# Disdain for Cat Beds



## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

I have now bought and given away 4 different cat beds for Murphy. He didn't have more than a passing, one-time interest in them whatsoever. Instead, he likes . . . 

A mushed-down couch cushion....









The middle of a blanket circle on the floor....









And the always popular box.....


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## Pawsitively Nicole (Feb 12, 2011)

Lol, looks like he knows what he wants and will settle for nothing less  Murphy is so handsome. I adore the little red spot on his paw!!


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

Thanks, Nicole! We had a thread a while back about whether or not the white patches on orange cats always have a dot or splash of orange on them. I think they do, if I remember right. Murphy dot is on his paw, like you said.


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## Abbie (Jan 13, 2011)

He's a beautiful shade of orange. What a handsome man!


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## yellowdaisies (Jan 25, 2011)

Murphy is gorgeous! 

We haven't bothered with cat beds, because I have a sneaking suspicion that our kittens will not even attempt to sleep in them. Much like Murphy, they have developed their own sleeping spots.


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## bkitty (Aug 17, 2009)

We have multiple cat beds. The expensive ones are ignored. Favorites ended up being the beanbag pillow, the cardboard box with the hole cut in the side, the paint bucket with the towel, and the barbie tent (50c from a garage sale), top shelf of the closet, and our bed. Cold nites we end up with all 6 cats claiming a spot in our bed. One of these days we will end up sleeping on the floor cause there is no room for us.


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## katlover13 (Apr 15, 2008)

Murphy gets more handsome all the time. He is much too svelte for a cat bed made for just any cat. He has to choose his own! 

We have probably more than a dozen cat beds all over the house. Different cats like different beds. One of the most popular is the flat checkerboard pattern one that is here on the desk next to the computer. As with real estate it's location location location!


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

I have a strong urge to kiss Murphy's face. He is far too handsome.


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## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

Murphy is so gorgeous, and very distinguished on his mooshed couch cushion.


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

I keep thinking he is saying, "Kiss my ring". His spot really is in the perfect location!


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## Goldtanker (Jan 9, 2011)

Holly, the grandcat, stays with us when my son and his family are between army posts. In spite of the availability of a nice fleece bed, a fleece lined basket, and a nice soft, full-length window seat cover, she takes over a wooden serving tray on the porch.


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

It's all about being _surrounded,_ isn't it??


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## oceanmist (Feb 12, 2011)

He's adorable!

A few years ago I made Casie a nice cat bed, it was one of the dome ones and it took a lot of time and the fabric was quite a bit of money. What does she do? She sniffs it, uses it once or twice and then ignores it. I gave it to one of our employees and her chihuahua uses it more than the cat ever did. Thing is, Casie had more fun laying on the fabric and the patterns while we were cutting them(she always did, I never had a sewing lesson where Casie didn't lay in the most annoying places).

But Cherry is a bit different. She likes one of my blankets so if I put it in a basket, she'll lay there. She also lays in bed with scraps of fleece but I'm not buying her a bed unless it's cheap.


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## Goldtanker (Jan 9, 2011)

Just before the first Winter that Midnight, the wild cat, was to spend under the porch, I made him a house. I took a new cardboard box, covered every surface with inch thick rigid foam insulation (double thickness on the floor), taped all the seams and covered the whole thing with a plastic garbage bag to make it air and water tight. Inside, through a 6-7 inch entrance, a fleece mattress and some fleece scraps. As I was sliding it under the porch ( in a corner that is protected from wind and weather) I was wondering how I would get him to use it, since it wasn't cold yet. I stood up, still thinking, and he went past me and into the house without any hesitation. Go figure.


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

Go Midnight! It sounds like you put some really good thought into the making of that cat bed.


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## Salemcat2 (Dec 28, 2010)

Can I have him??


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

Murphy looks very cozy in his chosen sleeping spots. My girls also don't bother with cat beds. They love their cat trees and sleep in those more often than not, but they never use their cat beds.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

October said:


> It's all about being _surrounded,_ isn't it??


BRILLIANT insight!


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## konstargirl (Feb 4, 2011)

He seems to enjoy that. ^^ He is a cutie.


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## Time Bandit (Aug 17, 2010)

Murphy is such a handsome man!  Samantha is the only one who uses the cat beds _all _the time in our home. Alice and Rochelle are usually crammed away in a box somewhere, or in the clean laundry basket...its all about the sides.


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## Jan Rebecca (Oct 14, 2010)

Mine ignored cat beds for a very long time - however in the last month or so Tuffy has started sleeping in one right by my chair - but it has to be right at my feet in order for him to sleep in it and then he only does it if I'm sitting in my chair watching TV. He is always right with me when I'm home.


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## Mimosa (Dec 2, 2010)

With my crew it often seems to be about location. Sometimes when they ignore a cat bed I'll put it somewhere else and then they'll be all over it.

The type also seems to make a difference. Ernesto prefers beanbags, Flynn loves round beds with high sides, dEUS likes beds with low sides so he can rest his head on the side. 

I used to think Mimosa was afraid of cat beds, not only would she rarely use them but it also seemed like she was reluctant to even touch them. 
Eventually I found out that she hates cat beds that smell of the other kitties too much, so I wash the beds she does like to use more often. 
She still avoids all "hanging" beds like radiator hammocks, hammocks on the cat condo's, cat chairs, etc.

Whenever I buy a new bed and interest seems to be low on arrival I'll put some ground valerian root in it, that always gets the cats interested to try it out.


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## Goldtanker (Jan 9, 2011)

I have one of these heating mats (from Farm Innovators) in Midnight's insulated house in the garage. A little comfort for a wild cat during those long, below zero Winters in Minnesota. He loves it!


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

I wish all feral cats had someone as accommodating as you are! That's really great that he's got a little warmth to retreat to.


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## Pawsitively Nicole (Feb 12, 2011)

My cats adore kitty beds. But at the shelter they were at the only comfy places to lay were in cat beds so I guess they were already used to sleeping in them.

Although Mirage always insists on flipping hers upside down and sleeping on the usually plastic, gritty underside :?


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## SkylinePigeon9797 (Feb 21, 2011)

Penny uses this stuffed turtle as her bed!


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## xxdotmyeyes (Aug 3, 2009)

Murphy is adorable! Ringos favorite bed is either on my laptop (I'm guessing because of the warmth?) or when Shotzey is under a blanket, he lays on top of him. (Shotzey, though a tiny 4lb dog, has always been called me "little heater")


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