Have you ever seen a cat that loves to sleep on a pillow?
In addition to loving to sleep on people's chests, armpits, between their legs... Strange places outside, some cats also love to grab pillows with people...
Image: Catlove
Do cats need a pillow?
Why do some cats love to sleep on the shoveler's pillow?
Why do some cats only "sneak" to sleep on the pillow when the shoveler is not there?
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Judging from the cat's body structure, they have not experienced the process of "crawling to standing upright", and theoretically do not need such a thing as a pillow.
Why do some cats love to sleep on pillows, and behaviorists mainly have the following inferences:
1. The head and pillow are warmer and warmer
Cats have a slightly higher body temperature than humans, and they prefer the temperature of the environment to be higher than humans.
The human head is home to the nerve centers of the brain and consumes about one-fifth of the body's total calorie expenditure. The skin of the head is thin, there are many blood vessels, and the sweat hair is more and thicker, so the heat dissipation is first-class. The temperature is high near the head, so kittens love to sleep more near the head.
Skin temperature perception (percentage) from: lookfordiagnosis
2. Trust "you"
Some clingy kittens, out of trust, will also rest with us while they sleep. Some cats do not have a fixed sleeping position in bed.
If we have our limbs curled up in the quilt, the head/face that is usually exposed becomes the cat's favorite place to stay.
In addition, some cats themselves do not have territorial preferences, but if they are rolled over and pressed by the shoveler when they sleep, or are covered in the quilt, they will slowly choose the position of the head of the bed or the end of the bed to rest.
Pictured from: Station B
3. Declaration of family status
Multi-cat families and multiple cats are on the bed, usually there is a bedside, a bedside, close to the owner's body, a bed rim... This is similar to a more fixed territorial division.
And the kind of cats that have no fixed territory, sleep where they want to sleep, sleep close to the owner's body, sleep on pillows, and the family status is generally high.
Sleeping pillow, in addition to being close to the owner, the "topography" of the pillow is also higher than the other positions of the bed. So, in a multi-cat family, there is a situation where the "boss" sleeps on the pillow.
If there is a cat that loves to sleep on the chest, the presumed status is higher Pictured from: catlove
4. Seek help or shelter from the shoveler
When the cat is anxious or thinks that the environment is unsafe and unstable, it will also choose to sleep next to the owner, or even in the position of the head.
Environmental factors range from moving houses and changing room layouts to new creatures (guests staying overnight, newborns, new pets), and the arrival of new appliances.
In multi-cat families, after being bullied or disturbed, the cat may also choose to sleep close to the owner's head.
Mijiujia oranges like to provoke other cats/people in the middle of the night, hit and run... And I enjoy the process of being chased crazy in the middle of the night... In order to hide from oranges, Bo Yu chose to sleep on the pillow
5. Odor or hair attraction
There are also two relatively few, but more typical, scenarios.
Some cats will love the smell of sweat or grease secreted by our sweat glands. If cats like to smell the shoveler's JIO or armpits (especially boys), they are also likely to lie on the side of the head because your scalp secretes grease.
Pictured: Buzzfeed
There are also some cats who like to lick the hair of the shoveler (usually expressing love, which can be understood as licking the hair socially; it may also be anxious), so they may also like to sleep on the pillow.
Pictured from: Giphy
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▌1. Suddenly started sleeping on the pillow
If the cat suddenly begins to sleep on the pillow, it is recommended to check whether it is a behavioral change caused by anxiety.
You can start with environmental change factors, such as changes in furniture, home appliances and people; if no changes are found or changes are inevitable, you can "psychological counseling" for cats through environmental abundance (the simplest is to play with cats).
More ways to enrich the environment More environmental abundance From subsistence to moderate prosperity, there are also criteria for judging the quality of life of cats?
Imaged from: Persiancatcorner
Of course, the sudden change of the weather, or the cat is more in love with you, such a natural reason, you do not need to intervene, you can enjoy the company of the cat with peace of mind.
▌2. Multi-cat family
In multi-cat families, in cases where the cat herd itself has a clear status hierarchy (e.g. bed head/tail of the bed, cat at the top of the cat climbing frame has always been fixed)...
If the weak cat suddenly sleeps on the pillow, it is necessary to check whether the cat's resource distribution is even and whether the basic life of the weak cat is satisfied.
▌3. Sleep on the pillow only when you're not there
If you find through the camera that the cat is only nestled on your usual pillow when you are not at home when you are not at work, you also need to consider whether the cat is too bored when she is alone at home.
Can you try some of the mitigations in this issue Will my cat feel lonely when I go out to work?
▌4. Cats also parkour at night
In this case, if the shoveler doesn't mind, there is no need to intervene.
But if the shoveler wants to improve, the following methods can be considered...
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Although it should be that most shovelers are trying their best to hope that cute cats can come to "lin luck" their pillows.
However, there are some special cases that require cats to change their sleeping habits on pillows. You can try the following:
● Odor discouragement: Choose a shampoo with citrus or lemon flavor, or wash the pillowcase with this flavor of laundry detergent, or roll citrus or lemon on the pillowcase more directly.
● Create a temperature difference: After the weather turns cold, place a warm mat or cat nest at the end of the bed or in other places near the bed (and change yourself into a pillowcase with a cool mat/ice wire).
You can also be a little harder on yourself, you can make a cold bed...
No matter how good the relationship with the cat, the cat will never get on the bed Picture from: Network
● Game time: No matter what time you go to bed, free up an hour before bedtime, first spend half an hour playing with the cat, and then provide dinner and supper to the cat to extend the cat's sleep time.
● Regular feeding: If the cat has night parkour and eating habits, you can also try to leave extra cat food at night, or use an automatic feeder.
● Find alternatives: Provide a higher place for cats to choose, such as putting cat climbing frames or cat walls in the bedroom; in addition, if the cat is allowed to sleep on the wardrobe, you can put a cat nest or a carton on the wardrobe.
Try different alternatives From: Google
● Ruthlessly shut out the door: the most direct way, but the cat may pick the door. Try sticking tin foil and double-sided tape on the door that cats dislike (cats may also dislike you).
There's no way around that... Pictured from: Giphy
As for how to get the cat and us head to head to share the pillow?
In addition to the "heart machine" after cooling down, you can try to use a heating pad next to the pillow, or try not to wash your hair "oil head to increase the smell of sebum" that is not recommended, more can only rely on love, talent and luck...
【Director Interaction in this issue】
Will your cat sleep with you?
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Resources:
Yu Chunyu, Xie Jiale, Fei Bin, et al. Variation of human head surface temperature with indoor environment temperature[J]. Spectroscopy and Spectral Analysis, 2017, 37(001):172-176.
Liu Yuwei, Gong Renrong, Xu Ruihua, et al. Comparative study on the measurement value of infrared thermometer temperature in different parts of human body[J]. Journal of Nursing, 2020(16).
[3] Why Does My Cat Sleep On My Pillow? [ED/OL]. https://peteducate.com/why-does-my-cat-sleep-on-my-pillow/#:~:text=The%20main%20reason%20your%20cat%20will%20sleep%20on,you%20in%20an%20attempt%20to%20keep%20your%20safe.
[4] Richard Parker. Cat Sleeping Positions When Sick (And What They Mean!) [ED/OL]. https://www.seniorcatwellness.com/cat-sleeping-positions-when-sick/
[5] Penninck D, d’Anjou M A. Atlas of Small Animal Ultrasonography Second Edition[M]. Wiley Blackwell, 2015, pp 390.
[6] Myers D G, DeWall C N. Psycology 12th Edition[M]. Worth Publishers. [7] Erling T. Stress and the Hair Growth Cycle: Cortisol-Induced Hair Growth Disruption[J]. Journal of Drug in Dermatology, 2016, 15(8): 1001-1004. [8] Villiers E, Ristic J. BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Clinical Pathology Third Edition[M]. BSAVA, 2016.
Editor-in-Charge: LNS
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