What are the risks of letting your cat sleep in bed with you?
Answers
Many people think it’s harmless to let their pet cat sleep in their beds—still, science and psychology point in other directions. Promotion of dominance within the animal is one of the first things that happen after letting your cat sleep in your bed. They start to feel like your bed is their territory and become sensitive if anyone else besides themselves enters their newfound territory.
Many cats prefer to stay indoors and never go rogue and take an adventure outside. Still, there are always exceptions, as you should be alert about the different threats that cats with a dual indoor-outdoor pose. They can transmit diseases as they may carry viruses, bacteria, parasites, and many other infections.
The biggest issue is that cats don’t sleep through the night. They get up, wander around, eat, use the litter box, and run up and down the hall. Now, if your cat can do all this without waking you up, that’s great. Unless you’re a very sound sleeper or you have a very quiet cat, you can expect to be woken up occasionally, usually by the cat entering or leaving the bed. Now, as deep sleep helps the brain create and store new memories and enhances its ability to collect and recall information, it’s best not to let anything interfere with its process.
Other than that, a disease transmitted from a cat to a human is the most severe risk, but other issues depend upon the individual cat’s habits and owner.
The first danger is germ exposure. Litter boxes are filthy, and cats’ paws can pick up stray litter and waste, ending up in your bed. While rubber mats set outside the litter box can reduce the amount of junk and debris tracked throughout the house, you won’t be able to eliminate it from your bed unless you make it a cat-free zone. Plus, there may be some parasites that the cat might be carrying. Fleas, ticks, and intestinal parasites can infect you if your cat spends time outside.
You should not let your cat sleep in your bed if you have allergies because of the risk of allergic reactions. Some doctors recommend removing cats from the home if you have allergies, but you can take other measures to ease your suffering. Also, if you share your bed with a cat, you share it with parasites the cat may have!
