Transitioning from pen/crate to free at night

Missy started sleeping outside of the crate (or having the option to) around 10 months old. I have a baby gate in the doorway to let the cats come and go, but keep her in. She has various sleeping locations. My bed, on the opposite side from where I sleep, ottoman on the end of my bed, her Kuranda bed, her crate, and the floor beside my bed. There is absolutely no telling where she’ll end up but she’s almost always on my bed when I wake up in the morning. I sleep with a white noise machine so noise is never an issue. When we are traveling she will sleep in the bed right up against my leg. My theory is she feels more secure like that, plus she would be alerted if I tried to leave her.

That being said, if anyone has any tips on how to convince a cat she doesn’t need to sleep on top of me every single night, pm me!
 
Jess041 said:
Missy started sleeping outside of the crate (or having the option to) around 10 months old. I have a baby gate in the doorway to let the cats come and go, but keep her in. She has various sleeping locations. My bed, on the opposite side from where I sleep, ottoman on the end of my bed, her Kuranda bed, her crate, and the floor beside my bed. There is absolutely no telling where she’ll end up but she’s almost always on my bed when I wake up in the morning. I sleep with a white noise machine so noise is never an issue. When we are traveling she will sleep in the bed right up against my leg. My theory is she feels more secure like that, plus she would be alerted if I tried to leave her.

That being said, if anyone has any tips on how to convince a cat she doesn’t need to sleep on top of me every single night, pm me!
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Lol that’s the difference between a cat and a dog...a dog you can teach (or perhaps condition them) to sleep away from you whereas a cat will go wherever they like! And not to say a cat can’t be taught, they just decide when and if they want to listen lol!
 
Angus puked in his kennel this morning so I let him out while I was in the shower. He was not sure what was going on. At one point he crossed the Orange Horror as I heard Spitfire correct him. Of as soon as I was out the world was happy. There was petting to be had and food to refill the belly. Later he was eyeing up getting back in his crate to sample puke but I had latched the door. Dog makes goat look picky.
 
I have an update - we gave up LOL I started keeping the boys up an extra hour, so hubby and I get to sleep in an extra hour. They're happiest in their pen, so why not just let it be, I guess. They already hate when I try to lay down on the couch to nap. I get nose bonked "mama, you dead?" I can imagine 3am nose bonks and pawing "get up!" They're used to their routine and their pen. I surrender! LOL
 
BryanAndLarrysMama said:
I have an update - we gave up LOL I started keeping the boys up an extra hour, so hubby and I get to sleep in an extra hour. They're happiest in their pen, so why not just let it be, I guess. They already hate when I try to lay down on the couch to nap. I get nose bonked "mama, you dead?" I can imagine 3am nose bonks and pawing "get up!" They're used to their routine and their pen. I surrender! LOL
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I agree, I think I feel sad that Cooper is in the crate, but two nights in a row we had lots of thunder in the middle of the night and not a peep from him. If he was loose I am sure we would have had him waking us up. We said we might try again when he is three...but maybe not, he runs into the crate on his own so we assume he isn’t bothered by it. One thing we did add last year was a water bowl that hooks on to the crate and he uses that a lot in the summer.
 
Whatever works if it's not broken don't worry about it. I prefer to let Teddy be with me so he has a cot beside me and alternates between sleeping with me or using his cot. He has alerted my wife when I have had issues with my handicap in the past. He is my best friend and a good boy most of the time.
 
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