5 Things to Consider When Choosing the Perfect Cat Bed | Lola The Rescued Cat
Tuesday, December 18, 2018

5 Things to Consider When Choosing the Perfect Cat Bed

Hello, and Happy Tuesday! Today we're very happy to have a guest post from our friends at CatVills.com. You know, a lot of thought needs to go into finding just the purrfect bed for your cat. CatVills tells us about 5 humans should consider when they're choosing the perfect bed for their purrfect feline friend. Does your cat have a favorite bed? Tell us in the comments! 

Lola

perfect cat bed|catvills.com

Finding a great cat bed isn’t hard. With thousands of options out there, it’s actually quite simple to find something that fits your budget and your cat’s needs. However, finding the perfect cat bed- a bed that your cat instantly loves and uses long-term- is a lot trickier!

Raise your hand if you can relate to this: you buy your cat a fabulously expensive new bed, get it all set up, then turn around and find him fast asleep in the box. Days go by, and just when you’re ready to return that bed, he decides it’s his favorite spot to sleep in the whole world. Then, the return window closes and he’s back to snubbing it!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve bought cat beds, thinking “oh, Alex will LOVE this!” only to have him completely ignore it. Over my many years of cat parenting, I think I’ve finally figured out the formula for choosing the perfect cat bed, though. Read on to learn what to look for and what to consider!

5 Things to Consider When Choosing the Perfect Cat Bed


1. How much can you afford to spend?

Cat beds run the gamut from “less than a pound of good coffee” to “more than my monthly rent,” so it’s important to set a budget before you start shopping. I kid you not, I once saw a cat bed going for over $1,500! Granted, it was totally handmade and probably as big as my dining room table, but still!
If you don’t decide how much you’re willing to spend up front, it’s easy to get sucked into the vortex of extra bells and whistles.
  
perfect cat bed|catvills.com

2. How old is your cat?

Your cat’s age actually plays a pretty significant role in choosing the perfect bed. While kittens and healthy young adult cats don’t really need fancy cat beds made of memory foam, your senior kitties will definitely appreciate the extra comfort. 

I recently lost my senior cat.  She was born when I was 21 and passed away when she was 21, so as of the day I lost her, I had her exactly half of my life. I watched her cat bed preferences evolve significantly over the years.

As a kitten, she was content to sleep on boxes, chairs, my bed, the floor…pretty much wherever she found herself at nap time. Towards the end, she couldn’t seem to get comfortable on anything except the best orthopedic memory foam bed that I could find. So age definitely plays a role!

 3. Does it offer a sense of security?

Cats love to find new hiding spots. In our home, we play a fun little game called “Where is Alex?” It goes a little like this: “Where is Alex? Did he get out? Did anyone see Alex???” He has a penchant for escaping out the back door without anyone actually seeing him zoom by. Nine times out of 10, he’s just hiding in an increasingly strange new spot.

I have a new trick, though! I give my cats a new covered bed every couple of months. Alex immediately claims it as his, and for at least a couple of weeks I always know where to find him. Well, almost always. A covered or cave-shaped cat bed offers kitties that extra sense of security that they crave. Of course, not all cats will like that, which brings us to #4.

4. Does it fit your cat’s personality?

I currently have three cats, each with his or her own totally unique personality. Alex the Fuzz was feral-born. He was the only feral to ever walk right in my front door and say (or meow), “I live here now.” Whether a result of his short time outside or of losing his mama so early (she was killed by a fox), he seems to crave the extra sense of security that cat caves provide.

Zoe is a very social “look at me!” cat. She likes to be in the center of all the action, always ready and waiting in case you want to give her a treat or play the flashlight game with her. She likes open cat beds that allow her to see the world around her.

Willow, my oldest girl, wants nothing to do with the other cats. She won’t even eat in the same room with them. She’s also too dignified for something as mundane as a cat bed, choosing to sleep smack in the middle of my own bed. I don’t even try to find the perfect cat bed for her, because even that aforementioned $1,5000 wouldn’t cut it!

So, you see, your cat’s personality plays a very strong role in choosing the right bed!

perfect cat bed|catvills.com
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5. Would you sleep on it?

No, I don’t expect you to curl up into a little ball and try out every cat bed but ask yourself if it’s something that you’d sleep on if it came in human size. I’m a fan of buying cat beds in person because I like to see how they feel. Is the material soft, yet easy to clean? Does it make a funny crinkling sound that will drive both me and my cat bonkers? Does it have a weird smell? (Some materials do until you wash them.)

If you prefer to shop online, read through all of the reviews and questions that other potential customers ask. I like to look on Amazon, even if I ultimately buy the bed elsewhere because there are usually answered questions and detailed reviews.


perfect cat bed|catvills.com
Lexy on her favorite bed

One last bit of advice: make sure you buy from a store that accepts returns because even if you spend hours choosing the perfect cat bed, there is still a chance your cat will totally reject it! Cats are finicky. It’s one of the things we love about them, but also one of the most frustrating parts of pet parenting.

Using these tips has really helped me save both time and money when buying cat beds for my kitties! I hope they help you, too!

About the Author: Nicole is a writer and editor at CatVills.com, a site dedicated to helping both new and seasoned cat parents lead the very best lives possible with their kitty companions. She’s currently a pet parent to three cats and two dogs. 


Would you like to comment?

  1. My human is actually pretty good at picking out beds! We almost always take it over right away.

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  2. I pretty much love all beds, at least so far!

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  3. Da Boyz sleep anywhere; boxes, pillows, chairs, cardboard scratchers. Angel prefers her soft, cotton-yarn rug pillow. I'd like to find some fluffy, fleecy beddys for them too.

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  4. We have a lot of cat beds. Seems like our favorite one is the humans, though. ;)

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  5. You two are the experts! It always cracks me up how mine rotate among their plentiful options.

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  6. Great tips. My cats seem to prefer our bed. :)

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  7. I have read reviews here on Blogger about the bed Lexy is on. I would like to consider it but I don't know its cost. Somehow that slipped past my notice. Katie loves her thick cushy bed but I would like to think about the legs shaped one.

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  8. Those are great tips to chose a bed ! Purrs

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  9. Good tips! My cats pretty much like any cat bed we buy.

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  10. Those are really helpful tips! We have a few beds that go in and out of the rotation, but the sofa and the human beds seem to be the overall faves. :)

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  11. We get confused in our house - sometimes the cats are in the dog bed and sometimes the dog is in the cat bed. As long as the bed is near the heat vent, they like it.

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  12. WE like to sleep in Our Human's bed. At least, it used to be hers. Now it's OURS - though We still let her share it with Us (mol).

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  13. Excellent tips and so helpful. It's funny because I had cats for so many years and other than one of them sleeping on a bed my husband made for her, none of them ever had any interest in beds. They preferred the couch, kitchen counter, dining room table and my bed at night!!

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  14. Great tips, and I'll make sure our human sees them. Personally, I like to sleep in the round sink in our guest bathroom. It's the "purrfect" size and shape for a smallish cat who's mostly fur and likes to sleep curled up in a ball.

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  15. That is sure good information. Mom hasn't bought me an individual cat bed and none of the kitties she had before me had individual cat beds. Like them, I sleep on a human-sized mattress at bedtime. During the daytime sometimes snooze on my cat tree, my chair, the floor, on my scratchy box, on the table or on my tuffit. Mom has thought about getting me one of those buttercup beds. Purrs.

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  16. These are great tips to help choose a cat bed. My cat loved the sofa and the dog beds. We had a big dog bed and in the winter he used to snuggle in with two of my dogs. He always slept wherever he wanted and the dogs worked around him.

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  17. Great post and something I never would have thought about for cats, having a dog now Layla loves thank goodness the beds I have bought her although LOL she still prefers to hog mine

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  18. I love these tips and your are so right about not all beds are created equal for all cats. Every bed is not one size suits all. The bed DOES need to match your cats needs and personality. I made that mistake with my last kitty. I bought a lovely plush bed I thought she'd love only she never used it. She was more than happy to snuggle on the couch or next to me on the bed. Go figure! LOL

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  19. Our Harvey took to one bed, that our Australian friend sent. It has high sides (and don't tell the cats but we got them a fire engine for Christmas!!

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  20. With the big furry family I have someone will like whatever I buy. So far the big winners are the ever popular ham-micks and the cat cozy tube bed I got from a local rescue that vends at cat shows. I have them all over the house. Their carriers are the other popular option (lined with fleece pads from the same rescue vendor.) Half the cats always seem to end up in my bed though.

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  21. Interesting observation on age and material. My parent's cat is getting older and we usually find it sleeping on the sleeping bags in the storage room

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  22. When I'm getting pet beds, I do consider if I would sleep in it, I don't think people consider that enough - with cheap beds, you can sometimes feel the floor or bottom of the crate right through it. Nobody would enjoy that!

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  23. Great tips! We humans don't give it enough thought! Happy Holidays!!

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  24. Cookie liked all beds we picked for her. Our biggest challenge is making sure they are large enough.

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  25. We drive Mom Paula crazy in trying to find the "right" bed for us. We like to keep her guessing.

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  26. These are all good tips! Even for pups! And some of my Huskies' beds are more comfy than my own! I even purchased one of the fuzzy ortho beds as a play cushion for my 2-year-old grandson because it is so comfy! He loves it! LOL!

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  27. It was really insightful.
    Thanks for the info.
    Wanna have more contents from you.
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