apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I see AT:Pets in the near future!

my boys wake us up in the morning my kitty-screaming, laying on our heads, and head-butting any available extremity. it's the best way to wake up!

No! I have no desire to lint roll my bed every morning.

i generally lock my cat out of the room at night... she's 7 months and still has a lot of that kitten curiosity about earrings/change/anything else small, shiny, and at least semi-important. in my new place though, she has another cat to chase around and defend her space from during the day, so the last couple of nights she's slept quietly on the bed.

my dogs sleep in the bed with us. sometimes it is challenging and uncomfortable, but they are so cute i can't say no to them. plus, i love to snuggle!

my dog is the very best cuddler. she spoons with us under the covers at night.

Yes I sleep with Brutus, he's a great dog!

Two large cats, two chubby adults (us) and a antique sleigh bed!!! What a joy, wouldn't change it for the world.. Often you get an elbow or cat walking over you all night!!!

Best thing during a cold winter night: a little dog curled up next to your stomach or in the crook of your knee! Just have to wash the sheets a little more often.

my little black sheddy dog would like to sleep on my fresh white linens, and after rescuing the critter from a questionable past, i don't have the heart to kick him off the bed. i keep a quilty washable blanket folded at the foot of the bed - after a few times of making it clear that he is allowed only on his 'bed' - he can now sleep on his blanky, on the bed, and my white linens stay reasonably fresh.

the cat though, won't have any of it, and sleeps wherever he pleases.

i love sleeping with chief brody, even though he's a bed hog. and yes, i realise the effect this might have on sharing my bed with a non-canine BF in the future!

Sleeping wouldn't be the same without a little kitten nuzzling under my chin all night. Not to mention the purring not only puts me to sleep, but keeps me sleeping all night long.

I let my dogs sleep in the bed with me and my boyfriend on the weekends sometimes but during the work week they sleep in their crates which are in the bedroom.

my cats sleep with me. it's great for snuggling but it can get quite annoying in the mornings as they wake up hours before i do & either start getting into things or start trying to wake me up to feed them.

my dog walks in his own pee and god only knows what else.

I've always slept with my pet[s]; there's no question about it. I've even slept with the pets I've housesat for friends, since that was what they were used to, including one brief stint with one other human, whippet, greyhound, German short-haired pointer, and two cats in one twin bed. Duh!

[Okay, that sounds sick when it's written out like that.]

"No! I have no desire to lint roll my bed every morning."
Wow, you are tidy! I care way more about loving my animals than worrying about their fur being on me or my bed. To each his own.
I love a 2-cat night -- hate it when they don't sleep with me.

I love when my cat crawls under the covers with me and purrs us both to sleep, but that happens rarely, and only lasts ten minutes. The rest of the time, she tends to walk around on the bed, get into stuff, chew on my glasses, and generally wake me up. So I lock her out at night. And I don't really like cat hair in my bed. She's allowed in during the day, but I always make my bed. I'm not a good sleeper, so I am protective of what sleep I can get.

My other cat always slept quietly on the corner of the bed all night unless she got hungry, so I let her in at night.

I read an article once about how pets in the bed/bedroom do significantly disrupt their owners' sleep.

i once shared a bed with a great dane, she would slide in between me and the wall and extend her legs with her back against me trying to claim the bed as her own. never again, and my sheets dont have hairs in them. and plus, do they creeply sit and watch u having sex? thats what i'm most creeped out about by havin pets in my bed.

Tho my turtles aquarium is on my side of the bed now, hes a lil entertaining thing to watch b4 going to sleep.

My cat sleeps with me for 15 to 20 minutes and when she feels I'm about to fall deep into sleep she runs to my old sweater on the livingroom chair. Then after she wakes me up at 6am and I leave the bed, she takes over my spot and will not move, period! If I go back to bed I need to find a new spot. Then she gives me the attitude eye for awhile. I love her.

Even if I wanted to keep him off the bed there would be no way as I live in a studio and the only thing that separates my bed from the rest of the apartment is the curtain wall I put up.

But even if I could, I rather love his furry little body curled up against me while I sleep. And I love a good head butt in the morning.

Yep! Ever since she was a puppy my dog has slept in bed with me... Her place of choice was between my knees, but thankfully my husband trained her out of that after we got married... Now she tucks right in between our pillows and we're quite happy about it (she's quite small full grown - only 10lb). I can sleep without her there, of course, but I love having the little warm body to cuddle up with.

Love it! My cat and I have a whole going to sleep routine: I lay on my side, pat the bed, he comes, flops over and spoons under my chin. Much petting and purring ensues. Once that stops, he curls up in the crook of my knees. So cute and wonderful. Wouldn't have it any other way.

And when I do wake up stressed in the wee hours, there's nothing better to help you fall back asleep.

This probably is much too much information, but hey you asked!

oh heck yes they sleep with me. my two girls (rescued pups) know when it's "night-night" and they jump in my bed and lay down while i read. couldn't imagine them not sleeping with me..plus they alert me when they hear something strange.

The cat lets me sleep in my bed with her.

I've been sleeping with pets ever since I was 2 with my first kitty. I grew up with 2 dogs that lived for a long time that well through my teenage years they slept in the same bed as me. When I moved out at 18 I bought a doggie not too long after and he just turned 9. He sleeps with me and if someone is going to tell me this is hazardous. OK but I'm still around and my animals have never caused me harm.

To each his own. But personally, I have three cats and they take turns who sleeps in the bed with me. They definitely compete for time with me. They seem to know who is the alpha cat for the night. They are indoor/outdoor and either they sleep at the foot of the bed, one always sleeps between by legs and another likes the crook of my knees. When I fall asleep on the couch I find one at my feet another on the hump of the couch and the third on the coffee table. I think they prefer that, since when I wake up from the couch they are all there waiting for breakfast.

The warmth and acceptance of animals is the most beautiful and unconditional love humans can get. They seem to overlook bed hair, bad breath and aches and pains. They are extremely sentient and knowing what a pleasure and delight to have this love near you.

I love sleeping with my kitties, but do not like sleeping with my patner's dogs. Double standard... but IMO, dogs smell bad and are dirtier. I don't like them on the bed. But I love my partner and his dogs... so we have an agreement. They don't sleep with us when I'm there, but the are allowed up for morning "hugs." In the end, he regrets ever allowing them on any furniture as 25 lb puppies -- cut then, but not now at 110 lbs!!

My 11lb sleeps in out bed. She's an excellent spooner and loves to keep our feet warm.

We tried to get her to sleep in her own bed and it just wasn't happening.

How is it that AT: Pets already has more posts than AT: Boston?

I love having my little cuddle bug sleeping with me. Although for such a small dog he sure takes up more than half the bed. He also kicks me in his sleep. I'm a side sleeper and so is he so I sometimes wake up with all fours on my back. He also likes to bury himself under the covers but boy does he stink when he comes out. Of course I had to give up my crisp white sheets, but its worth it for the morning snuggle.

Our dog (30lbs) sleeps on a corner (foot) of the bed.

I love it when my two chihuahua baby girls dive under the covers at night. In the morning, I find them sleeping with their heads sticking out from under the comforter with (I kid you not) big grins on their faces.

Too cute for words. My partner and I wouldn't have it any other way.

durring winter we use space heaters since we dont have central heating, so everyone sleeps in our room.. on our bed. my husband, 1.5 year old son, 60 lb dog, and myself. and usually im the one with the dog at my feet and a baby sleeing half ontop of me at all times.

Haha.. click212 has kitty-concubines.

Nope. I'm actually allergic to cats and dogs, but I love kitties enough to have one anyway. But the "no bed" rule is absolute. It kills me to get fur in my face. It's enough trouble during the day.... I might not survive the night if I had to share my pillow with the cat!

Oh, and I um, well, have a waterbed. I trim the claws just in case...

we have trained our pup to only come up on furniture when invited up. she is allowed to sleep on the bed one or two nights a week. she is generally pretty good about sleeping in her own bed (also in the bedroom) when told to but occasionally wanders over to one side of the bed or the other to try and provoke an invitation.

At one time both my cat and dog slept in the bed with me, but now that my doggie is older and can't get up on the bed anymore, it's just me and kitty.

Do I have a choice? One of the cats sleeps on my head and takes up most of the pillow. The other two seem to be awake all night, and the parrot is definitely not allowed to sleep with us at night.

Oh man, our bed is too small for my husband and I yet we don't have the heart to ban our obese cat from our bed. I would sleep much better without him taking up so much room and waking us up by clawing us in the face at 4am for food.

I really need to reconsider this.

I wish I could have my kitty in my bed, but the boyfriend is too allergic. We have a baby gate up to keep her out of the bedroom, since at 13 she's too old to jump it. Before he came around, she always slept in my bed. Usually it was cute, but occasionally I didn't want my 3am headbutt.

our dogs don't sleep in bed with us at night, but they jump in bed with me after my boyfriend heads to work. it's a good compromise for getting a good night's sleep, yet still enjoying some cuddle time.
and it goes without saying that daytime naps always require furry company!!
(and yes, the sheets and comforter covers get washed quite often.)

Our dog Boo slept with us for the first few years we had him. Then we got him a nice bed and he decided to sleep in that. While it was what we were hoping for, it felt a little like rejection.

Currently, we have three dogs of our own and two fosters. We go back and forth on who sleeps in our bed. Currently, it's just our little chihuahua Amos. But when my SO goes out of town, it's me and all the dogs in bed.

kyle,

I loved your comment. It put a big grin on my face. Concubines, that's too funny, but yeah it does sound like that. I'm very attuned to animals. Would love to have dogs but the cats would be upstaged. You know how dogs get in your face with their persistent need for attention and wanting to get into every project you're in. I would just end up being their slave.

We usually put our cats away in their room at night. Sometimes (usually during the weekends) we'll let them sleep in the bed with us. However, our cats are pretty active at night so I doubt they sleep in bed the whole night. They used to be worse when they were younger becuase they would walk on top of us, but it's also very sweet when they wake you up and want to just snuggle.

Two of us, two of them (dachshunds), one bed: bliss.

There really wasnt room for my bf and me in the bed-let alone the dogs, but after he passed there is no way I would have the heart to make my babies (pit and boxer) sleep on the floor. Besides, I dont think that I would have survived those first few months without the snuggles from my pit. It's like he knew what I was going through.

On cold nights they've started to try and get UNDER the covers. I've drawn a line at that. Now I have a spare comforter that I put on top of the 2 of them so they are not trying to share my sheets.

Yes. All 90, bed hogging pounds of him.

That looks just like my bed every morning (I have a boston terrier who sleeps in later than I do!)

I originally did not let Bella sleep in the bed with me. I was pretty strict. However, when I went out of town and my mother took care of her.....things changed. I came home, and she cried ALL NIGHT while in her crate. I broke down and let her sleep in bed with me. It's been the same ever since.

She's only 20lbs, so she's like a living teddy bear who sometimes steps on me in all the wrong places :/

My dog sleeps in the bed with us. He used to be restricted to the floor, but he'd sneak on the bed in the middle of the night and we'd wake up to him splayed out at the foot of the bed. The shedding hair is a pain though, we've taken to spreading a sheet over the comforter. He's only allowed to sleep on the sheet, not under the covers.

Our 2 Jacks sleep under the covers most of the time. The girl curls up in between my legs and the boy puts his head on the pillow with the sheet pulled up to his neck (just like a person) right between my husband and I. They are little hot water bottles during the winter. We wouldn't have it any other way.

The "princess" and I compete for spooning rights with my boyfriend. It varies...sometimes she's feeling jealous, other nights she just stays in the living room or sleeps on her tower. Sometimes she settles on my pillow and I'm forced to sleep with my head on the mattress.

God, what a cute photo of that Boston Terrier!

My Chihuahua/Doxie mix is always burrowed under the covers.

Porkchop loves her daddy:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/art_chel/1737817246/in/set-72157602682957714?edited=1

and her daddy's bed:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/art_chel/1801667635/in/set-72157602682957714/

Tucker, my 22-lb yorkie (yes, he's a monster) likes to share my pillow sometimes. He lies with his back to mine and it's quite comforting to wake up to. If he's not on my pillow, he's on the other side of the bed. My long-hair chihuahua, Riley, likes to burrow under the covers. (It must be a chihuahua thing!)

They get bathed regularly with lavender Bronner's soap and smell better than most people I know, plus they are extremely low-shed. If I don't want them on the bed, they sleep together on their bed. Or in their crate. Or in my daughter's room. We don't have set rules, but we don't let them rule the house either. They listen well and give an enormous amount of love and hugs, so sharing my bed with them is a way of showing them I love them back.

One of my cats sleeps at the foot of the bed, the other one sleeps on the pillow next to me. I tried locking them out, but they finally got smart, recognizing my bedtime routine and zipping into the bedroom before they could get locked out. There are some nights where it can be trying...they tussle for position, or chase each other around the room in play. One will tap my face with an outstretched paw when he wants attention, and if he doesn't get it, he'll just sit on my chest...and a 20 lb cat on a 100 lb girl gets heavy! But overall it feels odd not to have them on the bed....much to the chagrin of past and (I'm sure) future boyfriends. I have to lock them out while the bf and I are...uh..playing...or else the boy cat gets really upset and cries and the girl sits looking worried and concerned...there is no way to assure your cats that you are ok!

My Step- Kitty (my BF's cat that is now partially mine since i buy food , feed and clean up after her)- is very independent and only likes to be pet when SHE is in the mood. will ALLOW us to cuddle with her if i means she gets play time. but i do love waking up in the moring to her back against mine, her sleeping in the space between us or in the crook of our knees. we keep the door closed at night and needless to say when she wants out, you better get up out of your deadsleep and let her out! -sigh- she's having a blast with all the packing boxes though! i even made sure to leave one just for her by our smelly shoes where she loves to lounge.

since we are talking about pets- does anyone else's cat lick their litter box? the outside i mean. NAS-T!

My two kitties share the bed with me and my hubby. I get both cats on my side. Normally the 16-lb Trip will spoon with me at some point in the night and then will move towards the end of the bed. The 12-lb Kaylee will sleep in the bend of my knee. But at 5 am, Trip will come to my side, poke, prod, and cry until I get up and feed them. Apart from that, I won't dream of sleeping without my kitties!

My dog refused to sleep on the bed because I thrash around so much. That could also be why I'm still single.

I sleep very well at night sleeping with my two 100lb bunk buddies.

I have one small dog who is a portable heater on cold nights, and quite the cuddler and another larger dog (lab) who loves to chew sheets. After going through quite a few sets, I had to make the larger dog sleep on her own bed on the floor. She has chewed through at least 10 doggie beds (at $20 a pop), so now she gets blankets from the thrift floor.

My pitbull sleeps in the bed with us. I sleep soundly knowing that she'll wake me up if someone tries to break in.

Haha, if only it was a question of letting my cats sleep with me. They insist, are good for cuddling through most of the night and at least let me sleep until 5 or so uninterrupted.

One of our kitties Ernie is the best spooning partner in the world. He loves to cuddle and the warmth of a body.

Our two bulldogs do not sleep with us. I think it's important for them to have their own space to relax and feel secure, so they have their own bedroom, each with their own toddler bed.

heckyeah i let my babies sleep in the bed with me! that is.... when my boyfriend isn't in it with me.... they hate him. oh well.

My dog sleeps with me -- he wouldn't have it any other way. He's very ... high strung. He mostly stays at the foot of the bed, but in the winter, he sleeps behind my knees or my back and keeps me warm. Even if he didn't sleep in the same bed, I'd want him in the same room. I had an issue for a while of a mentally ill man coming to my house at all hours -- he actually tried to break in when a friend was dogsitting. Owen has incredible hearing, so I'd want him close enough so I could hear his alerts and call 911.

My dog always starts off the night in the bed with us. About 30 minutes in he gets tired of us hogging his space and goes and sleeps in his bay window.

Looking at this photo just makes me want to crawl into that bed and take a nap with that cute pup.

I love it when the kitties sleep next to me. In the summer months they tend to sleep at the foot of the bed or next to me until it's morning, at which point the face licking starts. In the winter they cuddle right up against me under the covers. Sometime I encourage this by keeping the temp. low: I tell myself it's because it's greener.

my kitties usually end up by my feet, it's the best thing to wake up with a sleepy kitten purring at you. kisses are even better!

Of course our pets sleep in our bed! Why else would two short people need a California King? It's not as bad as it used to be. Only my oldest cat (now) and her four friends used to sleep ON me. One on my head, one on my shoulder, one on my side, one across my knees and one over my ankles. That was me covered in over 60# of cats!! Of my current fur family, only two generally sleep on me. One will only sleep on my side of the bed if I'm not in it. Moral of the story is how many cats can sleep on a king sized bed?
Answer: 7 or 10 without the owner.

Dogs sleeping with me have always been a comfort, and my boyfriend was happy to welcome them when we got together. Since he's been ill, their company -- whether cuddled up in bed or on the sofa -- has been especially reassuring to him.

I have a Boston Terrier like the one in the photo and there is no place he would rather sleep than under the covers behind the crook of my knees. Its pretty cute watching him try to get underneath the covers. One time he managed to get himself stuck completely inside a pillowcase thinking that he was getting under the covers.

I have a boxer/pitbull mix who loves nothing more than sleeping in our full size bed with my husband, the cat, and me. After a lot of debating we've started locking her out at night which makes her (and us) a little sad.

Its just hard having her taking up half the bed in the hot and muggy weather. But we let her sneak in in the mornings and on weekends. And on cold nights she'll be a shoo-in.

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!! CUTE AS!

I try and I try, we finally managed to get our two rescued greyhounds to get on the bed...they were perfectly happy to stay on their bed. But not with me there! They will now sleep with my bf...but apparently (as my boyfriend is happy to point out) I kick and elbow and talk and walk in my sleep and they are having none of it...most often even my boyfriend relocates before the am. All I want is to cuddle! ;-P

Of course - it's the best form of birth control!

My cat sleeps under the covers curled against my belly. When I'm at my bf's, his cat sleeps on the bed too. Dogs on the other hand, I would not want in my bed. They seem to be dirtier and smellier and take up more space (the bigger varieties anyway).

I've always let my pets sleep on my bed, either with or without me. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Dogs belong on the floor. People belong on furniture.

My sphynx sleeps in my husband's arms or on my back. Back paws on the mattress, front paws on my back or shoulder.
My fattie tabby starts the evening at the foot of the bed on my husband's side, then moves just outside the bedroom to guard the top of the stairs. (from what I have no idea)

My little piglet (who looks just like the fella in the picture) has to sleep in his crate at night - I would love to snuggle w/ him in bed but for some reason in his mind the bed is not for sleeping, it's for rowdy playing and 20 minute paw-licking sessions. :/

I adore my dog, but she sleeps on the floor in her own little pile of blankets. I don't let her sleep on the bed b/c of the respect issues that sometimes arise with certain types of dogs - Some dogs can end up walking all over you (literally and figuratively) if you let them sleep in bed with you as they see you as "on the same level" as them, equals rather than you being master. My pup is only allowed on the bed or sofa when she's invited and never expects it, I think it sets some good boundaries. But once in a while, I'll invite her up in the AM in order to coax her into an extra hour of sleep. =)

My 1 year old mini schnauzer chooses to sleep in his own bed beside mine since he was 12 wk old. I can never get him to sleep with me or girlfriend for the whole night; somehow he managed to find his pad in the middle of the night...

I have a boston terrier (who looks exactly like the dog in the picture), and he sleeps in my bed every night. He is usually snuggled up on top of the covers between my fiances and my legs, although sometimes he sleeps with his head resting on my neck. He's so small it doesn't bother us at all.

Cuddling with my dog while in bed is one of the main benefits of having a pet in my opinion. In fact, in lieu of crate training at night as a puppy I tried a new method where I would let her sleep next to me. For the first 4-6 weeks when she would stir and wake up I would immediately pick her up and take her outside where she quickly learned that you pee outside, not inside. She's never once had an accident in the house and she never once cried at night.

I do change my sheets 2 times a week and have a throw that she sleeps on, on top of the bed.

As for the sex voyeur thing. Um, no. I kick her butt out to the livingroom, and honestly, with all the movement on the bed pre-coitus, she usually just wanders off on her own looking for a more peaceful place to take a nap.

Why do you think Calvin Klein created the dark colored sheets and duvet covers. No white sheets in my house anymore!


In a King sized bed.
Husband, Dog, Nursing baby belong in your bed!
This is my recipe for a happy life.

I toss and turn, worry about my life, the day.. then I reach down and feel the warm body of my best friend and say life is good with a dog.

My Sheltie used to sleep at the foot of my bed every night. She's getting on in years, and has arthritis in her hind legs. On a good night, she might make it up for a visit, but these days she usually sleeps on the carpet outside my bedroom door. I tried doggie steps but she's not interested in those, if she can't jump up herself, she wants to stay down.

I occasionally awaken to find my cat sleeping on my Boyfriend's pillow on nights he's not around. Sometimes cat will cuddle down near the foot of the bed, but his favourite place to sleep is in his basket.

Oliver the Wonder Dog (http://flickr.com/photos/49502978417@N01/3137079927/) can be found warming my feet most nights. Or my husband's feet. We fight over who gets the "paw end."

YES! My tiny havanese is very attached to his people! He sleeps on my the top of my pillow and plays with my hair when he wakes up in the morning.

My dog started sleeping with me as a puppy and is still allowed on the bed. I used to let her sleep under the covers, but I always knew it was kind of gross...and then she got ticks from hiking and that was the final straw for that.

She has her own bed in the room, and generally switches back and forth throughout the night. She's pretty good, however she has one terrible habit I can't seem to break: she needs to be invited up onto the bed before she will jump up. This means she will whine to wake me up, and then I have to tell her it's okay and pat the bed for her to make a move.

This disturbs my sleep on a regular basis. But I love her and she is generally easy to sleep with.

My boyfriend has two cats and they used to sleep with him from time to time, but that no longer happens. They will come in and pester us in the morning, to get up and feed them.

Only one of my cats, and she tends to stay up there during the day (I boot her out at night, as I have a loft bed, and if she wants to go out, navigating a ladder while still mostly-asleep just to open the door isn't fun!). Yeah, you end up with a bit of cat fur (she's black, too, and I have yellow sheets...), but nothing a bit of sticky tape can handle!

She is VERY cuddly for naps :)

My four dogs sleep with me -- but they won't cuddle most of the time, and they only want to be on top of my comforter, each taking one corner which in effect mummifies me -- and I discovered that I am claustrophobic. I have actually pulled several muscles lately trying to toss and turn in my own bed. As much as I love my fur children, I may have to banish them from my bed for my own health, and sanity.

I have goldfish.

No...he fusses too much, scratching, turning, turning, slinking around underneath things...just can't sleep w/that.

haha...I mean, scratching at the sheet...like he's digging or trying to make a bed...not scratching for fleas! But for an afternoon nap, he's always right there like he has bed radar.