A new cat owner has shared her frustration at her pet’s overnight habit (stock) (Image: Viktoriya Skorikova via Getty Images)
A woman who recently welcomed a cat into her family home was expressed her immediate frustration over the feline’s nocturnal behaviour.
Taking to Reddit, she posted two photographs of her tiny brown kitten, before explaining the bedtime routine he’s adopted, which she claims is disrupting her sleep. The images depicted the cat settling himself on the pillows of her bed, prompting the woman to seek guidance on her new pet.
“How can I train this dude not to get on my pillows?” she enquired. “Every night, he comes to get pets and cuddle, but invariably walks up onto my pillow. I’m losing hours of sleep to moving him off my pillow several times every night!”
The woman concluded her post by noting that the Selkirk Rex breed cat seems to have his heart set on using that one particular spot as his own bed. “Is there any strategy I can use to help him understand?” she questioned. “He can literally go anywhere else in the entire house that he wants, except my pillow!”
In a subsequent comment, meanwhile, she provided additional details surrounding her dilemma. “I get acne so I always try to keep my pillows super clean,” she explained. “But he gets litter stuck in his fluffy paws etc. I can accept a certain amount of that but I’d prefer not on my pillow.”
Writing in response, one individual recalled: “I hated having my cat sleep above my head on my pillow. Until I got used to it. And then looked forward to it. And missed it terribly when he was gone. Your kitty is looking for comfort. Are you sure you can’t learn to share?”
A second Reddit user recounted a similar experience, adding: “I used to be driven crazy by stuff like this. However, I quickly realised how lucky I am that these tiny creatures love me so much that they want to be as close to me as possible. Also, with time I just got used to it and now they literally walk all over me whilst I sleep and I no longer notice.”
And a third then mused: “Is there a second pillow he can use?” To which the cat’s owner responded: “Yes actually, but he only wants mine. I think because he wants to be close.”
And she later returned to her post to provide an update, penning: “I let him get on my pillow whilst I’m laying on it, like y’all suggested. It was sweet for a moment, and then he immediately slipped off because it’s silk and he is liquid. Problem might solve itself!”
Why do cats like to sleep on pillows? According to experts at Cats.com there are five reasons cats like to sleep on pillows.
These are: warmth/body heat; love and affection; trust and protection; fright or stress; and to assert dominance.
The site adds: “Cats are very intelligent and sensitive creatures. A lot of the things they do can confuse us and leave us wondering what in the world is going on.
“One of these things is them taking pride of place on the spot we put our face at night, claiming this as their favourite sleeping position.”