Sleeping with your cat, good or bad?

On those colder nights, sleeping with your cat can be one of the greatest pleasures of this freezing season. Real live furry guateros, for many people having the animal in bed is a win-win: the animal enjoys the comfort of the mattress and blankets while humans enjoy having their feet or body next to them. an inexhaustible source of heat. . Some pets curl up in the curve we create behind our knees; others, more legged, dive like moles into and at the bottom of the bed; and some cats, more cheeky, settle directly on the pillows. Why are they doing this? Mainly for four reasons:

1. Security: Although they are small cats with a predatory essence, they are also at risk of being hunted by larger animals, so they must be careful. When your cat is sleeping, they are vulnerable and more likely to be attacked by an unsuspecting predator. Sleeping with you provides extra security and defense if a predator launches a nighttime attack. They sleep with you because they trust you, they know you’re not a threat, and you can also provide them with an extra layer of defense if needed.

2. Heat: Cats like heat. If there is a warm place in your house, your cat will soon find it and occupy it. With a body temperature of 38° (2 degrees warmer than the human body), a cat’s tolerance and desire for heat is much higher than ours. Your body is the perfect place to sleep at night, especially your head or feet (where most of the heat escapes).

3. Territory: Cats are very territorial creatures. Therefore, they may consider your bed as part of their territory. Cats mark their territory by rubbing their heads on things and stepping on objects because they have glands on their feet and heads that release pheromones that essentially mark the area as their own. Walking all over the bed and banging its head against you is one of the ways your cat marks its territory.

4. Company: Finally, your cat may enjoy sleeping with you simply because he loves and trusts you. Your cats know you take good care of them and consider you a good sleeping companion. Contrary to stereotypes, cats enjoy company (on their terms, of course). Interacting with the human being you love helps enrich your life.

According to Soledad Torres Alvarado, a veterinary doctor specializing in clinical ethology, psychopharmacology and neuroscience, “in terms of physical and emotional health, sleeping with our pet increases oxytocin levels”. This seems like a good thing, because it is the so-called “love hormone”, which is released in our body when we are with the people we love and which gives us pleasure and satisfaction. “The effect of oxytocin at the cardiovascular level and as a neuromodulator, as well as its anxiolytic and sleep-regulating power, is well known.”

“For many families, their animals are part of emotional therapy, they provide calm, companionship and even warmth, which can give them better rest,” says Patricio Cerda, professor of veterinary medicine at the University of the Americas. This, as the previous study showed, is reinforced in children and people of the third and fourth age. “Let’s not forget, moreover, that after the pandemic, human-animal bonds have been greatly strengthened,” he adds.

The same thing can happen in people suffering from anxiety or depression, for whom the company of their pet at night “is beneficial”, explains Fernanda Araneda, veterinarian and specialist in behavioral medicine. “When we interact with our dog or cat, especially at bedtime, cortisol levels go down – which is the stress hormone – and oxytocin and dopamine levels go up. This lowers your heart rate and you helps you relax.Best of all, he adds, these effects have also been shown in humans and pets.

But it’s also common to hear that giving animals permission to climb into bed and sleep with you is abusing them, which would promote other behavioral problems. “This is one of the most deeply rooted myths that exist regarding possession,” says ethologist Soledad Torres, used by both tutors and professionals or trainers, although they lack support for it. argue. “To say that they should provide information based on scientific sources, tested under a technical umbrella.”

If there is no evidence to support this myth, where does the idea come from that sleeping with pets spoils them? Although there is no clear answer, Torres says that at least “at the scientific level, there are compelling studies that deny the relationship between sleeping together and the presentation of behavioral problems, while many others are not conclusive”.

“There’s nothing wrong with allowing them to go to bed,” adds Araneda, who is also director of veterinary medicine at the U. Mayor, seat of Temuco. “Sharing these activities, like sleeping or resting, just indicates that we are part of their social group, members of the same family.” If you have to be careful, he says, when pets invade our bed and won’t let us near them if they’re there. “If he’s growling or showing signs of discomfort, it’s best to see a behavioral medicine vet.”

Although he likes to sleep with you, Cerda mentions that it is important to have your own zones for the animal’s comfortable rest, so that he can also have his relaxation zone defined and that he does not depend your bed or your presence to sleep peacefully. .

“From a welfare and behavioral perspective, the custom of sharing a bed could lead to conflicts in terms of resource availability and territoriality,” says Patricio Cerda, who also holds a master’s degree in animal welfare. Simply put, if bedtime turns into a battle over who is using the spaces, that means something is wrong.

This can happen because by sharing the same space or resting area, the animal “could have some degree of confusion, since the ‘ownership’ of this space will be divided between the guardians and the pets, both thinking that they own the space in dispute”.

“There will be pheromones, smells, hairs that they will delimit and use to show ownership,” illustrates the veterinarian. This is why she recommends, whether the bed is shared or not, to give the animal “its own well-identified, comfortable, safe and accessible resting places”.

If there is a behavioral problem associated with co-sleeping with the guardian, it is most likely due to “the existence of a basic disorder in the dog or the cat”, explains Torres, and which was not known. not how to recognize or treat them. .weather report. “It’s not that sleeping together creates a conflict, but the reverse: a previous antecedent can generate this problem.”

“If the animal wakes up several times – which is normal, especially in cats, since their sleep is not continuous – and also vocalizes, walks on us, plays, etc. ; our quality of sleep will be affected by being fragmented,” observes Araneda. However, this is something that needs to be assessed on a case-by-case basis: just as there are people who are upset by the movements of their pets, there are others who are not affected at all by that.

Another myth that circulates a lot is that sleeping next to animals can cause them to transmit certain diseases to us. “That will only happen if the animal’s health is neglected by its caretaker,” says Torres. “Unfortunately, this zoonotic risk will always exist, but it is the guardian’s responsibility to keep their animal up to date on internal and external deworming,” he adds.

“If our pet is healthy and in control, and the caretakers don’t have major allergies—like asthma or other respiratory illnesses—there should be no downside,” Araneda says. The main precaution that stands out is the hygiene of bedding and mattresses, to eliminate dust mites, hair and dandruff, among others. “Allergenic proteins (allergens) are present in the saliva and skin cells of our pets,” he explains.

“Today there are food alternatives for cats that neutralize the agent present in the animal’s saliva, which is the cause of the allergic reaction. It would therefore be an alternative to consult our veterinarian and our general practitioner “, he reports.

“The best advice will always be to teach based on love, patience and lots and lots of positive reinforcement, trying to stimulate as many senses as possible when faced with a behavior that we want to repeat over time,” advises Cerda.

Therefore, snacks, cuddles, games and toys “will have much better results than challenging them or challenging the common resting space that the same family has usually taught them to occupy”, specifies the veterinarian.

“Learning always begins in states of calm, is enriched by positive reinforcements and ends up forging indissoluble unions over time, beyond the space of a bed”, observes the professional.

There are several specific cases in which Soledad Torres does not recommend sharing our beds with pets. “As for behavioral problems – unless the cat has a neurological, metabolic or painful problem (all can trigger aggressive reactions even for a long time), some type of impulsive aggression where attacks or anxious images that make learning difficult—I wouldn’t recommend the animal be asked to sleep with the guardian until the problem has been diagnosed and medically treated,” he cautions.

“In a healthy animal, there shouldn’t be any problems unless the guardian starts creating them with their inconsistencies,” he says. For example, when there is a reprimand because he climbs on the bed, but the next day he invites him over and the dog or cat is confused and anxious. There is no coherence or cohesion there, which is extremely important for animals. When there are disagreements between couples or relatives, this can also generate an echo in the behavior of the animal. Therefore, if we want to have sweet, comfortable and warm dreams -and also our pets-, we should keep a single line on the subject.