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Why Does My Cat Sleep On My Jacket?

If your cat is sleeping on your jacket all the time, you may be wondering why this keeps happening…

Why Does My Cat Sleep on My Jacket?

Due to the particular odour that humans leave behind, cats like to lay on their owners’ clothing, particularly jackets. A cat can identify its owner’s distinct body odour since the garment smells just like you.

So, now you know. But, does this provide familiarity? How can I prevent this? What can a cat really do to my jacket? Keep reading for these answers, and much more…

Does your jacket provide comfort and familiarity to our cat?

A blue denim jacket hanged by the door.

A blue denim jacket hanged by the door.

This provides familiarity and comfort to your cat when they are sleeping. Be aware that cats also love building beds out of jackets and claiming them as their own.

A cat seldom causes any harm by laying on dirty coats or clothing. Just be cautious if you’ve spilled harmful chemicals like oil or antifreeze on your outdoor jackets. If this isn’t the case, your cat will just use your jacket as a source of comfort while it sleeps and recovers.

How Can I Prevent My Cat from Sleeping on My Jacket?

The most straightforward approach to prevent cats from laying on your jacket or clothes is to hang them up or keep them in a laundry basket with a closed lid. Cats typically think all of your belongings also belong to them and therefore have no reason to believe that clothing or jackets are off-limits if your floor serves as a closet.

Cats have been known to stain jackets, and their claws may be causing inadvertent fabric damage. Other reasons to keep your jacket away from your cat include the following.

What Can a Cat Do to A Jacket?

Chewing behaviour is common in particular cats, which sadly includes chewing on your coats and clothing. Wool is a popular fabric, and a cat with a chewing problem can easily ruin jackets, socks, sweaters, pillows, or other clothing items.

More significantly, your cat’s health may be jeopardized due to this behaviour. Fabric fragments can create life-threatening gastrointestinal blockages if consumed. Cats that chew fabric may also chew on potentially harmful things such as twist ties, pins and needles.

Do Cats Sleep on You for Warmth?

Cats are drawn to warm locations by nature, so you’ll frequently find cats attempting to sleep with you for warmth. On very chilly days, you may have noticed your cat loitering around a heater or a wood stove. Since some portions of your body are warmer than others, your cat may choose to sleep on them.

Your chest, lap, or even face might be among them.

Kittens are gregarious creatures who prefer to sleep in groups. They typically sleep with their siblings in their litter and snuggle up to mum for naps early in their lives. In the winter, outdoor cats cuddle with family members to remain warm and secure from predators and other external risks.

Your cat may also like the sound of your heartbeat or breath as you sleep, in addition to your body warmth, encouraging them to snuggle up on your lap for a nap.

Do Cats Know When You’re Sleeping?

A black and white cat lying on a white textile.

A black and white cat lying on a white textile.

People can’t say for sure if cats comprehend the concept of sleep like humans do, but it’s evident that cats recognize that we go through a period of reduced receptivity.

While your cat may not entirely comprehend that you’re unconscious, they certainly recognize that you’re not doing much at the exact times every day. They also know that this occurs every time you climb into bed and that there are numerous predictable events before it, such as cleaning your teeth.

Furthermore, your cat has most likely learnt that they must work a little harder to win your attention during the nighttime.

Do Cats Have Preferences for Certain Fabrics?

Fabrics used in jackets, like velvet, suede, leather, and wool, are typically preferred by cats, but cats can be sleep-a-holics and will curl up on anything soft and cuddly. However, if you do not want your cat to spend the entire day on your jacket or other clothing, you should provide them with their own bed.

Suede coats are popular among cats because they are velvety and keep them cool throughout the hot summer months. Suede is often simple for your cat to mould into its own tiny nest and is durable to their kneading and light scratches.

Is It Normal for A Cat to Use Your Jacket as Bedding?

A cat nuzzling into your jackets and old clothing, building nests and blankets, is totally natural. Many cats enjoy sleeping on garments, and if your jacket is left on a soft surface like a bed or couch, it will most likely be slept on.

Cats may sleep for up to 20 hours every day. Cats, on the other hand, cannot sleep anyplace. Before letting their guard down and napping, they need to feel protected and comfortable, which your clothes will give. The more enclosed the cat is, the safer it feels, and so it is able to sleep despite being distracted by exterior stimuli.

Your cat may also burrow into your clothing in search of your smell. Your jacket provides your cat with a sense of security, knowing that no one will attack them while you’re around to provide protection.

What Does It Mean If My Cat is Kneading My Jacket?

Due to your individual aroma, a cat kneading your garment indicates that it is calm and safe. Kneading is a common behaviour among newborn kittens toward their moms. This is owing to kittens’ proclivity to knead at their mother’s teat in order to release milk, which persists into adulthood.

Cats enjoy kneading because it brings them delight and pleasure.

This action also implies that the cat regards you as its mother. You play the same function as the cat, providing food, housing, and protection from anything that can hurt them. Kneading indicates a great level of confidence in you based on the aroma of your clothes.

Do Cats Add Their Scent to Jackets?

Cats transfer their aroma when they brush against surfaces like your jacket or clothing. This transfer of scent acts as a form of ownership to cats. When your cat nuzzles or headbutts your jacket, glands in their cheeks deposit smell.

Cats mark their territory by rubbing against it, similar to how dogs urinate on items outdoors to indicate their territory.

To claim anything, a cat will leave their smell on a person or an object. When your cat rubs on your clothing, it’s claiming you and your stuff for itself. When you go home, a lot of cats brush up against you. This is their method of reclaiming you by masking any foreign odours.

Do Cats Understand What Sleep Is?

Although your cat may not understand what sleep is, they know that you are in the rest period of your routine. While some cats will keep themselves busy throughout the night, others may become bored and bug their owners, not understanding that we require a certain amount of sleep in order to function.

Cats are highly perceptive animals. Owners suffering from sleep-breathing disorders such as sleep apnea commonly wake up with their cat in their face, almost as if their cat is checking to see whether their person is still breathing. Most cats, particularly if they’re attached to them, take comfort in their owner’s fragrance and use it to establish who they are and whether or not they need to be concerned.

Lindsey Browlingdon