Give Your Cat a Comfortable Bed
Cats sleep an average of 16 hours every day, which equates to roughly two-thirds of their life. No wonder cat beds come in such a mind-boggling array of styles and prices!
Cat beds do more than just provide your kitty with a warm and cozy place to sleep, though. They help to keep cat hair and dander confined to one place rather than all over your furniture and carpet. Cleaning a cat bed is also much easier than cleaning your sofa. But with so many different styles of cat beds available – from no-frills cheap cat beds to wicker cat beds and fancy cat beds for pampered pets – how do you know which one to choose?
Features of a Comfortable Cat Bed
The most comfortable cat beds are made from luxuriously soft fabrics such as lambswool fleece and faux fur. Long-wearing Berber fleece is also a good choice, although it's not quite as soft. The cat bed should either have thick foam padding or plump poly stuffing. A comfortable cat bed will also have high sides that protect your cat from cold drafts. The relatively cheap cat beds commonly called "cuddle cups" feature a simple donut design that offers your cat a nice, snug place to curl up in for those all-important naps.
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Get the Right Bed for Your Cat
Many cats love the cozy feeling of burrowing in thick folds of fabric, which led to an innovative "nesting" style of cat bed similar to the bean-bag chair for humans. For felines who like to get under your bedcovers, the cat sleeping bag is a perfect choice. Your cat can snuggle completely inside the soft sack because it has special ventilation holes, or they can sleep with their heads sticking out (which looks utterly adorable).
If you're buying a cat bed for a kitten, it can be hard to know how big they'll grow up to be. Play it safe and choose a cat bed that's not the smallest or the largest, but somewhere in the middle. Heated cat beds that provide gentle, soothing warmth are ideal for older, arthritic cats, or kitties recovering from an illness or other cat health problems. Look for heated cat beds that feature a safe, low-voltage heating element hidden inside a washable outer cover. If you have two cats that are siblings or that get along well, consider getting one of the larger cat beds so they can curl up in it together.
Some things to consider when evaluating cat beds:
- Will it be easy to clean?
- Does it provide protection from drafts?
- Is the material soft and comfortable?
- Does the cat bed appear well made?
- Will the design fit in with your decor?
The price of cat beds depends upon the size, fabric, quality of construction and the manufacturer. Cheap cat beds in basic designs can be found for around $20, while fancy cat beds, wicker cat beds and heated cat beds typically range between $40 on the low end and $75 on the high end. Cat beds don't necessarily have to be expensive to be comfortable, although better quality cat beds and those with special features will naturally cost more.