3 Common Reasons Your Cats Refuse to Sleep on Their Beds

Being a cat owner usually means being stuck in an endless loop of questions. Does my cat hate me? Why does my cat purr? Is chocolate bad for cats? Why do cats sleep so much? This is why blogs for pets, like the ones that we run, are invaluable for cat owners. We supply you with an endless stream of knowledge that will help you and your beloved pets!

Speaking of helping pets, one question we get a lot from disappointed cat owners is why their cat refuses to sleep on the bed that they bought for them. Now, the thing you have to understand is that there are many reasons your cat refuses to use their bed, and it could even differ on a cat-by-cat basis. This makes it a problem that’s particularly hard to address. 

To help you get to the bottom of this problem, we’ve prepared a list of the common reasons your cat refuses to sleep on its bed. We’ll also be providing you with some simple solutions that you can try out to get your cat to sleep on its bed!

It Doesn’t Have Their Scent

One thing you may not know about cats is that they have an acute sense of smell, meaning that they’re incredibly sensitive to different types of smells. Considering that the bed you bought for them is brand new, it may still smell like the factory or the store where it came from. That smell is what may be causing your cat to ignore their new bed.

So, how do you get around this problem? The first thing you’ll want to do is to wash the bed. You don’t have to go overboard with it and just treat it as you would your beddings. Once you’ve gotten rid of the unpleasant smell, it’s time to make the bed more appealing to your cat. There are different ways to do this, all of which will vary in effectiveness depending on your cat.

You can try adding items that they like to impart the smell of those items onto the bed. Your cat will also be used to your scent, so adding your shirt or rubbing your clothing on the bed might just do the trick!

It Is in the Wrong Place

Another thing you’ll want to consider is where the bed is placed. Keep in mind that cats can be quite particular about the spaces that they inhabit. You’ve probably noticed that they prefer some areas more than others, and this applies to their bed as well. Placing the bed down in a specific location does not guarantee that they’ll be sleeping in that space.

A better approach to this would be to put the bed in a space that they are already comfortable with. Another thing that you have to take note of is that cats prefer sleeping in elevated areas as they feel safer when they’re away from the ground. As such, try putting the bed on top of a wardrobe and see if that works out.

It Is Too Soft

Lastly, the bed might just be too soft. This may not make sense to you, but cats are very particular with what they sleep on. Because of this, you should try to observe where they currently sleep and the types of surfaces they prefer sleeping on. This should inform your decisions when it comes to what bed to use.

If your cat likes sleeping on hard surfaces, try getting them a bed that’s a little firmer. Woven beds would be a good choice for this as well. If you find that they prefer sleeping on your bed, simply adding a blanket that’s similar to what you use may do the trick!

Conclusion

Hopefully, this article proves to be helpful when it comes to figuring out why your cat doesn’t like their bed. Don’t get frustrated if you can’t get your cat to sleep on their bed. This is all just trial and error, and it will definitely take some time to get it right!

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