why cats behave the way they do. Today we're going to have a look at favourite sleeping places.

Altogether I've had six cats in my life and it amazes me how individual

each one is, even down to things like their favourite sleeping places.

My second cat Chloe's used to love the airing cupboard and would always find a way of sneaking in

there and going up to the second shelf and laying on the soft towels and the warm.

She loved it in there.

[Where do cats like to sleep?]

Cats sleep or rest intermittently throughout the day.

Cats like to sleep somewhere safe, usually up high.

They're also really fond of somewhere dark and warm.

You can find all sorts of hiding places and nice places for them to sleep

such as igloo beds, or those radiator beds, or even something as

simple as a cardboard box with a nice blanket inside.

Now you may think to yourself..

why is my cat sleeping in this random place on the floor, especially when I bought

this really expensive cat bed, but if you follow the line of the hot-water pipes

in your house you may well find that your cat sleeping just above them and

keeping nice and toasty.

[Let Sleeping Cats Lie] Now I know cats are really cute when they're fast asleep, but please resist the

temptation to wake them up.

Cats sleep for 16 hours or more a day and this will be even more in kittens or elderly cats.

You may find that cats actually steal your seat as soon as you get up.

It's actually because it's nice and warm

because you've just been sitting there, but also because it's off the floor and it

smells of the owner as well.

[Why do cats love laundry?]

All laundry provides a comfortable place for cats to sleep.

Now some cats prefer dirty laundry

just because it smells familiar to them and it has a scent of the owner on it.

Whereas other cats prefer clean laundry and this can be more because if it's

been freshly tumble dry this could be nice and warm. A safe place to sleep.

Whether it's a box

the laundry pile or even a suitcase, cats tend to rotate round when their sleeping

place which is the normal behaviour.

We think this is a throw back to African Wildcat behaviour where they want to

regularly change their sleeping place to avoid a build up of external parasites.

[Cats that sleep together...]

Many owners think that if their cats sleep together on the bed that they must be friends

this very much depends on how the cats are sleeping together

for example if the cats are sleeping together with interlocking paws and

maybe they're grooming each other and rubbing against each other

I think it's safe to say they're probably friends or in the same social group.

However, if you go back and have a look at your cats and you see that actually

they are carefully spaced out on the bed

maybe they're in a crouched position and they're very carefully just avoiding eye

contact with the other cats

it may be that they're actually tolerating each other or just not in the same

social group but there for the valued resource of the owners bed.

[Do cats dream?]

It is thought that cats may actually have dreams because they do have what's called REM

sleep or rapid eye movement sleep

I think many owners like to think when their cats are twitching and moving their paws

that perhaps they're chasing squirrels and things outside, but unfortunately at

this point in time we don't really know what they're dreaming about.

[Simon's Real Cats - Sleeping Places]

Hugh always makes me smile because his favourite

sleeping place is this big compost bin outside my back garden and it's just in

the right place for it catches all that afternoon sunlight and he's always there

snuggled on top of it, because he's black furred he absorbs all the heat.

Teddy's favourite sleeping place is actually at the end of the garden in an old run-down polytunnel

which is all overgrown with stingers and brambles and things, but there is a little hole under the door

Jess's favourite sleeping place is quite sweet she likes sleep next to my pillow

here at night and I have to make a space for her on my bed by pulling my pillows up.

My cat Maisy is ginormous

and her favourite stopping place is at the bottom of my bed

because she's so big he basically sprawls out and dominates the entire area.

That's the great thing about cats they're all so individual. My cats have all got their own

favourite sleeping places and I'm sure yours do too.