cat on the bed: Yes or No?
If at one time it was thought that the dog should not get on the bed for hierarchical reasons, now it is re-evaluating that this is not fundamental for the purpose of educating its dog, on the contrary, allowing it to rise strengthens its interspecific relationship.
As for the cat, however, it has never been thought of. This led to a miscommunication for those who live with cats and dogs: “Why can the cat come up and I can’t?!?” The rules must be fair!
Those who live with more cats know very well that changing their position during sleep, surrounded by their pets, becomes complicated, if not even problematic, because many times they risk getting stuck by their bodies abandoned in their sleep.
As dawn approaches, our pleasant sleep can be interrupted by leaps and runs on either side of the bed because cats are particularly alert at that time. But whoever gets up early in the morning can easily escape this risk!
Beyond all that has been explained here, raising the cat on the bed is a very personal choice. In fact, each of us in our own home can decide whether to allow it or not: you can accustom your cat to sleep alone in another room without getting stressed or sleeping hugging your cat without creating too many problems.
So your cats sleep with you or not? Let us know your six-legged experience!
