bella debate
New research has revealed that Brits are completely split when it comes to sharing a bed with their beloved animals. So we ask…
No
Mel Fallowfield, writer
Since we got our cat, Honey, in September, I’ve been besotted. Nothing is too much trouble when it comes to her, and barely a week goes by without a package of treats arriving.
But I don’t want her in bed with me. I think part of it is a hangover from my childhood, when my mother banished animals from bedrooms, muttering about hygiene. But most of it is because I love my sleep far too much, and a wriggling, miaowing cat is not conducive to getting my full eight hours. So, the door is firmly shut. I do feel guilty if I hear her scratching and miaowing at the door. But then I remember the odd occasion when she’s managed to slip into the room in the middle of the night. So far, her list of crimes extends to nibbling my toes to wake me up, gently biting my arm and, most ‘I love my sleep far too much’ recently, walking across my face.
Her sofa etiquette also leaves a lot to be desired. She plonks herself down in the middle of it, sprawls out and goes to sleep – I imagine her bed etiquette would be similar and I’d end up perched on the edge, panicking that if I move I’ll wake her up.
And lastly, I’m squeamish about hygiene. Cats are supposed to spend 30-50 per cent of their time washing – she spends at most five per cent! I also see what she eats and sticks her nose into, and I don’t want that on my sheets. So, though I love her dearly, she and any future pets will face bedroom banishment.
Yes
‘It can lower your blood pressure’
Jo Hemmings, behavioural and relationship expert
As long as both parties are agreeable to sharing a bed with your pet, then I think it’s a grea
