Cat Chat Feline Forum

My cat has slept on my bed for the last few nights and she’s very happy there - but I’m not! Is there any way to stop her sleeping in there? She has a basket in the utility room that she was happy in for her first few weeks with us but since she settled, she just wants to be close to me all the time. Whenever my bedroom door is closed she cries and scratches to get in

Once you have let them in, it is very hard to say no to them. My suggestion would be, if you don't want her on your bed then get her a raised bed of her own so she is on the same level as you are and place it next to your bed. When you get undressed at night put an item of worn clothing in that bed for her so she has the strong scent of you in her bed, then encourage her with treats if need be to settle in that bed. Hopefully she will get used to sleeping there instead of on your bed. You might also want to get a heat pad for her bed to make it even more cosy for her, basically you have to make sleeping in her own bed nicer than curling up with you on your bed. If you don't want her near your bed, once she has got used to it you can slowly move it away, perhaps a bit closer to a window so she can sit in bed and look outside when she wants to.

Alternatively, shut your bedroom door, get some plastic matting to go under the door so she can't dig up the carpet and invest in a good pair of ear plugs and just wait her out. All the tips about making her bed cosier might help encourage her to use her basket in the utility room, but it is likely to be an uphill struggle.

I too think heat is the way forward - I had a cat who slept right up next to me every night for 14 years

until I had a multi-fuel stove put in, and put her bed next to it - she never so much as visited me in bed again