If we live with one or more cats, we will surely have slept less once with our cat or on the bed at night or on the sofa after watching a movie or in an armchair after reading a good book. But is sleeping with a cat in Islam good for us or should we fear something? Let's see together what the correct behavior is!
Sleeping with your cat in Islam: The sleep of the cat
Cats living with other cats sleep both alone and in close contact with each other. From birth, little kitten siblings sleep together, even on top of each other, to feel protected and safe. They maintain this behavior even as adults.
When living with humans, cats replicate what they would normally do with their fellow cats. Very frequently, when we are sitting and/or lying down, they jump into our arms and squat while purring.
Why is the cat sleeping on me?
Many cat owners wonder, "Why does my cat sleep on my stomach?" or "Why is the cat sleeping on my head?". Let's see precisely why the cat sleeps on its master (even if the real master, in the human-cat relationship, is... the cat!)
Let's say the reason the cat sleeps on or on the owner is because close physical contact indicates a strong emotional connection: "I trust you, so I relax being close to you."
In addition, the cat chooses very warm places on our body like the belly and the head or very smelly places like the hands and the feet because they help him to sleep and to feel our presence. This is why, in our absence, they sleep on our freshly removed clothes and/or on our freshly removed shoes!
Is it good to sleep with your cat in Islam?
Sleeping with cats proves to be very relaxing for us humans, especially for those who suffer from anxiety and/or panic attacks. Many people who struggle with insomnia are able to regulate their biorhythms simply by sleeping with their cat.
On the contrary, sleeping with the cat during pregnancy is beneficial not only for the future mother, who feels loved and who shares this wonderful experience with her four-legged friend, but also for the child who perceives the presence of the cat through his meows and his purrs.
In addition, the cat itself begins to get used to future change, because it perceives with its developed sensory organs the presence of another living being that moves inside its human friend and hears its heartbeat.
Is sleeping with your cat bad for you?
Does sleeping with your cat cause illness? Zoonoses, that is to say diseases transmissible from animals to humans, are easily avoidable thanks to good hygiene that you must respect, whether or not they cohabit with an animal.
During pregnancy, toxoplasmosis is also transmissible with undercooked meat and/or poorly washed vegetables and only in very small percentages by contact with the domestic cat.
However, with regard to children, especially infants, it is not advisable to let cats sleep with them, without checking, only the fact that cats tend to sleep on their heads, as explained previously, and given that children's face is very small, it is easy that, reluctantly, it is possible to complicate the correct breathing of the infant.
But it is also dangerous for the baby to sleep on the belly, whether you have a cat or not!
If our cat goes out on the street and sleeps with us, it is good that he is vaccinated to preserve his health, that he receives the necessary treatment against fleas and other insects and that he is cleaned regularly because we do not know where it has been (the same reasoning also applies to our shoes - who knows what we walk on every day without our knowledge!).
Cat on the bed: Yes or No?
If once it was thought that the dog should not climb on the bed for hierarchical reasons, now it is reassessed that it is not fundamental for the purposes of the education of your dog, on the contrary, allowing him to climb reinforces the interspecific love relationship.
Those who live with several cats know very well that changing position during sleep, surrounded by their pets, becomes complicated, even problematic, because many times you risk being blocked by your body abandoned in sleep.
When dawn approaches, your pleasant sleep can be interrupted by jumping and hopping from one side of the bed to the other as cats are particularly awake at this time. But those who get up early in the morning can easily escape this risk!
Beyond everything explained here, putting the cat on the bed is a completely personal choice. In fact, each of us in his own home can decide whether to allow it or not: you can get your cat used to sleeping alone in another room without being stressed or sleeping in his arms without creating too many problems.
