Get Your Cat to Sleep With You

Have you ever just wanted your cat to stay in bed with you and cuddle through the night? Cats typically wake up at least once or twice in the night, but with discipline and patience you can convince them to adjust to your schedule. With the right preparation and sleeping arrangements, you and your cat can have a long, peaceful rest together for many nights to come.

Steps

Preparing for Bed

1. Keep the cat active during day. An active cat during the day leads to a sleepy cat at night. Enrich your cat’s life with play sessions in the morning and when you get home from work, or a short walk around the block on a Leash-Train-a-Cat. You can also leave out toys the cat enjoys playing with on its own, but this should not replace bonding time.
   • Puzzle toys with treats inside are an enticing, stimulating option. Do not leave out toys with string, which the cat could choke on.
   • It is normal for adult cats to sleep 16 hours out of every 24, while kittens and old cats need even more sleep. Let them nap during the day as long as they are getting enough exercise as well.
2. Schedule a play session right before bed. Establish a nighttime routine with at least ten minutes of evening play. This will tire out your cat and, if you stick to a consistent schedule, teach the cat that this signals bedtime. Start with energetic play, but wind down with slower, calmer movements for the last few minutes.
   Have a hyper kitten? Redirect its attention to a treat when it's time to stop roughhousing.
   Old cats still benefit from play, even if they need convincing. Use soft, slow-moving toys.
3. Feed your cat a meal before bed. Most cats will take a snooze after a big meal, so encourage sleep by feeding your cat right before you head to bed.
4. Put a perch near your bed. Cats enjoy cozy, high perches where they can observe the room. Encourage the cat to sit there using treats if necessary, while you get into bed. This gets your cat comfortable with your nightly routine, one short step away from joining you in bed.
   • If your cat has a cat bed or a favorite object to sleep on, move it onto the perch. Cats are notoriously picky about their sleeping arrangement, so yours might not follow, but it's worth a try.
5. Let the cat explore the bed. Your cat will have more positive associations with the bed if you leave it to make the decision. Lure your cat up with treats, or catnip if your pet responds to it. Praise your cat and give it another treat if it decides to spend time on the bed, but don't fuss or force it back on if it walks away. The cat's more likely to come round to your point of view if it doesn't associate the bed with annoying activities.
6. Try a new cover on the bed. Some cats are clean freaks, and more likely to sleep on a freshly washed blanket. Many others love the smell of their owner. If you've been keeping your sheets too clean for your cat, it might help to put yesterday's sweatshirt on the bed for your cat to play with or hide inside.
7. Reward the cat if it joins you in the night. Some cats are hesitant to fall asleep in the bed, but still explore it in the night. If your pet is like this, you could reward it with a treat when it shows up. Hide the treat under a pillow or in your pajama pocket for the cat to find on its own so you don't reward it for waking you up. Once the cat starts joining you in bed, gradually taper off the number of treats until your cat is back on a healthy diet:
   • Consistency is key early on. Make sure it can get a treat every night. (Just don't give extras if it paws or meows, or you'll never get any sleep.)
   • Once it's in the habit, give a treat about ¾ of the time. On other nights, reward the cat with a head scritch or another enjoyable activity.
   • Gradually reduce the treats to once every other night, then once every three nights, and so on, until it's just a rare reward.

Sleeping with Your Cat Through the Night

1. Correct any negative behavior from your cat in bed. Once you shut off your bedroom light and your cat settles into your bed, you may think you can both drift off to sleep. But cats can be skittish at night, even after a long play session before bed, and may playful swat your face, sit on your head, or meow to get attention. It’s important that you reinforce your status as the pet owner by correcting your cat after this behavior.
   • This might mean sending your cat to the other side of the bed by saying “no” and moving your cat away from you. Or, you can send your cat to the corner by placing its carrier (or a preferred sleeping box or cat bed) in the corner of the bedroom. If the cat starts to act up when you are in bed, say “no” and point to the carrier. Continue to point until it goes into the carrier for a time out.
2. Do not reward your cat for waking you up. If your cat wakes you up at any time, including the morning, do not feed it, play with it, or react in any way — not even by yelling at it or shutting it out. These responses teach your cat that waking you up is a successful way to get your attention. Instead, get out of bed when you want to, and spend at least fifteen minutes on other activities before giving your cat any food or attention. You may need to put a pillow over your ears through a few meow-filled mornings, but most cats will lose the habit if you stay firm.
   • An automatic feeder is an excellent solution to this problem, especially if the cat's accustomed to breakfast as soon as you get up. You can set it to dispense food at the time of the morning meal, or divide it into two or three smaller meals throughout the night if your cat begs for food in the night.
3. Address restless or noisy behavior at night. If your cat keeps you awake by running or meowing at night, start looking for a solution immediately. If this behavior appears suddenly, take your cat to a vet to check for medical issues. Even if you think the cat is healthy, a quick response is important to prevent the bad habit from becoming permanent.
   
   A kitten that races around during the night needs more play during the day, ideally with another kitten. If your new kitten meows and doesn't want to cuddle you, provide a ticking clock wrapped in a blanket, plus a hot (but not too hot) water bottle.
   Most cats over the age of ten have some form of mental or sensory decline, which can interfere with sleep. Keep a regular daytime exercise schedule to help tire your cat out for a restful night. If your cat meows plaintively or soils the floor, you cat might be getting lost or scared due to deteriorating eyesight. Install night lights between your bed and the litter box.
4. Take your cat to the vet if night meowing doesn't stop. If your cat is very restless at night or cries and meows frequently, it's likely that your cat is stressed or experiencing pain from a medical issue. Bring the cat to a veterinarian for a checkup and discuss the situation.

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Tips

• If you've convinced the cat to join you but discover you're having trouble sleeping, it's probably best to shut the cat out of the bedroom. The longer you take to make the decision, the more persistent your cat will be about meowing or scratching at the door to get back in. Double-sided sticky tape, aluminum foil, or a Scat Mat in front of your door may discourage your cat.
• When your cat comes into your room, act like you're asleep. Your cat won't try to play - instead, it will cuddle up next to you in no time.

Sources and Citations

See also

• Prevent Your Cat from Unrolling Toilet Paper
• Encourage a Cat to Use Its Bed
• Leash Train a Cat
• Get Your Cat to Like You
• Befriend a Wild Cat or Kitten
• Tame a Feral Cat
• Train a Cat
• Gain a Cat's Trust
• Clicker Train a Cat
• Discipline Cats

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What links here

• Communicate with Your Cat
• Give a Cat an Injection
• Keep a Cat from Waking You Up
• Make Your Cat Happy
• Properly Deal With an Aggressive Cat
• Put a Hyper Kitten to Sleep
• Sleep While Sitting Up