Do cats actually use cat beds?

Yes, cats do use cat beds but it depends on several factors whether they will or not and when it happens. And the idea of a 'bed' is very fluid for a cat. It might be a bed like you see in the photo or it might be under a bush in the backyard or on a dinning room chair which is pushed under the dinning table (a roof over the head). It might be a vase containing a pot plant. I've seen that before.

Often it might take a long time before they use a new bed. A cat product that you thought would be very welcome and used all the time as it was expensive might be resoundly rejected.

The clamshell type bed referred to in the article. Image: Quora.com.

You might know that the problem with cats and cat products is that people buy the product because often they are designed to be attractive to people but cats have a different perspective on human made products and what is attractive 😉👍.

They don't think of beds or any other commercial item as being good because it's expensive or because it is of high quality. Domestic cats are not concerned about quality and expense. They just take a fancy to something and an old cardboard box might be as popular as the most expensive cat bed you ever saw.

That said, sometimes they come around to using the new product. Or they may use it for a while and then move on to another one and have a kind a rota system where they will use different locations in different beds over the month or year.

They might have a preference after a while and stick to that reference and then occasionally move out from it and try something else and then move back to their favourite place.

In this instance, concerning the photograph on this page, a quorum.com user asked whether cats actually use cat beds because she got him a bed and would not use it. No surprise there for me.

It is the bed you see in the photograph. A kind of clamshell. Very plush and soft she said. And she learnt that cats do come around to using these products sometimes. There's no guarantee though.

In this case he ignored it for two weeks and then when she came home from work his toy was gone and later that night he slept in it (with his toy). He then regularly used the bed.

Each cat has their own preferences and you can't really decide beforehand exactly what your cat might like. You might think you can but I don't think you can predict the outcome. That's why I sometimes believe it is foolhardy to buy nice products for your cat. Sometimes they simply go to waste.

My failure - I should know 😊

I have a beautiful bed for my cat. It was manufactured in The Netherlands and shipped over. It cost me about £200 and it's a nice piece of furniture. He used it once, perhaps twice but has not used it again and it's been in my house for nine months now. It was a waste of money (perhaps) and is now a decorative item!

The £200 bed my cat rejected. He used it once and not since. I hope he tries it again.

He might use it one day. I'm not sure why you didn't like it. Perhaps it's just the way he felt and there's no knowing. It may have been because the product is made of wood and it had been polished. The smell of the polish had not subsided enough before they shipped it. It may have been about the smell which put him off.

He preferred an old cardboard box from Amazon which is not untypical of domestic cats. He now sleeps in the utility room on a shelf which is well protected and warm and cosy and not far from the boiler.

I guess, if you wanted your cat to use a bed you should put it near the boiler. 💕🤔 Warmth is a massive factor. But this clamshell-type bedding you see in the photograph looks incredibly warm so I would see it as being successful normally.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.