Why Do Cats Steal Dog Beds? [Reasons + Solutions]

As a pet parent of both a cat and a dog, I’m sure you’ve experienced the frustration of your furry feline stealing your dog’s bed. It’s what we call a “catnapper” situation, and it can leave your poor pup without a cozy spot to rest.

But why does your cat insist on sleeping in your dog’s bed?

It could be due to the bed’s comfort compared to the cat’s own bed, the location of the dog’s bedding, a bond of friendship, or even stress. Luckily, there are ways to avoid this situation.

Providing comfortable bedding for your cat, giving them sufficient attention, and training them with positive reinforcement can all be effective solutions.

By understanding the reasons behind your cat’s behavior and taking the appropriate steps, you can ensure that both your furry friends have a comfortable and peaceful place to rest.

Contents

Why do cats steal dog beds?

Moving on to this, let’s start digging up the unofficial facts!

1. “Bruh, yours is super comfy”

In case you have not realized, felines are experts in finding their own comfy and warm place. Do you think the cat buddies cannot identify their bed and doggy’s bed?

Then you are just in a world of misconception. Even though your cat knows that’s your doggy bed, he has no worries about stealing it if it is warm and comfy than his.

Cats love a good texture, and most of all, if the bed has been warmed due to your doggy’s heat, then your cat buddy would love it more!

2. The location of the bedding

Have you ever been concerned about this? Did you think whether you have given an appropriate place for your fur creatures?

If not, now it’s time to think about it. If you consider your feline buddy’s sleeping location, you just need to ask yourself these two vital questions.

Whether the location of the bedding has lightning or is it too dark?
Whether the location is perpetuated by noises and lots of people?

Lemme tell you why you need to ask these questions by yourself. Even though cats are okay with light and dark, cats can easily sleep in dark places better.

As cats are more into sleeping, just like Garfield, if you can recall, they prefer places with fewer distractions.

So if their location of the bedding is not provided with the stuff he wants, he might just sneak in and invade your doggy’s place if it touches his heart. They just don’t mind whose bed it is.

So, better be concerned about this too!

3. “He is my buddy”

Remember how Oddie and Garfield were? Yeah, they hated each other just at the beginning, but they were pretty good friends at times, weren’t they?

So, in case of the cat might not be “necessarily’ stealing your blossom buddies place, he might have just asked the accommodation from him.

Do you know what I mean? Yup, they might be pretty cool friends sharing the place with each other!

They would even share the lasagna in the latter part of their lives! (Even though Garfield didn’t share it with Oddie!)

4. “It’s wartime’’

Now, here we take our memory into the movie of “cats and dogs.” You might have enjoyed the conflicts within the movie, but it’s quite a hassle when it happens in reality, isn’t it?

Maybe your cat is going to start a conflict with your pooch. So, stealing his bed might surely be the “Part A” of the plan. Just keep an eye on this, folks!

5. Cat stress

Just like us humans and your pooch cats might have t deal with stress at times. This stress leads the cats into stealing things sometimes.

Poor one! He might even tend to steal the doggy bed too.

These are just a handful of reasons that your cat might be trying to steal the doggy bed.

How to keep the cat from stealing your dog’s bed?

So, we should get rid of the trouble bubble, shouldn’t we?

1. “Equal rights, the much better”

Wondering what I mean by equal rights? If you have given your doggy a whole bedding place, make sure you do that for your cat too.

Check on whether you have given the comfiest bedding as possible, with a good texture for your feline friend too!

Moreover, be sure to check on the ventilation and whether the location you prepared for your feline friend is away from lots of distractions; yeah, they don’t like a lot of noise around, and people chatter a lot cause they need to sleep! Fair, huh?

2. Cat pheromone diffuser into the rescue

Due to various changes such as change of home, adding a new member to the family, or many other reasons might make your cat stressed.

As I mentioned before, this might cause them to steal not only your dog’s bed but other stuff of yours too.

Just for your concern, some of “cat stress symptoms are,

Excessive meowing
Less patience on people
Overeating or eating less
Hissing
Vomiting and diarrhoea
Hiding than usual

So, if you find these signs alone with “kleptomania”(stealing without intention), you can try using a cat pheromone diffuser and consider setting it up in the home.

These pheromone diffusers will help your cat calm and soothe down, which in turn will aid in preventing stealing. Yeah, your doggy’s bed will be protected!

3. Give your attention

Cats love hugs and cuddles! They find it lovable and very affectionate indeed, so just show it to them, Give them the attention they deserve.

Have you ever scolded your cat for stealing a dog’s bed? Then it might even be the reason for him to steal it; maybe he thinks that he can gain your attention.

So, make sure you give it to the right place, so your cat never focuses on stealing your dog’s bed for this reason!

4. “Play, play, play”

Felines are pretty good at staying awake at night, so spend time and play a bit with your cat before you get to sleep.

Playing with your cat will make them kind of a bit tired to steal stuff, specifically even the dog’s bed so that they will make sure to go and slumber in their own cozy bedding.

5. Positive reinforcement

Have you ever noticed that cats love new things? Let’s just get used to it in the most optimistic way if you have.

When your cat tries to get over your bed, let the cat know if he did not get on it, he’ll get some new toys and maybe buy them regularly for a short period of time.

Some types of toys your cat can be given are ping-pong balls, catnip stuffed cloth mice, or maybe anything with long strings. At times, make sure you reward him with praises and cuddles too!

6. Time to go to the veterinarian!

If none of your efforts gonna work, take your cat to the veterinarian. There might be something the cat is struggling with on its own; who knows? Help him out!

Hope you got an idea from your tip to toe.

Should you worry if your cat steals your dog’s bed?

This, I would say a “yes” it’s a bit of a matter to be worried about. You might wonder, should I have to if they seem to be friendly. In this situation, have you been involved in sibling rivals?

If you have had a sibling, it’s most probably the case, no matter how much you love them; when your mom or dad is not at home, you might start off a fight for whatever the slightest thing, don’t you?

So, we can predict that it’s the same case with your feline friend and your blossom buddy too.

What if your cat tries to steal your sleeping doggy’s bed when he is having a nap? Yes, welcome to another world war of cats and dogs!

Things to be aware of.

Now, I’ll point out some vital points about which you should be concerned! Don’t miss this out!

1. “No scolding”

Shouting at the cats won’t do any good; cats are never good at dealing with negative reinforcements.

So, in this case, without you knowing the cat is dealing with anxiety, this increases the potential of turning things upside down for you, your doggy, and himself.

2. “Hawk mode”

At times you will have to be in the “hawk mode,” which means that you really need to be vigilant when the cat is playing out with his toys.

After playing at night, make sure you just take it from the cat for his own safety and let him sleep.

If you are pretty much away from the house, you can use cameras which you can check on both your cat and dog. They should be in safe hands, isn’t it?

Conclusion.

In conclusion, we talked about why your feline tends to steal the dogs, remedies and things you should be concerned about, and much more! Hope I can guide you to solve the problem revolving within your head and get out of the trouble bubble. Hope you found this helpful.