4 Places My Cats Like to Sleep
by Angie Bailey
photos by the author unless otherwise noted
My cats are pretty spoiled. They enjoy a large cat tower with all kinds of platforms and hidey-holes. They also have several cat beds located in various parts of our house. Sure, they like the beds I carefully chose for them based on the very important factors of cuteness and coziness. Do they often sleep in their “official” beds? The short answer is “sometimes.” They couldn’t care less about cuteness, and apparently coziness is relative because I find them sleeping in lots of places that aren’t the carefully chosen beds I gave them.
Here are 4 places my cats like to sleep … that are not their beds:
#1 Suitcases
A few times a year I travel on work-related journeys or to visit family or friends. As soon as a suitcase makes the scene, my cats know something’s up. They sniff around my bedroom while I pack and eventually climb inside the suitcase. In my experience, it’s nearly impossible to pack a suitcase without a cat’s “help.” “Samsonite” must be another word for “cat magnet.”
If not immediately removed, my cats will eventually curl up and fall asleep – that is, after glaring at me with guilt-stricken eyes for the impending abandonment. I believe they think I won’t see them wedged between my socks and pajamas, and they’ll effectively stow away with me. Sorry, kitty.
#2 Boxes
Suitcases may be magnetic devices, but boxes are the granddaddy of all feline enticements. Set an empty box on the floor and count the number of seconds it remains empty. No, don’t even try it because I am here to tell you the box will be filled with cat faster than you can say UPS. And they don’t care about the size of the box. My little 7-pound Phoebe will plop inside a giant Costco lettuce-box, and my 13-pound Saffy will squeeze into a children’s shoebox. Cat + box = happy, and you don’t have to think outside the box to know that equation is a hard fact.
#3 Laundry baskets
Laundry day! Yay! I swear I think my cats hear the dryer turn off – they instantly know when a basket of warm laundry is in the house. It’s a magcial sixth sense all cat posess. My Phoebe is especially gifted with this sense. She’ll follow me from the laundry room to the living room, with her eye on the basket. I may as well dump the laundry and allow her to burrow in it for a little while, because she’ll stare at me with Puss-n-Boots eyes until I do. I admit it – I’m a sucker. Plus, I’ve already given up on wearing cat-hair-free clothing.
#4 My desk
Because I work from home, I spend a fair amount of time sitting at my desk. Of course, because my cats think everything I do is beyond interesting and exciting, they feel they must join me while I write. I’m rarely without one cat on my lap, one on my desk and one staring at me from some other location in the room. I’m completely micromanaged by three fuzzy little bosses. I placed a basket on my desk so they’d have their own spot; however, sprawling out across my workspace is apparently far more comfortable.
What are your cats’ favorite non-beds?
