If you're not a pet owner then this post just isn't for you. That said, those with four legged friends are all too familiar with the love that your pets gain for your furniture. Usually it's the most expensive piece you own or at least the best TV watching spot in the house. Where do your pets make themselves comfortable?
In the past I've owned very picky pets, but recently my two dogs aren't attached to any single piece of furniture, but would appreciate a nice arm rest in the sun in which to stare at the neighbor's cats.
Where do your animals like to lounge? Do you have problems because of it? Although you'd never know some pets had been there, others leave tell tale signs like scratching or shedding after their stay. Share your pet's favorite nap spot, or even a picture in the links below!
RELATED LINKS
• Sensory Overload: Snuggly Pets On Cool Furniture
• Pets On Furniture, Part Two
Image: Flickr member Katie@! licensed for use by Creative Commons
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Our yorkiepoo likes the windowseat. He can sunbathe and see what's going on outside.
a big old chair and half. My dog Sparky loves it. Best seat for watching TV so when I'm in it, he has to be there also. Luckily it's a big big chair and we both fit.
Our dogs LOVE our rugs. Specifically, rugs that my husband stuffed in a duffel bag from one 'istan' or another and have significant fiscal and personal value. More specifically: immediately after they have been cleaned - but freshly vacuumed will suffice. Apparently, our furniture is not up to their standards.
My midnite used to love the black leather sectional (that was one comfy couch, he was no dummy). He also loved the bed, used to lie on his side with his head on the pillow, just like a person.
We have a very long master bedroom, so we've put a couch at the foot of our bed. We ended up with a skinny "behind the couch" table from an estate sale that we put between the bed and the couch. Our 80 lb lab pup loves it! He sleeps there every night, which is perfect for us because we got our bed back!
My whippets prefer the sofa with throws and throw pillows for gazing out the picture window. They like the twin bed with a blanket, or the pillows and throw on the table over their transport kennel, for gazing out the spare bedroom window. They prefer the master bedroom bed with blankets and pillows, or inside their open transport kennel with pads and a throw, when they feel more reticent.
My Great Dane has an attachment to a large leather chair that is just a wee bit too small for him. He curls up in it and my Jack Russel curls up on top of him. In fact, they're sleeping like that right now. Here's a picture of Dexter napping on top of Gulliver:
http://i56.tinypic.com/14ims08.jpg
@00tester - that photo cracked me up! Pets are the best.
Apparently, my folks' dogs think the old ikea overstuffed chairs are the best... especially in terms of flavor. Yup. They sit on them and lick, lick, lick the armrests. It's funny at first and then gets disgusting real fast. The chairs needed to be reupholstered or just replaced before, and now they REALLY need it!
Our shepherd mutt likes our bed and camps out there during the day when we're not there to scold her. Forgive me for being gross for a second though pet owners will probably know what I mean, but the dried eye boogers, slobber, paw marks, and butt stains (yes, I went there) are unavoidable and so at least the place where she spends so much of her time can be machine washed! Thank you well-made Pottery Barn bedspread.
P.S. 00tester, that photo is killing me.
My Havanese decided to lay claim to my Eames lounge chiar before it was even completely unpacked from delivery. No scratches on the leather but a nice snot mark from his nose where he always rests his head. Oh well, what are you going to do?
My boxer is a ninja at stealing seats. If my husband or I get off the couch, she's already curling up in our spot by the time we've taken three steps. And if she gets the couch to herself, she's stretches out to take up the whole thing. Sometimes she sinks into the couch itself. :P
obie is a space hog! he loves our sofa and our bed and he'll take 3/4's of it...
http://ragamuffindesign.wordpress.com/2011/04/27/meet-obie/
My cats love our chairs (especially our Poang chair and our Couturier's chair from Restoration Hardware)... all of them. They are not as keen on the couch or bed. They also love the glass top of the dining room table. We have had some minor scratching now and then but are trying to train them not to.
My two cats each sleep on the back cushion of two arm chairs that allow them to look at birds out the window (when not sleeping); the cushions each have custom-cat-molded sags in them.
Well I have a feathered friend... And he's chosen to perch himself right above his beloved. She passed away last October after 13 years. I don't mind where he decides to hang out. He's the lil "big" man of the house. Strange he chose that spot to rest and observe everyone.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7447686@N05/5858304722/in/photostream
My greyhounds live on the sofa and the loveseat. I have a chaise lounge and they have claimed that one, too.
They don't use my bed because my hallway and bedroom have hardwood floors, but they LOVE my boyfriend's bed in his house.
His bedroom is on a second floor, and we usually enter the house from the garage (= the basement, it's narrow townhouse). Often, when we open the door connecting the garage with the basement, there is a moment of quiet and then we hear the dogs tumbling down all the way from the 2nd floor bedroom. It always cracks us up.
My cat would've said the Barcelona chairs but now they're off limits since I found out he's been scratching the cushions (and they're red leather!). So now I flip the bottom cushion up but you bet the second it gets set back down for a guest, the cat will try to steal the seat.
My dog would say his favorite furniture piece is my bed. He's not allowed on the sofa because my fiance INSISTS that our sofa is too small to accomodate him and us (he is a big dog). I can't wait to have a bigger place and a giant sofa the dog can sprawl out on.
My Schnauzer loves her cardboard box (she has no use for fancy beds).
Yesterday I came home to find my sweet cat Olive was sleeping on the living room couch with his body curled up in a ball and his head under a pillow. Cutest. Thing. Ever.
My 105-pound springer/golden mix, 45-pound boxer/cattle dog mix, and 35-pound English shepherd think they own the couch and a big armchair in the living room. The big guy also loves my bed; I think it's the only piece of furniture large enough for him to feel entirely comfortable. He and the boxer/cattle dog mix sleep on my bed and, fortunately, they both understand "move over."
Before my house became dog central, I had a 60-pound cattle dog/lab mix that I would sometimes find sprawled out on the dining room table. That always made me laugh. She was a good girl so she would jump down as soon as she saw me looking at her on the table.
My cat sleeps on the most expensive piece of furniture in whatever room she's in. How she knows, I haven't got a clue.
My black lab mix loved my white flokati rug that I ended up selling before it turned gray.
Frisky loved my mom's platform rocker and truly resented it when he was displaced.
One of my four cats always sleeps right on my favorite spot on the couch, which happens to be the prime tv viewing spot! My 55 lb dog always sleeps right under my feet, no matter where I am. Oddly, she doesn't seem to mind be stepped on 100 times a day.
One of our cats prefers to sit on any small surface that is differentiated from the surface below it. If you were to lay a napkin on an otherwise empty floor, he would sit on the napkin. He also sits on the computer keyboard and on a flattened newspaper when you're trying to read it. Yesterday we were playing Boggle and left the top of the cardboard box on the table. Of course, he sat in the box.
Our dog actually doesn't much care for getting on the furniture. Occasionally she'll get up on the bed, but only if no one else is in it. At night she's happiest sprawled out over the feet of a wooden bench or in a corner on the floor. We've tried dog beds and blankets but she isn't interested.
I put a storage bin next to my bed with a rug over it to use as a temporary side table. It's now my cat's favorite place to sleep. He loves my bed and will even try to lead me back to my bedroom so he can lay there and be petted, but I guess he thinks of that bin as an extension of my bed that doesn't have earthquakes when I roll over in my sleep!
My dog prefers whatever furniture I'm currently on. If I'm up walking around or working in my studio most of the time she's actually on the floor, usually in a sunny spot and always with me in sight. However the minute I'm sitting on my couch or in bed she's up next to me. She's a rescue and was neglected by her previous owners so I think it's a comfort thing always wanting to be near me whenever possible.
My 75-pound golden thinks the bed is his. It's a traditional double bed, and he likes to be in the middle, which makes it impossible to sleep in when he's in it. And when I make him get off, he has this sad and confused expression on his face that I do my best to ignore.
My 70 pound black lab is a little clingy as well, so she tends to follow me around and sit, oh, right underfoot. Especially in the kitchen. That said, she loves curling up on the couch and watching TV with us. She also crawls up onto my husband's side of the bed around 3am to snuggle. It's actually very cute. I was originally totally against it, but clearly I was overruled.
That picture is so perfect. The first chill wind magnetizes my cats Brando and Jazz to my down comforter.
I think its time for Apartment Therapy to add Pets as a category. There is The kitchn, Ohdeedoh, unplgged, and re-nest. I want a pet one please? These are always my favorite posts.
I have 2 cats and they pretty much sleep wherever they feel like it. They each have a specific place to sleep in bed (one at the foot, the other squishedthisclose next to me. We are moving soon, and one is currently right in front of me sleeping on the top of a stack of two plastic tubs.
Here is a link to a facebook album of their silliness and some are them sleeping in funny places
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.430198099662.209926.509764662
nice post for the pet lovers out there, those great ideas and suggestion will surely help them a lot...
I substituted the coffe table with a round ottoman. Now my dog uses it as a bed and the edge of the couch is his pillow! A brilliant strategic move, now he can watch tv and/or sleep while we caress him :)
My 70 Aussie loves my eames armchair, the fiberglass kind. Even if I offer him a spot on the couch, he would rather awkwardly curl up in that chair, with his head hanging off and his legs going four different directions. idgi
Not furniture, but my little doggie likes to curl up in my dirty laundry basket!
My two cats love our IKEA poangs!
My cats love to sit on the back cushion of our couch...the cushions are not attached, so every once in a while they get too comfortable...and end up pushing the cushion forward, falling with it...fun to watch!
My dachshund likes to take up residence on the back top edge of my poofy leather couch. It its higly entertaining to watch him attempt to get up there as smooth leather and a lack of claws does not make for an easy climb. It is right at window height so he gets to look outside.
Miss Molly, my border collie, likes rugs; she's always curled up on the living room rug. And in sunshine spots.
She does get up on the bed occasionally, but only when I'm not in it. I'd be ok if she slept on the foot of the bed, but she'll jump up for a just a minute to say "good night" and then goes back to her pillow in the corner.
00tester, that is one awesome picture.
Our boxer mix rescue never went on our furniture until my husband broke his leg and convalesced in the guest room. He decided that it would be nice to invite the dog up on the bed with him. So now that the husband's healed, it's now Norman's Bed, which has led to Norman's Couch and now Norman's Second Bed, which is our bed.
Wouldn't be a big deal except he's got a wee bit of an incontinence issue...so now we have to Norm-proof the furniture at all times. :)
00tester - love the pic! I have two labs, 50-pound and 65-pound, and they both have their special chairs. My wingchair recliner now has a blanket on it for the chocolate, and my blondie HAS to sleep in bed with us - which is why my husband and I upgraded to a king. My babies are the first two. http://tinyurl.com/2anyuuy
My 90 lb American Bulldog curls herself up on a papasan chair, it makes her look like a puppy:)
Our cats will congregate anyplace that is in the sun; it is hilarious to see all four of them all trying to get space in a given sunspot. We even have a print called "The Politics of the Sunspot" which shows the inventive ways in which cats will get their share of the space.
My dog loves the leather couch and tends to sprawl out, occupying 2 of the 3 cushions. She also adores my bed, but only when it is made up. Though a billowing, white down comforter and black lab are not the best combination, she always gets her way.
My dog child, Scarlet, loves the guest room bed the most, especially the flannel quilt my grandmother made. I originally tried to keep her off of it, but she doesn't really hurt it and she loves it so much.
Sofi, my cat, loves my orange mohair ottoman... mostly because it's just a tad brisly. Mostly.
Our two cats fight over the DVD player. It is a throne.
my armchair where i sit, read, get on my mac, watch tv. she MUST be on it also, and she owns it when i'm out. my husband can't even sit in it
My Corgi has taken my mothers chair. That has been her chair for as long as I can remember. It is now his with his rug on it. If she sits in it he sits at her feet and stares at her until she moves.
My oldest whippet Morgan chose the chair with down cushions. He rearranged the back pillow so he could sleep on top of both. Very princess and the pea.
My cats are crazy for design furniture. Think that is because they like to be the center of our attention + the best furniture is also comfortble. Check this: http://twitpic.com/5gu3aw/full