Do it Yourself: Cat Bed

Anyone who owns a cat knows that they generally sleep wherever they choose - on top of the refrigerator, under a couch, on the window sill, or in the bathroom sink. They can rarely be trained to sleep in one particular place and, in fact, seem to prefer the variety of wandering around the house looking for a new napping nook. But if you are determined to make your feline fellow a bed of his very own in which to sleep, (good luck) here are a few tips.

  1. Firm or Soft?

    • Roger Tabor, author of "Understanding Cat Behavior," noted a recent survey in his book of 10,000 US cat owners which found that 60% of them allow their cats to sleep in bed with them. Whether this indicates a feline preference for mattresses, or just the desire to sleep close to their owners, you can give your cat a bed cushion made from a down or foam pillow, or a piece of memory foam. Cover the foam with a piece of fabric that can easily be removed for washing. Other options include regular foam padding, or perhaps even an old sofa pillow.

    The Bed Frame

    • Unless they are hot, cats will usually sleep curled up next to something, like a sofa pillow or another cat. If they are sleeping on the floor, you will most likely find them in a corner. So the ideal cat bed has sides against which they can curl up. This may be as simple as a cardboard box. Other options include a large wicker basket, an old drawer, or even a small pop-up hamper (laid on its side, of course).

    Where to put the bed

    • Although cats can, and will, nap just about anywhere, they tend to go off and find a quiet, out of the way place when they want to get in some serious sleeping time. Placing their new cat bed in a closet, behind a couch, or even tucked in behind long drapes will ensure that the new cat bed will be used.

      If you have a cat that prefers to sleep with you on your bed, you may be able to break that habit by placing the new cat bed on the floor beside your own bed. Gently placing the cat back in the cat bed at night, perhaps adding a few scratches behind the ear, should soon do the trick.