Ecstatic Maine Coon allowed to sleep on bed

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This telling post from the mumsnet.com website says a lot about the necessity - if you can accept the slight disruption to your sleep - of letting your Maine Coon cat join you on the bed at night. And that is especially true right now in the UK as we are going through a 'cold snap' (-4 degrees Celsius last night). 

Maine Coon on bed leaving little room for their human companion
Maine Coon on bed leaving little room for their human companion. Image in the public domain (believed).

But it is much more than about the warmth that cats crave. It is all about 'scent soakers' to use the words of Jackson Galaxy, the well-known cat behaviourist. Cats love the smell of the human bed. It is full of human scent. That's what they crave too.

Here is the mumsnet.com post I referred to:

"My Maine Coon was allowed to sleep on the bed last night. And he was ecstatic!

Any time I reached out to touch him (to check I wasn’t going to roll on him) he started purring sooo hard. All night. It was so sweet.

I’ve never had a Maine Coon before and he is such a sweet and lovey boy. He is very sociable and likes to be around people. He cries when he can’t get into a room.

Please do share your cuddly cat stories because they WARM MY HEART!"

Notice the last three words! There are mutual benefits. It works both ways both in the company and in the warmth that cats bring to their caregiver.

Cats sharing the bed disturb a woman’s sleep as much a human, but dogs disturb them less

The problem is space! And being pinned down. Not being able to move naturally. Most people have their way to get to sleep and to sleep. It requires a certain amount of movement and settling down. The cat companion can prevent it. There comes a point when you have to disturb your DC ('Darling Cat') in mumsnet.com speak. 

And DH (Darling Husband) might not like it. In one post DS16 (Darling Son aged 16) is mentioned. This is the post:

My DS16 is currently considering getting a double bed for his new (brother off to uni) large room so that he can have more than the third of his current single bed that our Maine Coon allows him.

That's a strong hint at the space issues that can happen when you share a bed with any cat and particularly a Maine Coon. I should think it is like having a human next you if you live with one of those gargantuan individuals.

Mine likes to come under the duvet and really get warm and surrounded by my scent. He purrs all the time he is down there. He'll come out voluntarily after 20 minutes when he's too hot and has soaked up enough scent.

Jackson Galaxy advises that people let their cat sleep on the bed at night because cats love it so much. The quote at the top of the page strongly supports this. If sleeping on the bed is too much try a little cat bed in the bedroom lined with your unwashed clothes so at least they can share the smells.

Locking a cat out of the bedroom, I believe, is wrong. It is not loving enough for me. We are meant to love them and make them happy. Locking them out achieves the opposite although I can understand the reasoning.

When you do lock them out this is what can happen (another mumsnet.com comment) - "DD" means Dear Daughter in case you wondered.

Our female cat stands angrily at DDs (closed) bedroom door and demands it is open. Starts with a meow then a paw, then a fully stretched out scraping at the door

Our male liked our room till we decorated, then (because he doesn't like changes) he boycotted it, only just venturing back.

According to the CDC in America about half the cat owners allow their cat companion to sleep with them on the bed at night. That's quite good but I wish it were more. There are all kinds of benefits for the cat caregiver such as alleviating stress, emotional warmth, putting a smile on your face which results in a flood of good brain chemicals making you happier, and of course promoting bonding.

Cats make us smile and that’s good for our mental health and relationships

Blocking your cat out of your bedroom achieves the opposite to promoting bonding. It helps to break that bond to a certain extent. And they say that sleeping with your cat helps you to sleep but I actually disagree with that.

Research indicates that women sleep better with a dog than with their husband! But that's dogs. I think cats are a bit different in that respect.

It's worth mentioning, too, that cats have an entirely different circadian rhythm to people and therefore they are likely to be active at night or at least dawn and dusk. They won't come on the bed except for a part of the night. And jumping in an off the bed is disturbing.

We know that domestic cats like to wake up their caregiver at about 4 AM in the morning for food. That's the kind of point I'm making that their circadian rhythm is out of step with humans'. 

Location: United Kingdom

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