The cliché is that cats are independent. They want their space. They like to be on their own. Solitude is their happy place. They don’t need cat parents.
But cat parents know this is not the case.
After all, they often like nothing better than to curl up in a tight ball and fall to sleep as close to us as possible.
How can these two opposing sides of a character come together? We’ll look at this more closely in the following article.
Cats sleep a lot — up to 18 hours a day. So if your cat likes to sleep near you for some of that time, it could mean one of the following:
They trust you
When cats sleep, they’re at their most vulnerable. So choosing you as a person to sleep alongside is a sign that they trust you and don’t feel threatened in your presence.
A study on ‘Attachment bonds between domestic cats and humans’1 found that proximity seeking, which indicates an attachment relationship, was in keeping with children and dogs, with around 60% of cats forming a secure attachment to their caregiver. This means that if your cat’s sleeping next to you it sees you as the primary caregiver, and they feel safe sleeping in your vicinity.
They feel safe with you
In terms of territory, cats see their cat parents as part of their territory. In their eyes, they own you (and for some more demanding cats, you might feel this often). If you find that they are even lying on part of you, especially if there are other cats in the house, it might mean they’re subtly saying “this person is mine!”. This in turn may result in some posturing and even brawling among the other cats.
They want to bond with you
Cats that enjoy sleeping near you are subtly bonding with you. After all, they wouldn’t want to show their love for you too openly now, would they?
A study2 showed that cats interacting with their cat parent increased oxytocin and dopamine release, the hormone associated with affection, by 12%. Not a huge rise, and not as much as dogs, who saw an increase of 57%, but this increase still shows affection and bonding.
They want to share your heat
It’s not always easy to tell when your cat is warm or cold, but if they curl up near you on a winter evening they’re highly likely to be trying to share (some might say steal) some of your body heat. Most cats are drawn to warm places, so it makes sense that you, as a human being radiating heat, will be attractive to cats seeking a warm spot in which to snooze.
They want to be near the one who feeds them
Make no bones about it — cats love to eat, and if you’re the one that usually gives them their meals (aka the aforementioned primary care-giver), don’t be surprised if your cat seeks you out to sleep near, as you’re the one they associate with food. This way, they are potentially unlikely to miss an all-important meal, or between-meal snack. If this is the case, this also serves to strengthen the bond between you and them.
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